1940 – Fair in Forty
During the first year, promoters overestimated the number of visitors who came to the island. Ticket prices were slashed, employees at the Fair were laid off and the exhibitors and business owners were understandably upset. The Fair president and his general manager, Leland Cutler and Harris Connick, were ousted.
photo courtesy of Charles Cushman Collection: Indiana University Archives
Some would say that Cutler and Connick were out of touch with what people craved in the way of entertainment. Cutler leaned more towards the high-brow, and brought in the fine art & flower shows, orchestral music concerts, and a more formal “Sunday best” atmosphere. Meanwhile Connick tussled with business savvy Sally Rand, over franchise rights and whether or not her girls should wear bras. Clearly Connick was out of touch with a paying crowd that would keep coming back.
Cutler was eventually replaced by Marshall Dill, previous president of the Chamber of Commerce. Connick’s replacement was Dr. Charles Henry Strub, head of the Santa Anita Race Track. You’d think the operator of a race track would know a thing or two about attracting crowds. And you’d be right!
Bye-bye classical art and brass bands. Hello socialist painters and Benny Goodman swing time.
The new and improved “Fair in Forty” opened in June of 1940, with new paint, fresh flowers, lower ticket prices, flashier shows, more nakedness. The second year seemed primed for higher revenues than the year before.
It was not to be the case, however. Even the most die-hard optimist couldn’t ignore the escalating war in Europe. Germany was advancing through France, and Norway and Belgium had surrendered. Some pavilions at the Fair closed down, and others became headquarters for war relief.
Despite a valiant effort to bring in more outrageous acts and attractions, everything finally shut down four months later on September 29, 1940. The highlight of the Fair’s revival was a live concert with performances by Judy Garland, Johnny Mercer, and famous American composer, Jerome Kern. The coup d’état was delivered by the frail Irving Berlin as he lead 15,000 spectators in song as they put hearts and minds into the new hymn, “God Bless America.”
Then it was over, and the public shifted all of its attention on war.
Resources:
“An Island and a World’s Fair” by Richard Miller at Sparkletack.com
Reinhardt, Richard. Treasure Island 1939-1940: San Francisco’s Exposition Years. Mill Valley: SQUAREBOOKS, 1978.
Carpenter, Patricia F. & Totah, Paul, editors. The San Francisco Fair: Treasure Island 1939-1940. San Francisco: Scottwall Associates, 1989.
