![SFO_Art Smith ( left) with his biplane and fairgoers at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition,](https://stuckattheairport.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/SFO_Art-Smith-left-with-his-biplane-and-fairgoers-at-the-Panama-Pacific-International-Exposition-500x397.jpg)
Art Smith (at left) with his biplane and fairgoers at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco 1915. Courtesy SFO Museum
A new exhibition at San Francisco International Airport displays images of the popular aeronautical programs that were presented at San Francisco’s 1915 World’s Fair – known as the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
![SFO_Lincoln Beachey performing in his biplane over the Panama-Pacific International Exposition grounds,](https://stuckattheairport.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/SFO_Lincoln-Beachey-performing-in-his-biplane-over-the-Panama-Pacific-International-Exposition-grounds-500x480.jpg)
Lincoln Beachey performing in his biplane over the Panama-Pacific International Exposition grounds, San Francisco December 25, 1913 – courtesy SFO Museum
Included in Fancy Flying: Aviation at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition – are twenty-one recently created black and white gelatin silver prints made from the vintage glass plate negatives of the Cardinell-Vincent Company. Many show famous birdmen of the day, including Lincoln Beachey and Art Smith, who performed aerial acrobatics for the crowds.
![SFO_Art Smith performing an illuminated night flight at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition,](https://stuckattheairport.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/SFO_Art-Smith-performing-an-illuminated-night-flight-at-the-Panama-Pacific-International-Exposition-500x395.jpg)
Art Smith performing an illuminated night flight at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco 1915 – Courtesy SFO Museum
Many fairgoers got their first look at an airplane at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition and many paid what was then a considerable sum of money – $10.00 – for an air tour over San Francisco Bay in a floatplane made by the Loughead brothers, who later changed the spelling of their name to Lockheed.
Fancy Flying: Aviation at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition is part of the citywide centennial celebration and is on display in the pre-security area of the SFO International Terminal through August 31, 2015. (Open Sunday to Friday; closed Saturday and holidays).
Can’t get to SFO before August? Here’s a link to an online exhibition of some of the images.