'Paradise' found: 70-ton elephant at S.F. Port

[Duer 157099]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/02/BAB41FI4PD.DTL&tsp=1

San Francisco's oldest and best-known white elephant - the huge three-dimensional relief map of California that once graced the Ferry Building - has turned up at an undisclosed location on the city's waterfront.

The map was one of the wonders of the West when it was unveiled in 1924.

It was as long as two football fields and showed California in all its splendor, from Oregon to Mexico, with snow-capped mountains, national parks, redwood forests, a glorious coastline, orchards and miniature cities basking in the sun. It was made of plaster, wire, paint, and bits of rock and sand. In the summer of 1924, Scientific American magazine said it was the largest map in the world.

(much more at the link above)

This is so sad! This is a treasure that is sitting in boxes because there's no money or place to put it. A relief map of California that is the length of two football fields!! How I would love to see this.

[mackerel]

1. Me too!