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288 DAYSSan Francisco · 1915 ⌕
Gazetteer › The Zone
The Zone

Shamrock Isle / Streets of All Nations

An Irish village with a Blarney Castle tower that failed as Irish and succeeded, retitled, as the Streets of All Nations.

The square tower of Blarney Castle rose over the Shamrock Isle, an Irish village with two theaters that stood across the street from Toyland at the Zone's bend. The public did not care much for Irish singing and clog dancing. The war made it impossible to bring over any real exhibits of Irish life and industry, and even the jaunting cars drew few riders, though they were useful in parades.

The concession was reborn as the Streets of All Nations, with Turkish bass drummers, dancers and a "walk-over", a raised platform that the crowd had to climb over to get in. Todd saw it work on crowd psychology. People at the back watched those in front mount the steps and pay, and they followed for fear of being left out. The Callicott brothers, Floyd and Jack, were its spielers. As a business it did much better, "but it was no longer Irish." Next door the educated horse Captain drew some of the biggest crowds on the Zone.

No photograph of Shamrock Isle / Streets of All Nations has turned up yet in the public-domain archives this site draws on. If you know of one, or hold one, send it over and it will be credited here. Meanwhile the photographs page holds 410 pictures of the fair, more than the film uses.

Where it stood

Shamrock Isle / Streets of All Nations stood at about 37.80170 N, 122.43173 W on today's map. The whole fairground over the city →

At a glance

  • Originally an Irish village with two theaters under a Blarney Castle tower.
  • Converted during the season to the Streets of All Nations.
  • Todd cites its "walk-over" entrance as proof of the herd instinct.

Afterward

Demolished with the Zone in 1916.

Sources