This is a great picture, if only for the presence of all those beautiful, wonderful, brand new 48-star flags!

Since those Pennsylvania-class cruisers spent most of their careers in the Pacific, I hope Pennsylvania got its money back!

Interesting contrast in those cars parked head on in front of the 2nd building. The one white topless car parked amid all the apparently black autos.

Another picture showing the transition from four legs to four wheels and it shows that the auto is winning. BTW, check out that spiffy roadster in white; it stands out like a Rolls at a Yugo Convention.

The ship in the center of the picture appears to be an armored cruiser of the Pennsylvania class. It's quite possibly the USS West Virginia, which was stationed along the West Coast at the time the photo was taken.

The two warships are the USS California and South Dakota (I can't tell which is which, though). These Pennsylvania class armored cruisers were built at the Union Iron Works in San Francisco (the 1906 completion was delayed by the earthquake) and stayed on the west coast most of their early life.

On an historical note, the California will have its named changed to San Diego a year after this image was taken. The ship will then be sunk off of Long Island on July 19, 1918. For the next 80 years historians will argue whether it was hit by a torpedo or a mine from a German submarine, but new evidence has emerged that a German spy planted a bomb onboard.

as a non-resident, and very astute perusal of this scene, what country is it located?

I believe Those two warships in the background are Pennsylvania-class cruisers. They were all stationed on the west coast at that time.

Below is the same view from July of 2000 (scanned from a slide - an art I'm still attempting to grasp). The structure on the left that still stands is the Spreckels Building. Interestingly, American naval power is also contrasted in the two shots. I don't know what ships are in the distance in the 1913 shot, but they can be compared to the USS John C. Stennis which has its fantail visible in the distance in the 2000 view.

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo's discovery of San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542, inspired San Diegans to organize a festival and parade in 1892, a much larger pageant in 1911 as a fundraiser for the 1915 Panama California Exposition, and the four-day Carnaval in September 1913 that this photo commemorates. The 1913 event celebrated the dedication by President Woodrow Wilson of federal land at the tip of Point Loma as the Cabrillo National Monument, overlooking the entrance to the harbor in the upper left corner of the photo. The actual monument would not be built until 1939, but the medal seen here was struck in 1913 for the event. The 1911 celebration featured a lot less less history and a lot more fun, and included the fantasy arrival of "King Cabrillo" at the court of "Queen Ramona." The royal mascot's name is not recorded.

I thought this was a Fourth of July picture until I paid attention to the title. Here's some history on the actual event.

Looks like it was either around Flag Day or Independence Day judging by all the patriotism on display and I will bet that all those flags were not made in China either! Put that in your bong and smoke it!

[Look at the banner in the photo and you'll see that it's September. - Dave]