craig heath has our report. >> reporter: it covered 635 acres, stretching from van nuys in the east to fort plain on the west. from lombard street to the bay on the north. covering all of what is now the marina district and beyond. and all of the 10 months that it ran, the pacific expo drew 18 million people. everyone though it cost 50- cents a person to go in about half a days wages. civic leaders found it a way to show the world that san francisco has recovered after the recession and was once again open for business. president woodrow wilson pushed a button that sent a message to san francisco. flipping a switch that turned on a light. the gate swung open. california governor and san francisco mayor led the throng into the grounds. what awaited them was stunning. the first thing they saw coming through the main entrance was the tower of jewels. 43 stories tall. hung with 100,000 shimmering gloss bobbles. shimmering light to the patrons. through the tower of jewels led the courtyard. it was a fairyland. there were exposition palaces. each devoted to a certain topic. and philadelphia