1922 Encyclopædia Britannica/San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (see ) increased in pop. during 1910-20 from 416,912 to 506,676 or 21.05%, making it the eleventh city in the United States. The metropolitan district, as designated by the U.S. Census Bureau in 1920, included all the communities in the extensive area surrounding San Francisco bay. This area had in 1910 a pop. of 750,000 and in 1920 1,121,631, being the fifth population centre of the United States.

History.—The opening of the Panama Canal was celebrated, Feb.-Dec. 1915, by the Panama-Pacific International Exposition at San Francisco, representing an investment of $50,000,000. The exhibits, numbering about 80,000, were valued at $300,000,000. Thirty-nine foreign nations and 37 states and three territories of the United States were represented at the exposition. The attendance began with 245,000 on opening day, Feb. 6, rose as high as 348,500 on Nov. 2, San Francisco Day, and reached a total of 18,500,000. The architecture was of a highly varied and monumental character. One of the artistic merits of

the exposition was its effective colour scheme, while the night illumination was extremely ingenious and impressive. In spite of the World War the foreign exhibits were remarkably complete. Financially as well as artistically the exposition was a success. After presenting to the city of San Francisco the auditorium already noted, the exposition authorities had on hand a final net profit of a little more than $1,000,000. The whole enterprise had been undertaken without Government subsidy; the city and state, however, appropriated $5,000,000, while private contributors added $7,500,000 more. Receipts from concessions were $7,809,565 and from admission fees $4,715,523. The beginning of a new era in world trade, which the exposition celebrated in connection with the opening of the Panama Canal, was delayed by the World War, but with the resumption of normal conditions trade increased. Following the prosecutions begun in 1907, corruption in the city government was largely eliminated, but it reappeared, though on a smaller scale, after 1909. The election under a new primary system in 1911 of a mayor and city government opposed to “graft” brought in an era of reform. In Dec. 1911, by an extension of the city charter, members of the police and fire departments were placed under civil service. A number of other charter amendments were made during the decade 1910-20, but there was no material enlargement in the power of the city.
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