For nine months in 1915, Americans engaged in a self-congratulatory celebration. The Panama Pacific International Exposition commemorated the completion of the Panama Canal, which had opened on August 15 the previous year. San Francisco hosted the gathering, which reflected America’s rise as a world power. The fair sprawled across 600 acres and two-and-a-half miles of waterfront. The Avenue of Palms was lined with magnificent new buildings filled with extravagant exhibits. At night, the sky was