The Official Guide promised 'a reproduction of naval submarines under water.' The front was among the most striking on the Zone. Neptune and his rearing sea horses reared overhead. Visitors went in and out through the mouths of enormous plaster bullheads, into a grotto vestibule lined with tanks of swimming trout.
The show failed anyway. Some of the Exposition's department heads blamed the name: people did not want to be immersed for fun and seemed afraid they might be. Most were content to admire the front and walk on. It was still unfinished two days before opening.
At a glance
- Listed in the Official Guide among the Zone's major concessions.
- Its front featured Neptune and sea horses; entrance and exit were through plaster bullheads.
- Still behind schedule two days before opening (Todd).
Afterward
Demolished with the Zone in 1916.
Where it stood
The Submarines stood at about 37.80219 N, 122.43014 W on today's map. The whole fairground over the city →
Sources
- Frank Morton Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. II (1921), ch. XXIX, p. 155 (Neptune and sea horses)
- Frank Morton Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. II (1921), ch. XLVII, p. 255 (behind schedule)
- Frank Morton Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. II (1921), ch. LXV, pp. 358, 360
- 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