RANDAL W. BOROUGH (1878-1951) PORTOLA FESTIVAL / SAN FRANCISCO. 1909.
27 1/2x21 inches, 70x53 1/4 cm. Louis Roesch Co., San Francisco.
Condition A-: minor repaired tears at edges and upper right corner; minor creases and abrasions at edges. Mounted on paper.
While it is uncertain how long it took San Francisco to recover from the devastating earthquake of 1906, the city's business community was ready to announce the return of the great metropolis to the world stage three and a half years and one day after the earthquake. The Portola festival was held, ostensibly, to celebrate the 140th anniversary of Juan Gaspar de Portolá's discovery of San Francisco Bay in October 1769. In reality, the festival was San Francisco's statement to the world that she had been rebuilt and was ready for business. The event was a 5-day international extravaganza which saw the US Pacific fleet as well as many European countries including the British, Germans, Dutch and Italians sending warships to the event. This poster, proudly featuring the clock tower of the ferry building, the city's new skyline and the distant Mt. Diablo, was selected via a competition and was also used as a postcard to promote the event. The success, both financially and culturally, of the enormous civic event has been attributed to San Francisco hosting the Panama Pacific exhibition 6 years later. rare. Northern California pl. 3.