WHERE WORLDS MEET

A four-part series exploring international influences in California design and culture.

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Part 1  | Architecture & Legacy of California's Expositions

Today at Noon!

From the gleaming domes of San Francisco’s Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915) to the Spanish Colonial Revival masterpiece of San Diego’s Panama-California Exposition (1915–1916), and the streamlined modernism of the Golden Gate International Exposition (1939–1940), these monumental fairs introduced new architectural forms and ideas that continue to shape California’s landscape today. We’ll bring together leading historians and preservationists for a visual journey through California’s exposition heritage and its ongoing legacy.

Exposition Image is Public Domain and from the Guide Book of the Panama California Exposition

• Laura Ackley — The Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915): how architects transformed San Francisco into the “Jewel City” and the fair’s lasting influence on urban identity.

• David Marshall — The Panama-California (1915) and California-Pacific (1935) Expositions: Balboa Park’s architectural evolution, preservation efforts, and the enduring spirit of San Diego’s fairgrounds.

• Anne Schnoebelen — The Golden Gate International Exposition (1939–1940): the visionary design of Treasure Island, WPA-era art, and how audiences today can help protect the fair’s threatened remnants.

Part 2 - Palm Springs Tiki & Mid-Century CA Culture

This Thursday!
December 4th, 2025 | 12pm - 1pm (Pacific)

This program explores the evolution of Polynesian Pop and Tiki in California as an imaginative, highly visual, and distinctly mid-century cultural phenomenon. Through the lens of the new publication by co-authors Sven Kirsten and Peter Moruzzi, Palm Springs Tiki, this session will examine the imagery, iconography, and architectural motifs that shaped the movement, as well as the revival of interest and preservation of surviving sites. This open discussion accompanied by images will be moderated by Architect and Historian, Alan Hess to explore the cultural storytelling, visual language, historic context of Tiki’s layered legacy in California pop culture and the built environment.

Top Image is Copyright Artist Shag; Bottom Image Courtesy Chris VerPlanck.

Top Image is Copyright Bobak Ha'Eri;
Bottom Image Courtesy Alexis Doine.

Part 3 - Armenian Architecture and Heritage in CA

Next Tuesday!
Tuesday, December 9th, 2025 | 12pm - 1pm (Pacific)

First, Aram Alajajian will introduce the foundations of Armenian architecture and its traditions, and discuss how this legacy informs his design approach today. He will then highlight his firm’s work, including the Armenian American Museum in Glendale. Next, Paul Halajian will share insight into Armenian communities in Fresno and the Central Valley and present the Armenian Genocide Monument at Fresno State, exploring its conception, symbolism, and cultural significance. This program focuses on how Armenian identity and memory are expressed in architecture across California.

Part 4 - Solvang – Danish Design on the Central Coast

Next Thursday!
Thursday, December 11th, 2025 | 12pm - 1pm (Pacific)

Founded in 1911 by Danish-American educators seeking a new “sunny field” far from Midwestern winters, Solvang grew into one of the most distinctive cultural enclaves in California — a place where Danish folk traditions, timber-frame architectural motifs, rural colony planning, and 20th-century tourism intersect. This panel of speakers from a broad range of backgrounds will look at how Solvang evolved from an immigrant-founded settlement into the celebrated “Danish Capital of America,” and how its buildings, community institutions, and cultural rituals — from half-timbered storefronts to æbleskiver festivals — embody both authentic heritage and the layered storytelling of place-making. The moderated discussion will ask that panel how the city balances preservation, reinvention, and contemporary visitor expectations while honoring its Danish roots.

Top Image is Courtesy Kirk K
Bottom Image Courtesy ChrisGoldNY