Dated September 1939, this menu was issued near the end of the Golden Gate Exposition’s run in 1939. While the fair was supposed to remain open until December 2nd, it was losing money so it ended prematurely on October 29. Despite the losses, the exposition reopened in 1940, so the menu ended up advertising both seasons.

Click image to download an 711-KB PDF of this menu.

The exposition’s buildings were mostly built of concrete. While some were tinted, most were painted with colored lights at night, as illustrated by the South Tower on the right of the photo on the cover of this menu. This explains why many of Southern Pacific’s menus showing the fair used night photos.

The table d’hôte side of this breakfast menu ranges from fruit or cereal for 50¢ ($11.50 today) to steak or lamb chop with potatoes, sauté, fruit, and cereal for $1 ($23 today), either of which come with bread and beverage. All of these items are also on the a la carte side, with the exception of the steak, which was only available table d’hôte.

The menu cover is stamped “Received September 14 1939 Manager’s Office Dining Car and Hotel Dep’t.,” indicating that this particular copy sat in a Southern Pacific file for many years.