San Francisco prepares for 100th anniversary of World's Fair

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco is getting ready to kick off a year-long celebration to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1915 World's Fair.

ABC7 News was there for final preparations for a community celebration this Saturday at the Palace of Fine Arts, in San Francisco's Marina District. The site was one of the original locations of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

Visitors will be able to see artifacts that were innovative 100 years ago, such as a telephone. People were fascinated by airplanes, which did stunts over the bay. But there was one fatal maneuver involving a San Francisco pilot.

"Did a full loop and came down without sufficient altitude, upside down. The wings sheared off and he dropped into the bay," Anthea Hartig from the California Historical Society said.

The California Historical Society will have its own event honoring the 1915 World's Fair on Sunday. More events are planned at both locations throughout the year.

ABC7 News anchor Cheryl Jennings will host the Community Day celebration at the Palace of Fine Arts this Saturday at noon. The event is free and open to the public.

ABC7 is the official media sponsor of the Panama Pacific International Exposition 100th anniversary celebration. To find out more about what's happening this weekend, and over the next year head to http://www.ppie100.org/.

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