The Ottoman pavilion was said to represent a palace on the Bosphorus. Beside it stood a reproduction of the Mosque of Sultan Ahmed, and its domes and minarets were, in Todd's phrase, 'suggestive of the Orient.' It was designed by the Armenian architect Zenas N. Matteossian of Constantinople, trained at MIT and the École des Beaux-Arts, with E. T. Foulkes as local architect. It was built on his own responsibility by Commissioner-General Vahan Cardashian.
Inside were Oriental goods for sale: rugs, Damascus pierced brass, more than fifty paintings, shawls, lace, perfume and tobacco. During the fair Muslims came here to worship. At the dedication on April 30, 1915, the building was given to the use of the whole world 'irrespective of race, creed, or nationality.' It was the first dedication the German and Austrian consuls attended officially.
At a glance
- The Official Guide gives its cost as $300,000; Todd says a $150,000 appropriation was decided on but none of it was ever sent.
- Dedicated April 30, 1915; site dedicated February 12, 1914.
- Kept open by Cardashian until Closing Day.
Afterward
Not recorded; presumably auctioned and wrecked.
Where it stood
Turkish Pavilion stood at about 37.80329 N, 122.45045 W on today's map. The whole fairground over the city →
Sources
- Frank Morton Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. III (1921), ch. XXXV, p. 205
- Frank Morton Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. III (1921), ch. LI, pp. 273-274
- Official Guide of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915), p. 51
- Museum of the City of San Francisco, Panama-Pacific International Exposition Map (1915), Turkey north of Italy