1939 GOLDEN GATE EXPOSITION SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 8mm HOME MOVIE XD59764
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This 8mm silent color film showcases the Golden Gate International Exposition of 1939 and 1940, held on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. This footage is from a home movie shot by a visitor to this famous exposition. The event celebrated the opening of the Golden Gate and San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridges and attracted over 17 million visitors to witness global technological advancements. This film provides footage of a visitor’s perspective of this historic event at San Francisco’s Treasure Island in 1939.
(00:32) Elephant Tower at the Golden Gate Exposition.
(00:57) Main walkway with Pacifica statue in the distance.
(01:30) Performers dance and play music.
(02:23) Woman performs flips in the air.
(02:54) Crowd gathers around the stage.
(03:13) Footage of a carnival ride.
(03:36) Tower of the Sun, a 44-bell carillon.
(05:00) San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
(05:28) Gardens showcasing various flowers.
(06:08) Memorial Fountain and Tower of the Sun.
(06:34) Close-up of Pacifica statue by Ralph Stockpole.
(06:40) Statues in and around Memorial Fountain.
(07:00) Visitors enjoying the exposition.
(07:18) Tram transports visitors around the fair.
(07:32) Arch of Triumph.
(08:08) Crowd gathers to watch a performance.
(08:33) Japanese showcase.
(08:45) Flags from around the world.
(09:13) Visitors riding paddle boats.
(09:33) Woman enjoying the scent of flowers.
(09:59) Group reenacts a conquest.
(11:17) Men in military uniforms salute the American flag.
(11:35) Westward Expansion reenactment with wagons and horses.
(11:51) Fast-running horses.
(12:01) Couple embarks on a journey with onlookers.
(12:25) Engine adorned with American flags crosses the stage.
(12:56) Actors onstage during the fair.
(13:40) Tower of the Sun and Memorial Fountain.
(14:27) Footage of the main walkway between Pacifica and the Tower of the Sun.
(15:44) Statues on the carillon.
(16:27) Lion-shaped water spout.
(17:06) Statue resembling Classical Greek statues.
(17:44) Waters surrounding Treasure Island, a man-made island for the fair.
(17:56) Side-view of the Elephant Tower.
(18:13) Fountains, statues, and nearby Bay Bridge.
(19:09) Arch of Triumph modeled after the French monument.
(19:53) Gardens and flowers throughout the fairgrounds.
(20:18) Visitors strolling through the grounds.
(20:24) Monuments representing different cultures.
(20:57) Lanterns in the Japanese section of the exposition.
(21:39) Visitors enjoying the gardens.
(22:39) Tram circling the grounds.
(22:51) Replica of a Redwood tree.
(23:28) Exposition’s carnival.
(23:50) People strolling through the fair’s midway.
(24:01) Footage of an amusement ride.
(24:20) Odditorium or “believe it or not“ booth.
(25:13) Restaurants and donut shops.
The Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) (1939 and 1940), held at San Francisco’s Treasure Island, was a World’s Fair celebrating, among other things, the city’s two newly built bridges. The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opened in 1936 and the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937. The exposition opened from February 18, 1939, through October 29, 1939, and from May 25, 1940, through September 29, 1940; it drew 17 million visitors to Treasure Island.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit