Golden Gate Expo “Pacifica” Menu

In 1939, Southern Pacific issued a series of menus advertising the Golden Gate International Exposition, which was held on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. This menu features a large statue called “Pacifica,” which was meant to symbolize the connections between San Francisco and countries throughout the Pacific region.

Click image to download a 535-KB PDF of this menu.

The image on this and other menus, along with other advertising for the fair, shows buildings seemingly covered in gold or, at least, yellow paint. Even aerial views of the expo emphasized a golden color. In fact, as shown in the color video below (which opens on the Pacifica statue), this was all hype; the buildings were plain concrete, which in 1939 was impressive enough, but the yellow coloring was artistic license and probably meant to recall the “Golden Gate.”

This particular menu was for a tour group called the “perpetual novena vacation party.” That seems like a contradiction in terms; can someone engaged in perpetual prayer take a vacation? The menu itself is quite simple — fruit, cereal, two eggs, bread, and beverage — which may reflect the ascetic nature of Father Keane’s group but more likely just the austerity of the times.


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