Temple of Religion and Tower of Peace, 1938-1940

Temple of Religion and Tower of Peace, 1938-1940 collection documents the religious activities at the 1939 Golden Gate Exposition on Treasure Island. Religious leaders in the Bay Area raised $100,000 to construct the two buildings. The San Francisco Temple represented all faiths, unlike the Temple of Religion at the 1938 World's Fair in New York City that only represented Protestants, Catholics and Jews. As involvement in the Second World War seemed increasingly inevitable, the organization sponsored a series of events and lectures on the last eight Sundays of the exposition in 1939 to promote peace and keep America out of the conflict. The exposition was reopened in May 1940 and remained open through the end of September.