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Title: The Architecture and Landscape Gardening of the Exposition
A Pictorial Survey of the Most Beautiful Achitectural
Compositions of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition
Author: Louis Christian Mullgardt
Posting Date: November 5, 2011 [EBook #9647]
Release Date: January, 2006
First Posted: October 13, 2003
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GARDENING OF THE EXPOSITION ***
Produced by David A. Schwan
The Architecture and Landscape Gardening of the Exposition
A Pictorial Survey of the Most Beautiful of the Architectural
Compositions of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition
With an Introduction by
Louis Christian Mullgardt
F.A.I.A.
Architect of the Court of Ages
Member of the Architectural Commission of the Exposition
1915
San Francisco
The courtesy of the Cardinell-Vincent Company, official photographers of
the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, of granting permission to
reproduce the selection of official photographs appearing in this
volume, is gratefully acknowledged
To the spirit of Community Loyalty by which greatest results are
accomplished. To generous Collective Energy which unites the world's
people in universal kindliness. To the wholesome people of our San
Francisco, whose united efforts unconsciously disproved the impossible,
this book is affectionately dedicated.
L. C. M.
Reflection
International Expositions are independent kingdoms in their corporate
relation with other countries of the world. They are phantom kingdoms
wherein the people do everything but sleep. They germinate and grow with
phenomenal energy. Their existence is established without conquest and
their magic growth is similar to the mushroom and the moonflower; they
vanish like setting suns in their own radiance. Thousands of neophytes
of every race, creed and color come with willing hearts and hands to do
homage and bear manna to nourish the sinews of a phantom kingdom.
The National Constitution of phantom kingdoms commands that the Spirit
of beauty, refinement, education, culture and frolic shall govern. The
result is that they contain many palaces and shrines decorated with
sculpture and painting and that the earth is studded with fountains and
pools within tropical gardens. Such a Kingdom exists within a wonderful
valley bordering on a great sea. It is surrounded by high velvet hills
of fine contour and by many real cities. As the people look down on this
phantom kingdom from the hill-tops, or from ships sailing on the water,
they see Architecture nestling like flamingoes with fine feathers
unfurled within a green setting.
If building Phantom Kingdoms symbolizes man's highest aims on earth,
then the same is true when building Real Kingdoms. Architecture and the
sister arts are the most reliable barometers in recording human thought.
They are direct exponents of a universal language wherein national
progress is most clearly read.
People who build Phantom Kingdoms look hopefully for universal approval
by all mankind.
L.C.M.
Contents
Reflection. Louis Christian Mullgardt
The Architecture and Landscape Gardening of the Exposition.
Louis Christian Mullgardt
Illustrations
The Rotunda of the Palace of Fine Arts--A View by Night. Hilda Van
Sicklen, photo. (Frontispiece)
Panorama--Exposition from Presidio Heights. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Tower of Jewels--The Illumination by Night. J. L. Padilla, photo
Fountain of Energy--A View in the South Gardens. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Festival Hall--South Gardens and Mermaid Pool. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Festival Hall--The Terrace and Colonnade. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Festival Hall--Mermaid Pool in the Mist. Jesse T. Banfield, photo
Palace of Horticulture--The Dome and East Entrance. W. Zenis Newton,
photo
Palace of Horticulture--Dome and Spires by Night. James M. Doolittle,
photo
Palace of Horticulture--The Colonnade on the East. W. Zenis Newton,
photo
Horticultural Gardens--Floral Exhibit in the Open
Avenue of Palms--View from Administration Avenue. W. Zenis Newton,
photo
Palace of Education--Main South Portal. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Palace of Education--One of the Minor Entrances. Pillsbury Pictures
Court of Palms--The Sunken Pool by Night. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Court of Palms--Portal, Palace of Education. Jesse T. Banfield, photo
Court of Palms--Portal, Palace of Liberal Arts. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Court of Palms--Italian Tower from Main Portal. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Court of Palms--In the Colonnade by Night. William Hood, photo
Court of Palms--A Curve in the Colonnade. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Palace of Liberal Arts--Portal, From the South Gardens.
Cardinell-Vincent, photo
Palace of Liberal Arts--The Tower of Jewels by Night. J. L. Padilla,
photo
Palace of Liberal Arts--Elephant Fountain Niche by Night.
W. Zenis Newton, photo
The Tower of Jewels--The Great Roman Archway. W. Zenis Newton, photo
The Tower of Jewels--Colonnade, The Fountain of Youth.
W. Zenis Newton, photo
The Palace of Manufactures--Portal, From the South Gardens.
W. Zenis Newton, photo
Court of Flowers--Fountain, Beauty and the Beast. J. L. Padilla, photo
Court of Flowers--Portal of Varied Industries. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Court of Flowers--A Vista in the Colonnade. William Hood, photo
Court of Flowers--Italian Tower from Colonnade. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Court of Flowers--The Friendly Lion at the Portal. Jesse T. Banfield,
photo
Palace of Varied Industries--Main Portal. Cardinell-Vincent, photo
Avenue of Palms--The South Facade by Night. Cardinell-Vincent, photo
Avenue of Progress--The Fine Vista to the Marina. W. Zenis Newton,
photo
Machinery Hall--The Central Arch in the Portal. W. Zenis Newton,
photo
Machinery Hall--The Colonnade in the Portal. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Machinery Hall--One of the Minor Entrances. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Palace of Mines--A Lamp Niche in the Court. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Court of Ages--The Tower by Night Illumination. William Hood, photo
Court of Ages--The Fountain of Earth. Pillsbury Pictures
Court of Ages--The Garden of Hyacinths. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Court of Ages--A Glimpse from the Colonnade. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Court of Ages--A Vista in the Colonnade. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Court of Ages--The Tower through North Aisle. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Florentine Court--Palace of Transportation. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Court of the Universe--Through Three Great Arches. W. Zenis Newton,
photo
Court of the Universe--Triumphal Arch, The Setting Sun. W. Zenis Newton,
photo
Court of the Universe--Triumphal Arch, The Rising Sun.
