SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Where thousands once gathered on Feb 18, 1939 to celebrate the Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) on Treasure Island, only a dozen will stand in ceremony on Feb 18, 2021. But in the same spirit of global unity, the GGIE Pacific Unity Station at and special USPS Building Bridges Postal Cancellation on this historic site can be powerful connections between countries.

San Francisco Postmaster Abraham Cooper will officiate in a ceremony in front of cameras and filmmakers at Treasure Island Museum, One Avenue of the Palms, as part of Peru’s Bicentennial of Independence and the Peruvian Tall Ship Union. The ceremony will open with the world premiere of a Pacific Unity Fanfare composed by trumpet player Rob Dehnlinger at the Treasure Island Museum.

Receiving the ceremonial cache’s and speaking are Consul General of Peru in San Francisco Hernando Torres-Fernández; Treasure Island Museum’s President Mike Hannagan. Pacific Inter-Club Yachting Association (P.I.C.Y.A) Commodore Patti Mangan and Treasure Island Yacht Club Commodore Atta Pilram.  Opening remarks will be given by Karen Earle Lile, creator and designer of this event.

San Francisco has a unique and long-term geographic and cultural relationship with countries that border the Pacific Ocean and the GGIE was created on Treasure Island to celebrate the completion of the Golden Gate and East Bay Bridges.  In 1939, nations along the Pacific Rim built art and pavilions to represent their nations and relationship to the United States.

The Post Office Department issued a 3-cent bright purple stamp on February 18, 1939, to mark the Golden Gate International Exposition, which opened in San Francisco on that date. The design shows the 'Tower of the Sun', one of the outstanding architectural features of the exposition, on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay.

The Building Bridges logo was created by Karen Lile and Kendall Ross Bean in 1994 and was granted to USPS and Building Bridges in 1996 when the USPS-Building Bridges cancellation series began. In 2021, this theme of Building Bridges will continue to cities on both the west and east coast, as postmasters choose to incorporate the Building Bridges logos in special cancellations unique to their cities. The illustration in the rectangle portion of the Feb 18, 2021 postmark includes the Treasure Island Museum logo, the logo of Peru’s Bicentennial of Independence and an illustration of Peru’s Tall Ship Union.  Karen Earle Lile is the Art Director and Executive Producer of the USPS Building Bridges Special Postal Cancellation Series.

MEDIA: We have been informed by Treasure Island Development Authority that media can attend the event and they are not counted in our limit of 12 at a time during the ceremony.  Please contact Karen Earle Lile at 925-360-3527 or karenlile@comteams.com if your media plans to attend in person, so we can notify security.

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