What's in a name?

Someone recently sent me a link to an area map that purported to show the origins of names for cities found around the SF Bay Area. I was reading the information with interest until I found the entry for my hometown, Pacifica, and read that the reason it is so named is because the town lies along the Pacific Ocean. This is patently false, so I pretty much discounted the rest of the list.

I would like to share how Pacifica (easily 'google-able' info., might I add) was given its name. 

Some months ago I posted about the Diego Rivera mural displayed at a local junior college that had been created for the 1939 World's Fair held on Treasure Island. Along with the mural, the college also has on display sculpture connected to the '39 World's Fair. One such piece, created by San Francisco artist Ralph Stackpole, is a model for Pacifica, an 80 foot beauty displayed on the fair grounds. The most imposing sculpture created for the fair, Pacifica was certain to have been a focal point for visitors. 

Here's Pacifica in all of her eight-storey splendor--

Made of plaster and mesh wire, Pacifica was only ever meant to be on temporary display. When the military took over Treasure Island in 1941, she along with other fair 'left-overs' were destroyed. 

This period postcard shows Pacifica sort of receiving fair-goers. Incidentally, the structures flanking the crowd were designed by San Francisco architect, Timothy Pflueger. A few of his buildings still survive here in town, the Castro Theatre and the Pacific Telephone building among them. 

In 1957, residents of the newly incorporated town voted for the name 'Pacifica' in honor of the sculpture created by Ralph Stackpole. The city's seal, designed a few years later, reflects this choice. 

When I was a kid, I had no idea of any of this. I always thought that the city seal image looked a bit like Medusa. 

So, now you know. Put that in your pipe and smoke it!