Court of the Universe--Fountain of the Rising Sun. Pillsbury Pictures
Court of the Universe--Fountain of the Setting Sun. W. Zenis Newton,
photo
Court of the Universe--The Fountain Pool and Tower. James M. Doolittle,
photo
Court of the Universe--Corinthian Colonnade and Gardens
Court of the Universe--In the Promenade by Night. Jesse T. Banfield,
photo
Court of the Universe--A Niche and Urn by Night. Jesse. T. Banfield,
photo
Palace of Transportation--In the Corinthian Colonnade. W. Zenis Newton,
photo
Venetian Court--Palace of Agriculture. James M. Doolittle, photo
Court of the Four Seasons--The Night Illumination. William Hood, photo
Court of the Four Seasons--The Great Half Dome. Jesse T. Banfield,
photo
Court of the Four Seasons--The Western Archway. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Court of the Four Seasons--One of the Colonnade Murals.
W. Zenis Newton, photo
Court of the Four Seasons--The Ionic Columns. Jesse T. Banfield, photo
Court of the Four Seasons--The Colonnade and Lawn. W. Zenis Newton,
photo
Court of the Four Seasons--The North Colonnade by Night.
W. Zenis Newton, photo
Palace of Food Products--The Portal from the Gardens.
W. Zenis Newton, photo
Palace of Food Products--A Detail of the Main Portal. W. Zenis Newton,
photo
The Esplanade--North Facade, Column of Progress. W. Zenis Newton, photo
North Facade--A View from the Bay. Pillsbury Pictures
Palace of Food Products--A View from the Fine Arts Laguna.
Jesse T. Banfield, photo
Palace of Education--A View from the Fine Arts Laguna.
Cardinell-Vincent, photo
Palace of Education--The Half Dome of Philosophy. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Palace of Education--The Fountain in the Portal. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Administration Avenue--The Fine Arts Laguna
Palace of Fine Arts--The Rotunda and Laguna. Jesse T. Banfield, photo
Palace of Fine Arts--The Rotunda and Peristyle. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Palace of Fine Arts--The Peristyle and Laguna
Palace of Fine Arts--In the Peristyle Walk. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Palace of Fine Arts--The Rotunda from the Peristyle. W. Zenis Newton,
photo
Palace of Fine Arts--The Peristyle Walk by Night. Jesse T. Banfield,
photo
Palace of Fine Arts--A Fountain in the Laguna. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Palace of Fine Arts--A Picturesque Garden Fountain. Jesse T. Banfield,
photo
Palace of Fine Arts--The Garden and Fountain of Time. Jesse T. Banfield,
photo
California Building--Bell Tower and Forbidden Garden.
California Building--The Arches of the Colonnade. W. Zenis Newton, photo
California Building--A Vista in the Colonnade. W. Zenis Newton, photo
California Building--The Forbidden Garden. Hilda Van Sicklen, photo
California Building--The Semi-Tropical Garden. W. Zenis Newton, photo
Netherlands Pavilion--As Seen from the Laguna. Pillsbury Pictures
Italian Pavilion--The Piazzetta Venetia. Cardinell-Vincent, photo
Italian Pavilion--In the Court Verrochio. James M. Doolittle, photo
Avenue of the Nations--Tower of Sweden's Pavilion. W. Zenis Newton,
photo
The Esplanade--A View of the Foreign Pavilions. W. Zenis Newton, photo
The Esplanade--A View of the State Buildings. W. Zenis Newton, photo
The Zone--A Holiday Gathering The Zone
The Bizarre Decorations. J. L. Padilla, photo
The Fireworks--Star Shells and Steam Battery. Jesse T. Banfield, photo
Zone Salvo--The Final "Big Noise." Jesse T. Banfield, photo
The Architecture and Landscape Gardening of the Exposition
The Architecture & Landscape Gardening
When San Francisco was destroyed by fire in 1906, many people predicted
that the city would never be rebuilt. A great number of men and women
packed their goods and chattels and hastily bade farewell to the still
smoking ruins of a City That Was, firmly believing that destiny had
determined that it should remain forever buried in its own ashes.
There was another class of men and women who were optimists. They
predicted that the city would be rebuilt, but that it would require from
twenty to thirty years.
There was still another class of men and women who knew by observation
that it required no more time to build ten buildings than one, provided
the Spirit of Energy and Determination existed, to fortify the desire.
We all know now that the Spirit of Energy and Determination did abound
in San Francisco--that the City did not remain buried in its own ashes,
and that it did not require from twenty to thirty years to rebuild it.
The City was not only rebuilt in less than ten years, but, in addition
thereto, an International Exposition, surpassing all previous
Expositions, was built by its people.
San Francisco wisely selected for the location of this International
Exposition what seemed to many to be an impossible site, for it was
disorderly and uninteresting to look at. But the site was appropriately
situated on the shores of San Francisco Bay--beautiful in its
surroundings and most convenient alike to its citizens and visitors. It
consisted of a pond and a strip of waste land and marsh land, apparently
destined to remain unfilled and unorderly for years to come. The People
of Energy, Determination and Desire have also made this strip of waste
land permanently available.
The arrangement of this Exposition is distinctive because of its Court
Plan. Eight Palaces seemingly constitute a single structure, containing
five distinct courts or places for large public gatherings, which are
open to the sky.
