"The Kiss of the Oceans" 1915 Panama Canal Exposition Vintage Repro 16x20 Poster

Description: This vintage-reproduction poster celebrates the Panama Pacific International Exposition in 1915, which was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, U.S., from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, a man-made waterway that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean.The connection of the oceans is celebrated as "The Kiss of the Oceans" in this exposition poster, featuring an artistic representation of the Americas with the oceans kissing at the isthmus of Panama, and "What Every One Should Know" statistics about the size, cost, and other facts about the Panama Canal. ---The Panama Canal is a great milestone, an historic endeavor by modern civilization that was centuries in the making. Given the strategic location of Panama and the potential offered by its narrow isthmus separating two great oceans, other trade links in the area were attempted over the years. The earliest mention of a canal across the Isthmus of Panama occurred in 1534, when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, ordered a survey for a route through the Americas that would ease the voyage for ships traveling between Spain and Peru.Numerous canals were built in other countries in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The success of the Erie Canal in the United States in the 1820s and the collapse of the Spanish Empire in Latin America led to a surge of American interest in building an inter-oceanic canal. Beginning in 1826, US officials began negotiations with Gran Colombia (present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama), hoping to gain a concession for the building of a canal.In 1848, the discovery of gold in California, on the West Coast of the United States, created great interest in a crossing between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans (over land at the time). The route between California and Panama was soon frequently traveled, as it provided one of the fastest links between San Francisco, California, and via a land crossing and further shipping, the East Coast cities. This route was about 40 days' transit in total. Nearly all the gold that was shipped out of California went by this Panama route. The United States initiated construction in 1850 of the Panama Railroad (now called the Panama Railway) to cross the isthmus and it opened in 1855. This overland link became a vital piece of Western Hemisphere infrastructure, greatly facilitating trade and largely determining the eventual canal route, which was made parallel to it.After many years of planning, several shifts of responsibility, and arduous construction, the canal was finally becoming a reality. On October 10, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson sent a signal from the White House by telegraph which triggered the explosion that destroyed the Gamboa Dike. This flooded the Culebra Cut, officially joining the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via the Panama Canal. Alexandre La Valley (a floating crane built by Lobnitz & Company and launched in 1887) was the first self-propelled vessel to transit the canal from ocean to ocean. SS Cristobal (a cargo and passenger ship built by Maryland Steel) on August 3, 1914 was the first ship to transit the canal from ocean to ocean.The construction of the canal was officially completed in 1914, over 400 years after Panama was first crossed by Vasco Núñez de Balboa. The United States spent almost $500,000,000 at the time to finish the project. This was by far the largest American engineering project to date. The canal was formally opened on August 15, 1914, with the passage of the cargo ship SS Ancon.

Price: 14.99 USD

Location: Pacoima, California

End Time: 2025-01-05T00:36:37.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD