'London to the South Pole' portrayed Antarctic exploration. Robert Falcon Scott's expedition had died on the return from the Pole in 1912. Todd judged it 'a fine production' that 'deserved to succeed, but did not.'
Like much of the Zone it went through strange changes during the season. Its overhead scenery survived: Scott's companions hauling their sledge back toward a ship wedged among canvas icebergs. Under that scene, other shows moved in: the 'Model's Dream', 'Shadow of the Cross', 'Alice, that Strange Girl', and the Toyland Midgets with their Lilliputian Theater.
At a glance
- Listed among the Zone's major concessions in the Official Guide.
- Later housed several smaller shows under its surviving Antarctic scenery.
- Todd names it among the Zone's 'queer transitions' during the season.
Afterward
Demolished with the Zone in 1916.
Where it stood
London to the South Pole stood at about 37.80073 N, 122.43423 W on today's map. The whole fairground over the city →
Sources
- Frank Morton Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. II (1921), ch. LXIV, pp. 350-352
- 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), Souvenir Watch shop position