This colossal group of buildings, consisting of the Palaces of
Education, Food Products, Agriculture, Liberal Arts, Manufactures,
Transportation, Mines, and Varied Industries, is terminated east and
west by Machinery Hall and the Palace of Fine Arts. To the south of this
group, and on the lateral axis of the two end courts, are the Palace of
Horticulture and Festival Hall. This group of eight buildings, with its
Tower of Jewels, and the separate buildings, Festival Hall, the Palace
of Horticulture, the Palace of Fine Arts and Machinery Hall, constitute
the main structures.
The buildings and gardens of Foreign Countries and of the States of the
Union adjoin, at their western termination, the thirteen main structures
erected by the Exposition Company. Still further west, are the Livestock
Barns and Poultry Houses. The Aviation, Military and Polo Fields,
including the Race Course, occupy the extreme end of the site. The
amusement section, "The Zone," extends for a distance of seven city
blocks eastward from the main group.
President C. C. Moore of the Exposition first appointed an Advisory
Architectural Board, in the fall of 1911, consisting of Messrs. Willis
Polk, Clarence R. Ward, John Galen Howard, Albert Pisses and William
Curlett. This Advisory Board was succeeded by an Architectural
Commission, consisting of Messrs. Willis Polk, Chairman, Clarence R.
Ward, W. B. Faville, George W. Kelham, Louis Christian Mullgardt (all of
San Francisco), Robert D. Farquhar of Los Angeles, McKim, Mead and
White, Carrere and Hastings, and Henry Bacon (all of New York); Messrs.
Bakewell and Brown and Bernard R. Maybeck were subsequently commissioned
as Exposition Architects. The first named nine architects constituted
the permanent Architectural Commission which recommended to the Board of
Directors the General Plan of the Exposition, which was substantially
followed as a guide to the results accomplished.
Three important elements in the design of an Exposition are represented
by Planting, Sculpture, Color and Decoration. The Chiefs of these
Departments were selected by the Architectural Commission at its second
conference, August, 1912; John McLaren, of San Francisco, was appointed
to the important position of Landscape Engineer; Karl Bitter and A.
Stirling Calder of New York were appointed chief and assistant chief of
the Department of Sculpture; Jules Guerin, of New York, became chief of
the Department of Color and Decoration. The Chiefs of these departments
attended the architects' conferences and collaborated in their
deliberations.
Another very important element in the design of this Exposition was
represented by the Department of Travertine Texture, for the proper
manipulation of colored plastic materials to give correct surface
expression to all buildings and sculpture. This department was placed
under the direction of Paul E. Denivelle of New York. The element of
Texture as embodied in the construction of this Exposition, has again
emphasized its general importance in plastic architecture.
The Marina
The north side of the main group is flanked by a greensward, called the
Marina, which skirts the bay. This enormous green carpet is bordered by
walks and roadways. The Marina affords excellent opportunity for
thousands of people to view special attractions offered daily along the
waterfront. War vessels and pleasure crafts are always just beyond the
low Marina wall. An uninterrupted view of the bay and its northern coast
line of hills and mountains, extending from the Golden Gate, west to
east, as far as eye can reach, is here obtained under most favorable
conditions. No one will ever forget the wonderful panorama which this
Exposition faces.
The South Gardens
Flanking the south side of the main group is the marvelous Avenue of
Palms, which appears to have existed always. It was established A. D.
1914, by John McLaren, Landscape Engineer, as part of the most colossal
system of successful transplanting ever undertaken in the history of the
world. The South Gardens adjoin the Avenue of Palms and extend to the
Exposition enclosure along the south boundary line, where a wall fifty
feet high and ten feet wide has been erected of a solid green moss-like
growth, studded with myriads of tiny pink star-like blossoms. This great
wall is perforated by simple arched masonry entrances, leading rough the
richly planted foreground formed by the South Gardens.
Basins of reflecting blue waters extend to the right and left of a
central fountain of colossal proportions. The basins themselves are
punctuated at their east and west ends by fountains of subordinate size,
back of which are Festival Hall to the right and the Palace of
Horticulture to the left, as we enter the green wall portals from the
city of San Francisco beyond. To the south and west of the Foreign
Countries, States Buildings and Gardens, a graceful contour of hills
extends, sloping onward to Golden Gate, and having a coxcomb of pine and
eucalyptus. Broad vistas of city, forests, water, hills and mountains
present themselves at every point. Gray, green, blue and lavender vistas
come into view through portal, colonnade, and arch.
The Palace of Fine Arts
This impressive unit faces the rising sun with its colorful facade. The
plan of this composite structure suggests the Star and Crescent of
Mohammed. The architecture shows a free interpretation of early Roman
forms. It is, in fact, a purely romantic conception by Architect
Maybeck, entirely free from traditional worship or obedience to
scholastic precedent. Its greatest charm has been established through
successful composition; the architectural elements have been arranged
into a colossal theme of exceptional harmony, into which the interwoven
planting and the mirror lake have been incorporated in a masterly way.
The entire composition bespeaks the mind of a romanticist, whose
productions are swayed more by nature's glories than by scholastic
tradition.
The Palace of Horticulture
The appearance of this building so clearly expresses its purpose that a
definition of style promptly suggests the title of Horticultural
Architecture. Its decorative spire-like finials resemble the cypress and
poplar. The clusters of floral ornaments and festoons reflect one of the
fundamental purposes of decorative glory to which all plant life has
been decreed. The bulblike glass dome is like an enormous dewdrop of
beautiful proportions and iridescent color. All this beauty was
conceived by Architects Bakewell and Brown, who have given full evidence
of their appreciation of the purposes to which this Palace was assigned.
