Presentation: Destination San Francisco

Thursday, 10/22/2026
6:00 - 7:30

Suitable for:

Adults

Explore how San Francisco became a global tourist destination through decades of promotional campaigns, from evocative travel posters and airline memorabilia to advertising that shaped the city’s image around the world. It is easy to take the global allure of San Francisco for granted, but “Everybody’s Favorite City” is not an international destination by chance. Quite the opposite: its appeal has been nurtured by decades of promotional efforts to make people from around the world want to come and see what the fuss is all about.

For a fascinating glimpse into how the story has been spun, be on hand as former San Francisco Chronicle design critic John King and SFO Museum curator Samuel Scott dip into the archives of both the museum and the Library's History Center to show how they put together “Destination: San Francisco,” an exhibition on view at the SFO museum’s home in the International Terminal through January of 2027.

It’s quite a story: the commercial airline industry has been a key player in the touristic mythmaking for 90 years, using everything from evocative travel posters to matchbooks and playing cards to stir interest. The city’s convention and visitors’ bureau, meanwhile, launched ad campaigns on all fronts and shifted its messaging to respond to changing times – but never dropping such well-known icons as Golden Gate Bridge and the cable cars from the mix.

5 p.m. - Hand's On History with San Francisco History Center archives

6 p.m. - Presentation by John King and Samuel Scott

Local History

Learn about the San Francisco Bay Area

Community & Neighborhood

Build connections with others in our local programs.

Art, Architecture & Photography

Learn from world-class designers, artists and experts in their fields.

Spotlight

This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

Attending Programs

All programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

Notice: This event may be filmed or photographed. By participating in this event, you consent to have your likeness used for the Library’s archival purposes and promotional materials. If you do not want to be photographed, please inform a staff person or the photographer. A sticker will be provided to help identify you so that we can avoid capturing your image.

Public Notice and Disclaimer

This program uses a third-party website link. By clicking on the third-party website link, you will leave SFPL's website and enter a website not operated by SFPL. This service may collect personally identifying information about you, such as name, username, email address, and password. This service will treat the information it collects about you pursuant to its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of each third-party website or service that you visit or use, including those third parties with whom you interact through our Library services. For more information about these third-party links, please see the section of SFPL’s Privacy Policy describing Links to Other Sites.

The views and opinions expressed in programs presented by groups unaffiliated with SFPL do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SFPL or the City.