The State buildings sat north of the Esplanade along the edge of the bay. They ran from the California Building and the line of Lyon Street west to the Marines' camp and the start of the Live Stock section. They stood in two ranks. One faced the Esplanade, across which lay the foreign pavilions. The other faced the Marina, with the Golden Gate beyond. The Avenue of States ran between them, parallel to the shore.
Heading west from the California Building along the Esplanade rank were New York, Pennsylvania, the City of New York, Illinois, Ohio and Utah. On the bay side were Oregon, New Jersey, Nevada and Wisconsin, Missouri, Mount Vernon, Idaho and Montana, with Maryland on the avenue itself. At the Federal Concourse Massachusetts closed the view. Beyond it were the smaller western group of Iowa, North Dakota, Mississippi, Texas, Kansas, West Virginia and the shared Arkansas-Oklahoma building. Todd counted 28 State, territorial and city buildings. For visitors from the East and Midwest they were homes away from home, where they could read the papers from home, collect their mail and sit on the verandas watching ships pass through the Golden Gate.
The State buildings were disposed in two ranks, one facing the Esplanade, the other the Marina. Across the Esplanade, southward, were the Pavilions of the Nations. Between these two ranks ran the Avenue of States.
Frank Morton Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. III (1921), pp. 309-310
At a glance
- 28 State, territorial and city buildings were dedicated, including New York City's (Todd).
- State pavilion sites covered 42.3 acres (Condensed Facts).
- The Official Guide: the avenue ran 'paralleling the shore line of the bay'.
Afterward
Most State buildings were auctioned and wrecked by 1917; the Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin buildings were moved by barge. The area became part of the Presidio's Crissy Field and the Marina shoreline.
Where it stood
Avenue of States stood at about 37.80517 N, 122.45313 W on today's map. The whole fairground over the city →
Sources
- Frank Morton Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. III (1921), ch. LVIII, pp. 309-310
- Frank Morton Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. III (1921), ch. LXXXIII, p. 401 (Kansas fronting the avenue)
- Official Guide of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915), pp. 41-42
- Museum of the City of San Francisco, Panama-Pacific International Exposition Map (1915), layout of the State section