Festival Hall
This structure counterbalances the Palace of Horticulture at the east
end of the South Gardens. Mr. Farquhar's interpretation of Italian
Renaissance in this interesting building is replete with charming
detail; it is truly expressive of its festival purposes. It is seen to
best advantage when reflected in the South Garden Pool, from the circle
surrounding the Fountain of Energy, and from the Court of Flowers.
The Palace of Machinery
This colossal structure of Roman type was designed by Architects Ward
and Blohme. It dignifies the east end of the main composition in a most
impressive manner. Its general character is similar to the Roman baths
of Caracalla. The vestibules are particularly impressive, when viewed
longitudinally. The interior Roman vaulting, formed by myriad trusses,
is similarly impressive in form and scale to the interiors of renowned
existing Basilicas. The surrounding tree, shrub and flower planting
along the simple outer walls is rhythmically consistent with the Roman
niches and entrances and lends added charm to the dignity of this
tremendous structure. The cornices are especially noteworthy in their
detail, scale and proportion.
Outer Walls of the Group of Eight Palaces
The impressive simplicity of the outer walls is enhanced by a succession
and variety of portals, niches and arcades of Spanish and Italian origin
of great beauty. The simple dignity of the plain travertine wall
surfaces is heightened by tile-covered cornices terminated by pavilions.
A rich foreground of rhythmic planting of trees, shrubbery and flowers,
emphasizes the unity of the eight palaces, the corporate purposes of
which have been so successfully interpreted by Architects Bliss and
Faville.
The typical domes surmounting the eight palaces also express the
similarity of purpose for which these palaces are intended. In depicting
the industrial arts, these domes lend an Oriental expression to the
entire composition, consistent with the citadel character of the general
scheme. The banner poles, with their Oriental streamers, and the
illuminating standards, set in the foreground planting of the outer
walls, lend a consistent festive character to these long facades.
The Tower of Jewels
The appellation "of jewels" became an addition to the original title,
after the Tower was thus gorgeously arrayed. The Tower was contemplated
in conjunction with the main group of palaces, as a clue to the
composition, and as of vital importance to the general plan. Its
composite architecture can best be defined as of White and Yellow Race
derivation. It clearly indicates a mingling of the architectural
characteristics of the people of the entire world, as the architects,
Carrere and Hastings, probably intended. It gives definite expression to
the international purposes for which this Exposition is designed. The
jewel enrichments add effectively to its Oriental regal display. The
Tower constitutes an indispensable integral in the unit composition. It
appears to best advantage under the mysterious effects produced by Mr.
Ryan's night illumination.
The Court of the Four Seasons
This dignified, restful court of Roman classic character, designed by
Architect Henry Bacon, expresses the Season theme perfectly. The
alcoves, which symbolize the Four Seasons, are admirably conceived in
their relation to the entire composition. The arched side approaches of
the colonnades and the colossal Roman niche at the south end together
form a glorious composition which has been greatly enhanced by the
arrangement of planting by Mr. Bacon.
The Court of the Universe
This colossal court of oval form, including the Avenue stretching to the
Marina, is fundamentally Roman in architectural character, the style
being largely attributable to its splendid Colonnade and Triumphal
Arches. Its architectural style is also sympathetic to the Orient of the
Far East along the Mediterranean, owing to its domed pavilions. The oval
Sunken Garden is thickly planted with Hydrangeas, which constitute one
of the most gorgeous displays at the Exposition. The Tower of Jewels and
the Column of Progress at the North and South ends of this wonderful
Court serve as integrals. McKim, Mead and White are the architects of
this most important of all the Courts.
The Courts of Flowers and Palms
These two delightful courts, designed by Architect George W. Kelham, are
like great alcoves in the south wall of the main group. The Court of
Flowers faces Festival Hall, whereas the Court of Palms faces the Palace
of Horticulture. Each court is flanked at its outer angles by towers,
which form an indispensable element in the south facade and in the
courts themselves. The general style is Italian Renaissance, suggestive,
in the detail of its decoration and planting, of the symbolic intent of
these courts. They are an important factor in the south facade of the
main group.
The Court of Ages
This court is designed as an historical expression of the world's growth
from infancy. It consists of a continuous arcade and vaulted ambulatory
along four sides, and an altar-tower on its northern axis.
The decorative motives employed on the surrounding arcade are of
conventionalized forms of prehistoric plant and animal life, expressive
of evolution. The altar-tower and fountain symbolize the human and
animal passions of the theme.
The Gothic type of architecture of this court has not been accredited to
any preceding period. Its general character supposedly resembles Spanish
or Portuguese Gothic more closely than any other known style.
The Court, including its avenue extending to the Marina, was designed
and modeled by the writer of this article, Louis Christian Mullgardt.
Over six hundred acres are comprised in the elongated site on which the
Exposition stands. Millions of people from all parts of the world have
made pilgrimage to this realm of phantasy, and many thousands more are
on their way, determined to bask in the radiance of Good Will toward All
Mankind, which this Mecca of Peace, Enlightenment, Beauty, and
Inspiration for a better and greater future gives forth. Its purposeful
influence is destined to serve perpetually beneficent cause in the
furtherance of unified international humanitarianism after the ephemeral
vision of this Phantom Kingdom has vanished.
L. C. Mullgardt.
Illustrations and Descriptive Notes of the Architecture and Landscape
Gardening of the Exposition
Panorama
Exposition from Presidio Heights
From the vantage point of Presidio Heights, one may see this panorama of
the Exposition and catch the symmetry of arrangement in the walls of the
palaces, in the graceful lines of the towers and in the impressive
contour of the domes. The effect is largely due to the ground plan,
distinguished for its balance and poise, which was designed by Mr.
