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During the final months of 1915, a decision was made to continue the Panama-California Exposition for a second year. Prior to the closing of San Francisco's Panama-Pacific International Exposition, on December 4th, plans were finalized to transfer many of the international exhibits to San Diego. The World War made it difficult to return a majority of European exhibits to their home countries, and the exposition in San Diego provided a temporary safe-haven for these displays, a number of which were art treasures. The first 2-1/2 months of 1916 were spent extensively re-arranging building interiors to accommodate the new exhibits, and the completely revised Panama-California International Exposition was dedicated on March 18th. The California State Building, being of permanent fire-proof construction, was utilized for the valuable art exhibits from France and Luxembourg; and many of the building's archaeological exhibits were relocated to the nearby Science and Education Building. The Indian Arts Building was re-named the Russia and Brazil Building, and contained the displays from those two countries. U.S. Forestry, Army, and Navy exhibits were placed in the former Sacramento Valley Counties Building, re-named the United States Government Building; and the adjacent Home Economy Building became the Pan-Pacific Building, and housed displays from Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, Alaska, and the Philippine Islands. 
The former Foreign and Domestic Arts Building was re-named the Foreign Arts Building, and contained the exhibits of Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, India, Persia, Turkey, Egypt, and Japan. The spacious Commerce and Industries Building was cleared of its many domestic exhibits, and transformed into the Canadian Building; one feature of which was a flowing mountain stream stocked with fish and live beaver. Across from the Canadian Building, the former Varied Industries and Food Products Building became the Foreign and Domestic Industries Building, and contained displays from Holland, Switzerland, and several Central American countries, in addition to numerous exhibits from United States manufacturers. The Kansas State Building was converted into an educational center for the Theosophical Institute; and a new Spanish-Colonial style structure was built near the entrance to "The Isthmus", to house the United States Fisheries Exhibit. The former Open-Air Theatre and Tractor Exhibit Building, located at the north end of the Alameda, were replaced with an automobile exhibit and demonstration course; and the Nevada State Building became the U.S. Agricultural and Horticultural Building. 
Decorative fringed-arches were added along the length of "The Isthmus", in addition to several new attractions such as "Elizabeth - The Living Doll" (a midget), Grizzly Gulch (a revised version of the Forty-Nine Camp), Sultan's Harem (a risqué belly-dancing attraction), "Captain" (an educated horse), Alligator Farm (featuring live alligators), Ice Skating Rink (in the former Alhambra Cafeteria building), and the Exposition Zoo (a menagerie of caged wild-animals; which soon became the nucleus of the future San Diego Zoo, formed in late 1916).
The Panama-California Exposition's amusement area was located at the east side of the grounds, parallel to the Alameda, and was known as "The Isthmus". Lining the broad 2,500 foot-long street were more than fifty rides, attractions, and concessions. 
On either side of the main entrance to "The Isthmus" were situated two prominent structures: the Alhambra Cafeteria and the "War of the Worlds". The Alhambra Cafeteria was the largest restaurant on the exposition grounds, and served as an informal dining choice for visitors, 
compared to the more formal Cristobal Café located nearby. The "War of the Worlds", entered through a mock battleship, was a futuristic fantasy attraction simulating a war in the year 2000, in which New York City was destroyed by sophisticated weapons, wielded by Asians and Africans arriving in scores of battleships and airplanes. 
Situated on both sides of "The Isthmus", heading north from the Alhambra Cafeteria and the "War of the Worlds", were scores of other interesting attractions, such as: Neptune's Wonderland (a deep-sea aquarium), Palais du Danse (a dance hall), Temple of Mirth (a fun-house), L.A. Thompson's "Anfalula Land" 
(a 6,000 foot-long racing coaster with a sound apparatus), Forty-Nine Camp (a California pioneer mining camp), Captive Balloon (a tethered hot-air passenger balloon), Oriental Joy Garden (a Japanese-themed retail concession), Gem Mine (a simulated underground mining attraction), California and The Missions (illustrating California's chain of twenty-one Spanish Missions), 
Panama Film Company (showing how motion-pictures were produced), Chinatown (simulating the old Chinese quarter in San Francisco), Hawaii - Old and New (featuring grass-skirted hula-dancers), Cawston Ostrich Farm (containing live ostriches), Toadstool (a circular-motion ride), Panama Canal Extravaganza (demonstrating a 250-foot long working model of the Panama Canal), 
and the Santa Fe Railroad's "Painted Desert" (a spacious enclosure containing pueblos, tepees, and simulated cliff-dwellings, occupied by Indians from the Apache, Navajo, Supai, Tewa, and Tiwa tribes). 
Scattered among the numerous attractions were ice cream, popcorn, peanut, candy, cider, and soda stands; in addition to restaurants featuring Chinese, German, Spanish, and American food. By night, the many fanciful structures located along "The Isthmus" were outlined with a myriad of incandescent bulbs, giving a festive glow to the humanity-thronged street.
The Standard Oil Company Building was located on the east side of the Panama-California Exposition's Alameda, immediately north of the Nevada State Building. The simple tile-roofed structure was entered through an arched entrance arcade, flanked by pairs of unadorned arched and balconied windows. The interior of the building contained extensive exhibits demonstrating the methods by which crude oil was extracted from the ground and refined into various oil products. North of the Standard Oil Company Building was located the exposition's open-air theatre, where agricultural demonstrations and lectures were presented. Adjacent to the open-air theatre, spanning the Alameda, was situated the long and narrow Tractor Exhibit Building and demonstration field.
