The Panama Canal's construction was one of the 20th century's great engineering projects. On Aug. 14, 1915, this magnificent link between the world's two great oceans, the Atlantic and Pacific, opened to traffic.
In San Francisco, a huge celebration was planned to honor the canal opening and welcome San Francisco back to the world stage after the devastation of the 1906 earthquake and a destructive fire which ensued.
The San Francisco event was called the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. It took place from Feb. 20 – Dec. 4, 1915.
Exhibits from all over the world were included on the 600-acre site in the Marina District.
One of the leading exhibitors was the State of Ohio. Their exhibit was a replica of the official Ohio State House. Practically life size, the structure was one of the most spectacular of the exposition.
Once the exposition concluded, virtually all exhibits were dismantled or destroyed. One of the few exceptions was the Ohio Building.
A promoter decided to ship the massive structure down the bay on a barge and incorporate it into a yacht and playground for the Peninsula Country Club. The colossal barge reached the sloughs of what is now Redwood Shores, but more funds were needed to move it further.
The empty building sat vacant for some time, including prohibition, where it became a nightclub and a hideaway for bootleggers. During the '30s and '40s, it was the home of a machine shop.
In 1953, a contractor purchased the empty structure because he wanted the land to build an asphalt plant. This never materialized.
Finally, in 1956 the albatross was given its death sentence when the owner lit it afire and burned it to the ground.
Today, the last remaining structure of the 1915 Exposition that remains on site is the Palace of Fine Arts.
Everything else is just history