Willis Polk and Mr. Edward Bennett.
The main palaces, eight in number, are built around three courts,
producing an admirable compactness and unity. To the west of this
central block of buildings, is the Palace of Fine Arts, and to the east,
Machinery Hall. The Palace of Horticulture and Festival Hall are located
in the great South Gardens. The Zone lies in the extreme eastern wing of
the grounds, and the corresponding section to the west is devoted to the
Pavilions of the Foreign Nations and of the States of the Union.
Tower of Jewels
The Illumination by Night
The Tower of Jewels, designed by Carrere and Hastings of New York City,
is the centralizing and dominating feature of the Exposition. In its
colossal dimensions and in the imposing dignity of its position and
conception, it seeks to embody, in one triumphal memorial, the
importance to the entire world of the opening of the Panama Canal; while
in architecture, sculpture, mural painting, decorative ornament and
inscribed tablet, it celebrates, in varying form, the glory of
achievement.
Classic influences inspired the great, central Roman arch, with its
massive colonnades on either side and the Corinthian and Doric columns,
repeated on successive tiers to the globe, upborne by four giant
Atlases, which crowns the apex; but the spirit of conquest and
discovery, which vitalizes the sculptured figures and mural paintings,
is modern in its expression and in its historical fidelity.
The Tower takes its name from the thousands of many-colored jewels so
cut, polished and suspended that they reflect the sunshine with dazzling
brilliancy by day and at night, under the white radiance of the
searchlights, clothe the whole structure with shimmering splendor.
Fountain of Energy
A View in the South Gardens
It was a great undertaking to transform the waste acres of marsh and
mudflats into a garden which would be an appropriate setting for the
Exposition palaces. Its success was due to Mr. John McLaren, whose
reputation as a landscape gardener had long ago been established by his
work at Golden Gate Park.
Passing through the Scott Street Entrance, one sees first the South
Gardens, the really spectacular feature of which is the Fountain of
Energy, designed by A. Stirling Calder. Flanking this main fountain are
the two smaller fountains crowned by the graceful mermaids designed by
Arthur Putnam. With their lovely pools and the splendor of gushing
waters, these three serve as the motif for the formal plotting of the
South Gardens.
Monterey pines and cypress, with acacia and a variety of flowering
shrubs, are grouped with fine effect. Balustrades, ornamented with
plant-filled urns, set off the great beds in which flora from widely
separated parts of the world have been used. The successive plantings of
flowers keep the gardens in continuous bloom--daffodils, tulips,
pansies, begonias, dahlias, each in their turn.
Festival Hall
South Gardens and Mermaid Pool
At the eastern end of the South Gardens, south of the Avenue of Palms
and directly opposite the Court of Flowers which breaks the facade of
the main group of buildings between the Palaces of Varied Industries and
of Manufactures, stands Festival Hall, designed to furnish a center for
the Exposition conventions and musical festivals. From its character,
the building takes not only its name, but its architectural and
decorative treatment. It was designed by Robert Farquhar of Los Angeles.
The building, in its charm of line and the dignity and grace of its
proportions, reflects the best mood of the French Renaissance. The great
dome, with the smaller corner domes, suggests the Theatre des Beaux Arts
in Paris. The graceful curve of the main portal, the Ionic columns, the
decorative corridors and the fine entrances are harmoniously and
effectively developed. All the sculpture, which is the work of Sherry E.
Fry of Iowa, is classic in conception and happily sympathetic in its
suggestion of festivity or in its lyric quality. The floral scheme, in
its, lavish massing of bloom and rich color, enhances the attractiveness
of the building.
Festival Hall
The Terrace and Colonnade
The rounding sweep of portico and pillar reveals the architectural style
of Festival Hall. In the sculpture and decorative friezes, an effect of
airiness has been achieved. Through the graceful arches, formed by Ionic
columns, one notes the impressive windows, showing the French influence.
The cupola, topped by the slender figure of the "Torch-Bearer," gives an
inviting charm to the side entrance, considered ornate but in accord
with the architectural design of the Palace. The site of Festival Hall
is somewhat raised and the slopes that lead down to the Avenue of Palms
are in terraces of velvety lawn, broken by wide flights of steps. On
either side of the main stairway are two sculptural groups, the "Flower
Girl," before which, on one side, is placed an enticing "Pan" and on the
other, a shy, girlish figure partially concealed in the shrubbery.
Festival Hall
Mermaid Pool in the Mist
The skillful use of pools in which is secured the charming reflection of
palaces and architectural structures, with the softening accompaniment
of trees and shrubbery, is one of the pleasant features of the
Exposition.
There is enchantment in a foggy day, for one sees as in a dream, lovely
vistas of courts, glimpses through consecutive arches, and always the
charm of mirroring pools and lagoons, where, should there be no wind,
the reflected image makes as perfect a picture as the mist-enshrouded
original.
Palace of Horticulture
The Dome and East Entrance
The huge dome, constructed almost entirely of glass, upon a framework of
steel, is the prominent feature of the Palace of Horticulture. It is
French Renaissance, influenced by Byzantine, and its proportions (it is
one hundred and fifty-two feet in diameter and one hundred and
eighty-two feet high) are almost perfect. The spires and porticos, the
colonnades and entrances are replete with rococo decorations. There are
garlands of girls used in the friezes at the base of the minarets,
caryatides repeated in the vestibules, and everywhere a wealth of
ornamentation suggestive of a bountiful harvest. The brilliancy of
design is heightened by the color scheme of green and ivory used upon
the lattice work and travertine material. Messrs. Bakewell and Brown of
San Francisco are the architects.
