Presidio of San Francisco in San Francisco City and County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
The Exposition and the East Hospital
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
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Presidio of San Francisco
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Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, July 26, 2025
1. The Exposition and the East Hospital Marker
Inscription.
The Exposition and the East Hospital. Golden Gate National Recreation Area. San Francisco hosted the Panama Pacific International Exposition (PPIE) in 1915, a world’s fair that celebrated the completion of the Panama Canal by showcasing new technologies including cars, airplanes, telephones and movies. The fair’s international pavilions stood here. After the exposition, all was removed except Bernard Maybeck's domed Palace of Fine Arts which stands as a testament to the fair's grandeur., War and Expansion , When the US. entered World War I, the East Hospital was built here-more than doubling Letterman’s patient facilities. By 1918, this was the Army’s second largest general hospital caring for soldiers wounded in the trench warfare in France., During World War II, Letterman Hospital was the first stateside stop for soldiers returning from the far-flung Pacific Theater, including freed prisoners of war, 60 of whom were U.S. Army nurses captured in the Philippines. Over the years, Letterman Hospital served both soldiers and their families with comprehensive health care and achieved renown for its medical intern programs., Inset left , Aerial view of the Letterman Hospital in 1930. At the center top is old Letterman Hospital, now the Thoreau Center for Sustainability. In the center are O’Reilly Avenue officers’ row and the rectangular Letterman parade ground. In the center is East Hospital, an orderly complex of World War I and II temporary buildings. The East Hospital and parade ground became the site of a new hospital in 1969 which has since been replaced by the Letterman Digital Arts Center. Visible at the far right is part of the Palace of Fine Arts., Inset below , The French pavilion at the PPIE was inspired by the Legion of Honor in Paris and showcased French decorative arts., Inset above , Japan built a three-acre garden here, designed by H. Izawa that used rocks and trees imported from Japan. This view looks east toward Lyon Street and the exposition palaces in the Marina District.
San Francisco hosted the Panama Pacific
International Exposition (PPIE) in 1915, a world’s
fair that celebrated the completion of the Panama
Canal by showcasing new technologies including
cars, airplanes, telephones and movies. The
fair’s international pavilions stood here. After
the exposition, all was removed except Bernard
Maybeck's domed Palace of Fine Arts which stands
as a testament to the fair's grandeur.
War and Expansion
When the US. entered World War I, the East Hospital
was built here-more than doubling Letterman’s
patient facilities. By 1918, this was the Army’s second
largest general hospital caring for soldiers wounded
in the trench warfare in France.
During World War II, Letterman Hospital was the
first stateside stop for soldiers returning from the
far-flung Pacific Theater, including freed prisoners
of war, 60 of whom were U.S. Army nurses captured
in the Philippines. Over the years, Letterman
Hospital served both soldiers and their families with
comprehensive health care and achieved renown for
its medical intern programs.
Inset left
Aerial view of the Letterman Hospital in 1930. At the center top is old Letterman Hospital, now the Thoreau Center for Sustainability. In the center are O’Reilly Avenue officers’ row and the rectangular Letterman
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parade ground. In the center is East Hospital, an orderly complex of World War I and II temporary buildings. The East Hospital and parade ground became the site of a new hospital in 1969 which has since been replaced by the Letterman Digital Arts Center. Visible at the far right is part of the Palace of Fine Arts.
Inset below
The French pavilion at the PPIE was inspired by the Legion of Honor in Paris and showcased French decorative arts.
Inset above
Japan built a three-acre garden here, designed by H. Izawa that used rocks and trees imported from Japan. This view looks east toward Lyon Street and the exposition palaces in the Marina District.
Erected by National Park Service, The Presidio Trust.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Military • Science & Medicine. A significant historical year for this entry is 1915.
Location. 37° 47.959′ N, 122° 26.921′ W. Marker is in San Francisco, California, in San Francisco City and County. It is in Presidio of San Francisco. It can be reached from Letterman Drive. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 Letterman Drive, San Francisco CA 94123, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on California’s Coast Ranges. It is also on the American Pacific Coast. Globally, it is in North America, on the Ring of Fire, in the Pacific Rim, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain and also Mexico’s Alta California.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 18, 2025. It was originally submitted on September 16, 2025, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. This page has been viewed 57 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on September 16, 2025, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
