The Official Guide described the Evolution of the Dreadnaught as showing the development of fighting craft 'from the early galleys to the modern dreadnaught.' Two days before opening, steel 'in strange forms' was still going into its building. It closed early.
The Exposition tried to revive it, putting about $3,000 into a new spectacle called 'World Wars' that featured the sinking of the Lusitania. The consul of what Todd calls 'a then powerful foreign government' objected to the subtitle, which brought useful publicity. Even so, the new show was never particularly popular. It made a little money late in the season.
At a glance
- Listed in the Official Guide among the Zone's major concessions.
- Closed early; restaged as 'World Wars' with Exposition money (about $3,000).
- On the spring 1915 map it stands between Fire Station No. 3 and the Aeroscope.
Afterward
Demolished with the Zone in 1916.
Where it stood
The Evolution of the Dreadnaught (later 'World Wars') stood at about 37.80251 N, 122.42769 W on today's map. The whole fairground over the city →
Sources
- Frank Morton Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. II (1921), ch. XLVII, p. 255
- Frank Morton Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. II (1921), ch. LXVI, p. 364
- Official Guide of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915), p. 69
- Map of the Zone concessions, spring 1915 (reproduced in 'Let Me Get There', USC Scalar), Spring 1915 map of the Zone concessions