Palace of Horticulture
Dome and Spires by Night
At night, when the powerful searchlights within the dome are played upon
the translucent glass, the effect is magical, the reflections weirdly
changing in color and shape. The rich details of the decorations are
softened in the night light. The slender shafts of the obelisks
accentuate the vast proportions of the dome. Even the rare color
combinations, which add so much to the appearance of the Palace of
Horticulture by day, are scarcely dimmed beneath the artificial
lighting. Minarets and sculptured friezes and the floral designs so
abundantly used in the decoration are seen in fairy-like grace.
Of this beautiful building Mr. Edwin Markham has written: "I looked at
the dome of the Palace of Horticulture and saw strange colors at play
within its dark green depths. Circles and clefts of blue and red and
green shifted, faded and returned like hues within a fiery and living
opal. It was the workshop of a maker of moons, who cast his globes aloft
in trial flights."
Palace of Horticulture
The Colonnade on the East
The caryatides, which are placed in pairs along the corridors of the
Palace of Horticulture, were designed by John Bateman of New York. The
balustrades, together with the ornamentations of garlands of fruits and
flowers, convey the joyous note of a carnival. The ceiling of the
porches is studded with domes, grilled with green latticework. From the
center of these airy skylights are suspended lamps which, by night,
convert the corridors into brilliantly lighted promenades.
Horticultural Gardens
Floral Exhibit in the Open
The Horticultural Gardens, lying south and west of the Palace of
Horticulture, are, in reality, exhibit gardens, where much of the
display belonging to the Palace itself is placed. While the decorative
quality is here less emphasized than the more educational and technical
phases of horticulture, the gardens are at all times lovely with a
luxuriance of bloom and with the effective massing of trees and shrubs.
The display covers an area of eight acres, and experienced gardeners
have united to develop the flora exhibited to a high degree of
perfection. The Netherlands Gardens, the Rose Garden, with its
International Rose Contest, the California Garden and others have
contributed a perpetual rotation of flowering plants and shrubs in great
variety and with a profusion of brilliant color. In the Forestry Court
adjoining, Bernard Maybeck, the architect of the Palace of Fine Arts,
has built a lumbermen's lodge of massive, rough-barked, redwood logs,
but of the same charm of design and harmonious beauty of proportion
which characterize his greater work.
Avenue of Palms
View From Administration Avenue
Looking down the Avenue of Palms from Administration Avenue, a
delightful picture is presented. Double rows of palms border either side
of the Avenue, with ferns, and blossoming nasturtiums and geraniums
planted directly in the interstices of the roughened trunks. The walls
of the palaces are embowered in eucalyptus, acacia and cypress trees.
Add to this the effect of gaily decorated flagpoles, with pennants and
banners afloat in the breeze, and the half-mile boulevard is
exhilarating to behold.
Many of the shrubs and trees are common to all the palaces, but each
building has been allotted a different collection of flowers and
foliage-plants to add a distinctive color tone to the facade. When one
examines the general sweep of the palace walls facing the Avenue,
certain architectural units are noticed. Centering each building is a
low dome of Byzantine design, with green roof and warm pink sides. On
the corners smaller domes break the monotony of straight lines. The
Tower of Jewels and the four Italian Towers complete the inspiring
"walled-city" effect.
Palace of Education
Main South Portal
The Palace of Education forms the southwest unit of the main group of
buildings and fronts on the Avenue of Palms and Administration Avenue.
To W. B. Faville of San Francisco was entrusted the entire exterior wall
which unites in one immense rectangle the eight palaces of the main
group. A plain cornice, edged with tiles, binds the upper rim
throughout. With great simplicity and restraint, the wall spaces are
kept bare of ornament, depending for relief on carefully spaced portals,
niches and wall fountains.
The south facade of the Palace of Education is broken by three beautiful
doorways, of which the central is the largest and most richly decorated.
The distinctive feature of the main portal is the tympanum in relief by
Gustav Gerlach of New York, which pictures the various stages of
education from the mother in the home, through the adolescent period, to
maturity, when the student is self-taught. Below is the book of
knowledge, the curtains of darkness drawn back that the light may
radiate from its open pages. Above the portal's curve is a globe,
typifying the world-wide scope of the exhibit within.
Palace of Education
One of the Minor Entrances
The main portal of the Palace of Education is flanked on either side by
a smaller entrance partaking of the same beauty of design, along
slightly simpler lines, so that, while preserving a distinct
individuality, these minor entrances enhance and enrich the main doorway
and the three form a unit in their decorative treatment. The style is
Spanish Renaissance, inspired by ancient models, and modified by
Byzantine influences. All three show the twisted Byzantine column, those
of the main entrance being more ornate. The flat, sculptured panels in
relief above the smaller portals, by Charles Peters and Cesare Stea,
respectively, both deal with educational subjects. The classic vases on
either side of the entrances add grace and dignity, while the latticed
doorways, used throughout the Exposition architecture, here effectively
emphasize the Moorish note. The planting of trees and shrubs is nowhere
happier than about these doorways, with the rose and mauve and smoke
tones of the fresh eucalyptus growth against the ivory-tinted wall and
the profusion of flowers and shrubs massed below.
Court of Palms
The Sunken Pool by Night
Of the five chief courts of the main architectural ensemble, the two
minor courts, the Court of Palms and the Court of Flowers, while lacking
the more imposing size, dignity and symbolism of the three interior
courts, largely compensate by their sense of intimacy, warmth and quiet
charm. With their sheltered location and sunny atmosphere, due to
southern exposure, and with the enchantment of architecture, sculpture,
painting, color and landscape effects with which they are richly
endowed, they are not only joyous and satisfying, but restful in an
unusual combination and degree. Both courts were designed by George W.
