COLLECTION NUMBER:
C023.
COLLECTION TITLE:
California Pacific International Exposition of 1935-1936 Photograph Collection.
DATES OF MATERIAL:
1935-1936.
EXTENT:
832 photographic prints: gelatin silver; 4 x 5 in.
LOCAL CONTROL NUMBERS:
Photographic prints: OP5876/1-832.
REPOSITORY:
San Diego History Center
Booth Historical Photograph Archives
P.O. Box 81825
San Diego, CA 92138
1-619-232-6203
ACQUISITION INFORMATION:
Transfer from Union Title Insurance and Trust Company, 1979.
RESTRICTIONS:
Open for research.
COPYRIGHT:
For permission to reproduce or publish, contact the curator of the Booth Historical Photograph Archives of the San Diego Historical Society. Reproduction or publication of any part of this collection must include the following information next to the image(s) or in a special section of credits: California Pacific International Exposition of 1935-1936 Photograph Collection, San Diego History Center, Booth Historical Photograph Archives.
GENERAL NOTES:
Arranged by local control number. Photographer(s) unidentified. Forms part of the San Diego History Center Original Print Collection. Two photograph reference books and corresponding copy negatives are available, 80:8387/1-832; also, see the California Pacific International Exposition of 1935-1936 Negative Collection (C022) and the San Diego Historical Society Photograph Reference Book Collection for other images related to Balboa Park and the exposition.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE:
These photographs show various attractions, buildings, people, and events related to the 1935-1936 California Pacific International Exposition in Balboa Park. Subjects include: Zoro Gardens nudist colony, Gold Gulch, Enchanted Land for children, Midget Village, and other Midway attractions; circus animals and performers, the Ice Carnival, Olsen and Johnson comedy shows, Old Globe Theater productions, a parade on El Prado, a rodeo, polo match, and other events, including spelling, pie-eating, log-rolling, gum-chewing, baby, beauty, and roller-skating contests; beauty queens, models, dancers, musicians, clowns, aerialists, and other entertainers, mostly in costume; opera singer Madame Ernestine Schumann-Heink, actor Victor McLaughlin, and dancer Sally Rand; exposition visitors, administrators, children, military personnel, and other people. The images also depict general and bird’s-eye views of the exposition grounds, buildings, structures, and exhibits, including the Ford Building and its transportation related displays, the Palace of Fine Arts, Standard Oil Tower of the Sun, Palace of Electricity and Varied Industries, Palace of Photography, the Botanical Building, Federal Building, California Building and Tower, Arch of the Future, Japanese Tea Pavilion, and El Prado.
SUBJECTS INDEXED:
California Pacific International Exposition (1935-1936: San Diego, Calif.)
Exhibitions — California — San Diego.
Exhibition buildings — California – San Diego.
Parks — California — San Diego.
Balboa Park (San Diego, Calif.) — Photographs.
CONTENTS LIST:
| Box 1 | |
| Folder 1 | OP5876/1-96 Subjects: Al G. Barnes circus animals and performers, including clowns, elephants, seals, lions, and trapeze artists; “Little Paul” — the smallest midget in the world [1936] — Jack Dempsey refereeing a midget boxing match, and other views of Midget Village; Zoro Gardens nudist colony, including “Robot” — the mechanical man — kidnapping Queen Zorine and nudists with protest signs reading “Sally Rand — Unfair to Nudism”; Flaming Fanny side show, a stagecoach hold-up, prospectors, and Bull Durham Day in Gold Gulch mining town from the Days of ’49; and rodeo scenes showing cowboys and cowgirls on horses, broncos, and bulls. |
| Folder 2 | OP5876/97-196 Subjects: Chiefly Ford Building displays related to transportation, including early automobiles, stagecoaches, locomotives, murals, models, and dioramas related to transportation. Also, some night views of the exterior. |
| Folder 3 | OP5876/197-296 Subjects: Publicity portraits and group portraits of people, including president of the exposition Frank G. Belcher, chairman of the Board of Directors G. Aubrey Davidson, Frank Drugan, and other exposition administrators; California Governor Frank Merriam; opera singer Madame Ernestine Schumann-Heink on stage at Spreckels Organ Pavilion; actor Victor McLaughlin; beauty queens, entertainers, and the one millionth visitor. |
| Folder 4 | OP5876/297-381 Subjects: Publicity portraits and group portraits of people, including children enjoying the exposition and participating in various activities; models, dancers, musicians, and other entertainers, mostly in costume; military personnel; female impersonators; and Rosita Royce the “Dove Dancer”. |
| Folder 5 | OP5876/382-472 Subjects: Performers in the Ice Carnival and Olsen and Johnson comedy shows; stage productions at the Old Globe Theater; a bicycle race, early automobiles on parade, the San Diego Lybian Guard, and the miniature model homes display behind the Palace of Better Housing; Midway barkers, clowns, dancers, musicians, and aerialists; Sonia the Human Doll, the Hum-a-Tune Man, and Sally Rand. |
| Folder 6 | OP5876/473-543 Subjects: Exterior and some interior views of exhibition buildings and attractions, including paintings and other art work in the Palace of Fine Arts, the Standard Oil Tower of the Sun, the Palace of Electricity and Varied Industries, the Arch of the Future, Botanical Building, El Prado, and the California Building and Tower. Also, Mother Goose and fairy tale figures in Enchanted Land for children. |
| Folder 7 | OP5876/544-653 Subjects: General and bird’s-eye views of Balboa Park and the exposition showing people, buildings, and Midway attractions. Also, a fishing derby, spelling bee, peanut race, and pie-eating, log-rolling, gum-chewing, baby, beauty, and roller-skating contests. |
| Folder 8 | OP5876/654-727 Subjects: Polo match and track meet; models, dioramas, and other exhibits; and a parade on El Prado. |
| Folder 9 | OP5876/728-778 Subjects: Zoo animals, members of “Our Gang” [or “Little Rascals”] on Kids’ Day at the exposition, international costume dolls, equestrian and rodeo scenes. |
| Folder 10 | OP5876/779-832 Subjects: Entrance to Cabrillo bridge, Standard Oil Tower of the Sun, Shell [Oil Company] Information headquarters, Palace of Electricity and Varied Industries, Palace of Water and Transportation, Palace of Photography, Federal Building, Arch of the Future at night, California Tower, Japanese Tea Pavilion, and other exhibition buildings. Also, a parade on El Prado and the world’s largest calendar. |
