Administration Building, Treasure Island - San Francisco, CA
Posted by: DougK
N 37° 49.031 W 122° 22.260
10S E 555361 N 4185717
This Art Deco building was erected in 1938 as both the administrative center for the Golden Gate International Exposition and the future terminal for the planned San Francisco International Airport.
Waymark Code: WMBK88
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 05/29/2011
Views: 3
Also known as Building 1, this Art Moderne (Art Deco) structure was erected in 1938 as the administrative center for the Golden Gate International Exposition. After the fair this building was to be the terminal for the planned San Francisco International Airport. That never happened.
Upon America's entry into World War II in 1941, the U.S. Navy acquired the use of Treasure Island and Building One became a command and communications center for the duration of the war.
From 1976 until 1997, the lobby of Building 1 was occupied by the Treasure Island Museum. It displayed a collection of artifacts from lighthouses. In addition to the Museum, Building One housed the headquarters of the Navy in San Francisco.
This building is now home to the Treasure Island Development Authority.
From the Library of Congress
The Golden Gate International Exposition of 1939-40 was held to celebrate the monumental achievement of the construction of the Golden Gate and San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridges, but was also designed to help bring the United States out of the Great Depression of the 1930s with a positive show of harmony between nations. The shoals of Yerba Buena Island were chosen as the site of the fair, and also as the location for a future local airport for San Francisco. Appropriately, the Exposition was designed in line with the planned airport. Three permanent buildings were constructed to serve the functions of the Exposition and the airport. The Administration Building (Building 1) would serve as the airport's terminal building, the Hall of Transportation (Building 2) and Palace of Fine and Decorative Arts (Building 3) would serve as hangars. As a result of WWII, the airport was never built. Today, these building are the only extant buildings on Treasure Island that date to the Exposition period.