Site of First California State Fair
historical marker
Here in San Francisco, you are at the site of the First California State Fair. This inaugural event took place on October 4, 1854. The California State Agricultural Society sponsored the fair to promote the new state's agricultural industry. It featured exhibitions of livestock, agricultural, and mechanical productions. The main exhibition was at the Music Hall on Bush Street, near Montgomery Street, with livestock displays at Mission Dolores. The fair was an itinerant event, moving annually until Sacramento became its permanent home in 1861. In 1973, the State Department of Parks and Recreation, in cooperation with the Grand Parlor, Native Sons of the Golden West, erected a historical marker here. This site marks the historical beginning of California's state fair tradition.