Like yesterday’s cover, this menu cover showing the “fountain of phantom arches” exaggerates the gold and yellow colors of the subject matter. Known as the Tower of the Sun, the tall building in the background was the centerpiece of the fair and — as shown in the postcard below — was constructed of plain concrete, with a few yellow decorations.
Click image to download a 647-KB PDF of this menu.
Dated September, 1939, this dinner menu was used on the San Francisco Overland Limited and is. It offered complete dinners centered around trout, fried chicken, lamb chops, poached eggs, or prime rib. Surprisingly, the trout is more expensive than the prime rib. There is also a sirloin steak dinner that is more expensive still (multiply prices by 20 to approximate today’s dollars). The a la carte side has oysters and oyster stew, fillet mignon (which cost less than a sirloin steak), lamb chops, and a variety of other entrées.
Click image for a larger view of this postcard from the Boston Public Library collection.