From K-QED.

If you were living in the United States at the end of the 19th century, it was a tough time.

The country was trying to rebound from an economic depression known as the panic of 1893.

Now one of the tools used to spur a little economic growth back in the day

was to host a World's Fair. A man named Michael H.

Young, who was the publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle, worked on a World's

Fair in Chicago that took place in 1893. It was by all accounts a huge success

drawing millions of visitors and their dollars. De Young was inspired so So he thought, hey, what have we held a fair in San Francisco?

He really wanted to point out that San Francisco was as good as every other city on the east coast.

This is Nicole Meldall, Executive Director for the Western Neighborhoods Project, a nonprofit focused on the history of the west side of San Francisco.

She says DeYoung had some business interests in mind too.

And he also owned a bunch of land in the Sunset District, which was totally undeveloped at the time.

So he thought, why don't we put a mid-winner exposition in Golden Gate Park?

It'll show how good the weather is here in California and also it would be bringing tons of people out here.

You would have to build transportation, all kinds of things that would improve the area nearby property he was hoping to sell.

And so, with the blessing from Congress and local leaders, the California Midwinter International

Exposition of 1894 came to be.

In eight months, organizers transformed a portion of the quiet tree-studded Golden Gate Park into a boisterous fair.

Most of the attractions surrounded the grand court, which you can still see today.

It's that plaza that's between the DeYoung Museum and the California Academy of Sciences.

In the middle of it was what they called the electric tower,

basically a miniature Eiffel Tower, where visitors could get a view over the fair.

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