Kelham of San Francisco.
The Court of Palms lies between the Palace of Education and the Palace
of Liberal Arts; enclosed on the third or north side by the Court of the
Four Seasons, it is open on its southern exposure to the Avenue of Palms
and the Palace of Horticulture which lies directly opposite. It is a
long oval in shape, its proportions well balanced, and its effect of
dignity and quiet accented by the two sunken pools and the effective
planting of palms from which the court takes its name.
Court of Palms
Portal, Palace of Education
In architecture, the Court of Palms is Italian Renaissance. The entire
length of its oval is encircled by a colonnade, pierced by three deep
portals which are identical in treatment and which are especially fine
examples of the Roman arch. Their dignity is enhanced by the Italian
cypresses which flank them on either side. The portals open respectively
into the Palace of Education on the west, the Palace of Liberal Arts on
the east and the Court of the Four Seasons on the north. The colonnade
is bordered by massive Ionic columns of smoked ivory, which in the
entrances deepen into Sienna marble. The plain cornice which
characterizes the outer walls of the exhibit palaces here takes on a
richer ornamentation to conform to the ornate treatment of the Court,
while it retains the parapet of red Spanish tiles above. Between the
cornice and the columns is a wide and richly decorated attic or frieze
where much of the detail and color which help to make the charm of the
Court are massed.
Court of Palms
Portal, Palace of Liberal Arts
The sympathy between architect, sculptor and colorist is nowhere shown
to better advantage than in the richly decorated frieze surrounding the
Court of Palms. Panels of veined marble in browns and pinks, deepening
through rose tints to red, are bordered by festoons and garlands of
fruit and flowers in varied shadings of blue and pink. Separating the
panels are caryatides, flushed pink, with long, pointed, folded wings.
They were designed by A. Stirling Calder and John Bateman, while the
spandrels over the curve of the portals are the work of Albert Weinert,
as are also the graceful, classic vases on either side of the entrances,
the latter banded in low relief by dancing bacchanalian figures, while
grinning satyr heads finish the curved handles. In the arch of the
doorways, are three fine mural paintings, harmonizing in subject and
coloring with the spirit of the Court--"Fruit and Flowers," by Childe
Hassam, on the West, "The Pursuit of Pleasure," by Charles Holloway, on
the east and "The Victorious Spirit," by Arthur F. Mathews, on the
north.
Court of Palms
Italian Tower from Main Portal
Terminating the colonnade at either side of the entrance to the Court
from the Avenue of Palms stand the Italian Towers, distinguished by
their grace of line and proportion and their skill in the use of the
purest architectural forms of the Renaissance, no less than by the
charming manipulation of color and ornament. By their slenderness and by
simplicity of treatment they produce an effect of great height. They
were inspired by the Geralda Tower of Seville. The deep-toned columns of
Sienna marble used in the three Italian Portals also enrich the entrance
to the towers. The prevailing pink and blue color tones which dominate
the court are delightfully accentuated in the diaper pattern decorating
the rectangular wall spaces of the main portion of the towers. The upper
design, repeated in each of the four corners, is modeled after the
Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens. The winged figure, "The
Fairy," lightly and gracefully poised upon the topmost pinnacle, is by
Carl Gruppe.
Court of Palms
In the Colonnade by Night
The illustration shows the colonnade which encircles the entire oval of
the Court. The bordering columns are Roman Ionic in dull smoked ivory.
The general wall tone is the same, with panels of soft pink between the
pilasters. The vaulted ceiling is blue. The plants between the columns
are acacias, clipped to ball form. The swinging lamps are from old Roman
models in pink and verde green. Classic figures are modeled in low
relief above the arched openings.
Looking north through the Court of the Four Seasons, with its long north
colonnade, is a superb vista across the wide blue waters of the bay to
the sweeping hills beyond. At the entrance to the court stands the only
piece of sculpture not identified with the architectural treatment, "The
End of the Trail," by James Earl Fraser, one of the strongest statues on
the grounds and perhaps the most popular.
Court of Palms
A Curve in the Colonnade
The careful details of the palaces and courts--the minute finishing of
cornice, column, frieze and vault, the loving modeling of sculpture, the
artistic planning of vistas, the inspired brushing of murals--are
marvelous beyond my telling. It is an outpouring of the arts before the
altar of humanity. It is a presage of what men can do when they unite in
common service.
The Exposition has taken a Titan stride toward this unified action for a
common purpose. The artists have bent to one perfect expression, like
the strings and brasses of an orchestra. Self was submersed in a
composite achievement, not obliterating individuality but leaving it
latitude to harmonize with others. The result is not the stenciling of a
leader's mannerisms, but a blend of diverse and varied characteristics,
an interweaving of sympathies, of spontaneous and ordered impressions.
Here is an object lesson in the cooperative idea that will not be lost
upon the world--the idea of a transcendent result obtained by a unity
of noble efforts, a result that no massing of individual attempts could
have achieved.
--Edwin Markham
Palace of Liberal Arts
Portal, From the South Gardens
West of the Tower of Jewels is the Palace of Liberal Arts, balancing in
architectural design and embellishment the Palace of Manufactures, which
lies directly east of the tower. The niches, entrances and main portals
of the two build are identical. Both were designed by W. B. Faville of
San Francisco.