The Nevada State Building was located north of the Lipton Tea Pavilion and Gardens, on the east side of the Panama-California Exposition's Alameda. The commodious structure was designed in a Spanish-Italian style, and featured plain walls, a multi-arched entrance arcade, large arched windows, and a Mission-tile roof. The Nevada State Building was originally intended to be located across from the Utah State Building, on the Via de los Estados. However, due to delays in construction, the Nevada commissioners decided to place the building along the Alameda, to preserve the extensive landscaping already established on the original site by the time construction was set to begin. Comprehensive exhibits from the State of Nevada filled the building's large interior.
Situated on the east side of the Panama-California Exposition's Alameda, directly across from the International Harvester Company Building, the Lipton Tea Pavilion and Gardens covered an area of approximately one-acre and featured a small cultivated tea plantation. Sir Thomas Lipton was inspired to create the outdoor display after observing the extensive Southern California Model Farm and Citrus Grove that was being established on the exposition grounds; and succeeded in demonstrating tea production from the growing plants to the final preparation of the leaves. A small octagonal pavilion, located at the center of the gardens, was decorated with delicate Spanish-Colonial ornamentation and contained a tea-room where various types of Lipton's teas could be sampled.
The International Harvester Company Building was located on the west side of the Panama-California Exposition's Alameda, immediately north of the Southern California Model Farm and Citrus Grove. The large Spanish-Colonial style structure featured ornate balconied windows, canale-topped buttresses, vine-covered pergolas, and a roof-garden; and the interior housed displays of the company's latest farm equipment and machinery. 
At the rear of the building was situated a model citrus orchard, irrigated with a complete modern irrigation system. West of the citrus orchard was located a large demonstration field, where numerous types of tractors, plows, harrows, cultivators, spreaders, and other farm machinery were shown in operation. The entire International Harvester Exhibit covered an area of five acres.
Situated at the south end of the Panama-California Exposition's Alameda, adjacent to the exposition Fire Station, the Southern California Model Farm and Citrus Grove was an outdoor annex of the Southern California Counties Building. Covering a total area of thirteen acres, the extensive open-air exhibit consisted of a five-acre model farm, a two-acre demonstration field, and a six-acre citrus grove. The centerpiece of the model farm was an eight-room model bungalow, located on the west side of the Alameda, fronted by a spacious lawn. 
The stucco-walled low-roofed bungalow represented the popular style of homes currently being constructed throughout Southern California, and contained a spacious living and dining room, kitchen, pantry, sewing room, two bedrooms, bathroom, and two large screened-porches. At either side of the bungalow were situated large groves of deciduous fruit trees of various types; behind which were located flower and vegetable gardens, a four-room superintendent's cottage, store house, garage, poultry yards, and a field for demonstrating modern farm machinery. 
Located across from the model farm, on the east side of the Alameda, was the model citrus grove which contained numerous varieties of orange, lemon, and grapefruit trees. The entire exhibit demonstrated what could be accomplished within a period of two years on a typical Southern California farm.
During the final months of 1915, a decision was made to continue the Panama-California Exposition for a second year. Prior to the closing of San Francisco's Panama-Pacific International Exposition, on December 4th, plans were finalized to transfer many of the international exhibits to San Diego. The World War made it difficult to return a majority of European exhibits to their home countries, and the exposition in San Diego provided a temporary safe-haven for these displays, a number of which were art treasures. The first 2-1/2 months of 1916 were spent extensively re-arranging building interiors to accommodate the new exhibits, and the completely revised Panama-California International Exposition was dedicated on March 18th. The California State Building, being of permanent fire-proof construction, was utilized for the valuable art exhibits from France and Luxembourg; and many of the building's archaeological exhibits were relocated to the nearby Science and Education Building. The Indian Arts Building was re-named the Russia and Brazil Building, and contained the displays from those two countries. U.S. Forestry, Army, and Navy exhibits were placed in the former Sacramento Valley Counties Building, re-named the United States Government Building; and the adjacent Home Economy Building became the Pan-Pacific Building, and housed displays from Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, Alaska, and the Philippine Islands. 
The former Foreign and Domestic Arts Building was re-named the Foreign Arts Building, and contained the exhibits of Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, India, Persia, Turkey, Egypt, and Japan. The spacious Commerce and Industries Building was cleared of its many domestic exhibits, and transformed into the Canadian Building; one feature of which was a flowing mountain stream stocked with fish and live beaver. Across from the Canadian Building, the former Varied Industries and Food Products Building became the Foreign and Domestic Industries Building, and contained displays from Holland, Switzerland, and several Central American countries, in addition to numerous exhibits from United States manufacturers. The Kansas State Building was converted into an educational center for the Theosophical Institute; and a new Spanish-Colonial style structure was built near the entrance to "The Isthmus", to house the United States Fisheries Exhibit. The former Open-Air Theatre and Tractor Exhibit Building, located at the north end of the Alameda, were replaced with an automobile exhibit and demonstration course; and the Nevada State Building became the U.S. Agricultural and Horticultural Building. 
Decorative fringed-arches were added along the length of "The Isthmus", in addition to several new attractions such as "Elizabeth - The Living Doll" (a midget), Grizzly Gulch (a revised version of the Forty-Nine Camp), Sultan's Harem (a risqué belly-dancing attraction), "Captain" (an educated horse), Alligator Farm (featuring live alligators), Ice Skating Rink (in the former Alhambra Cafeteria building), and the Exposition Zoo (a menagerie of caged wild-animals; which soon became the nucleus of the future San Diego Zoo, formed in late 1916).