Like all the buildings of the main group, the decorative treatment is
largely massed in the great doorway, which is distinctly Renaissance in
architecture, Spanish in general treatment, but Roman in the massive
dignity of the square, deeply-arched portal. Its style is adapted from
ancient models. The coloring within the arch and in the overlaid
ornament around and above it is a warm pink, effectively combined with
turquoise blue and orange. The lace fan, of Moorish workmanship, above
the doors, is especially beautiful in its delicate coloring and fragile
texture and in the touch of lightness that it gives. The pilasters on
either side of the entrance are Corinthian. The long frieze above the
doorway and the figures in the niches on either side are by Mahonri
Young of Salt Lake City.
Palace of Liberal Arts
The Tower of Jewels by Night
Either by day or by night, the Tower of Jewels is the dominating center
of the Exposition, epitomizing not only its entire meaning and message,
but summarizing in detail its architectural development. In the main it
follows the Italian Renaissance, with emphasis upon the Greek and Roman
elements, while in the ornament it employs many Byzantine features.
The Tower is built in seven stages, rising tier on tier, the base a
magnificent Roman arch, with colonnaded courts flanking it on either
side. The Corinthian columns of the colonnades are ochre and on each
side of the archway, they are of Sienna marble. The sculptured figures
by John Flanagan, crowning the columns above the arch, represent in four
successive types the men who made Western America--the adventurer, the
priest, the philosopher, the soldier. They are repeated on each face of
the Tower, the "Armored Horseman" by Tonetti, on the terrace above,
being repeated four times on each side. The forms used in the decorative
sculpture--the eagle, the wreath, the ship's prow, the various emblems
of war--all symbolize victory and achievement.
Palace of Liberal Arts
Elephant Fountain Niche by Night
The ornamental fountain alcoves placed at intervals are important
decorative features of the south walls. The shrubbery has been so
grouped about the niches that the details of the fountains are partially
screened. Upon closer investigation, one finds an elephant's head as the
central object in one niche, alternating with a lion throughout the
series. They set snugly against the pink panel just over the flaring
basin of travertine wherein the water trickles.
At night, these niches are flecked with shadows cast by the surrounding
trees. Electric lights, concealed beneath the water, shed a warm glow
upon the head of the elephant in its frame of sculptured half columns.
These fountain niches, designed by W. B. Faville, are in the same
Spanish style of architecture which characterizes the entire south
facade of the palaces.
The Tower of Jewels
The Great Roman Archway
Midway on the south face of the Tower of Jewels are inserted four
commemorative tablets. The inscription on the panel at the left end of
the colonnade reads as follows:
1501--Rodrigo de Bastides pursuing his course beyond the West Indies
discovers Panama.
The Panel at the left of the central arch reads:
1513--Vasco Nunez de Balboa crosses the Isthmus of Panama and discovers
the Pacific Ocean.
At the right of the central arch the panel reads:
1904--The United States succeeding France begins operations on the
Panama Canal.
The Panel at the right end of the colonnade is inscribed:
1915--The Panama Canal is opened to the commerce of the world.
The Tower of Jewels
Colonnade, The Fountain of Youth
Beyond the colonnades and the great Roman arch, on the north face of the
Tower of Jewels as it faces the Court of the Universe, are four
commemorative tablets similar to those found on the south side. The
panel at the left end of the colonnade is inscribed:
1542--Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo discovers California and lands on its
shores.
The Panel at the left of the central arch reads:
1776--Jose Joaquin Moraga founds the Mission of San Francisco de Isis.
At the right of the central arch the panel reads:
1846-The United States upon the outbreak of war with Mexico takes
possession of California.
The Panel at the right end of the colonnade is inscribed:
1850--California is admitted to the Union as a sovereign State.
Palace of Manufactures
Portal, from the South Gardens
The Palace of Manufactures lies directly east of the Tower of Jewels and
fronts on the Avenue of Palms. In architectural design, it duplicates
the Palace of Liberal Arts, the repetition giving strength and
simplicity to the entire south facade. The dignified main portal is
flanked on either side by two minor entrances, similarly conceived and
ornamented, the lattice work within the archways relieving the solidity
of the design.
The composition of the Byzantine dome, with its tier of latticed
windows, the "Victory"--tipped gable, the tiled slope above the arch,
the bare wall spaces and the richly ornamented doorway, as seen from the
South Gardens, illustrates the general construction of the main group of
buildings. The dome gives height and decorative effect, the "Winged
Victory" lightness and grace. The latter figure, which is repeated on
the acroteria, as the gable platforms are called, of all the palaces of
the main group, is by Louis Ulrich of New York. It bears, outstretched,
a wreath which suggests the crown bestowed for work well done.
Court of Flowers
Fountain, Beauty and the Beast
Between the Palace of Mines and the Palace of Varied Industries lies the
Court of Flowers, enclosed on the third or north side by the Court of
Ages and open on its southern exposure to the Avenue of Palms and to
Festival Hall, which lies directly opposite. In its shape, a long oval,
and in its location it is the eastern prototype of the Court of Palms,
which breaks the wall of the main group of buildings toward its western
end. Like that, it was designed by George W. Kelham of San Francisco.
Both Courts are rich examples of the Italian Renaissance, with traces of
Byzantine influence, and while a superficial view might pronounce them
almost identical, a further study reveals marked individuality in
conception and development. In each, the note of emphasis and the
temperamental appeal are entirely distinct. The Court of Palms is
simpler, more dignified, more conventional. The Court of Flowers is
richer in ornament and suggestion, more softly brilliant in atmosphere.
The prevailing color is yellow relieved by pink.
Court of Flowers
Portal of Varied Industries
In the Court of Flowers, the colonnade encircling the entire length of
its oval is bordered by Corinthian columns arranged in pairs. The
smoked-ivory tone is used throughout, except in the portals, where
Sienna marble gives a deep note of color. The highly ornamental floral
light-standards between the columns occur elsewhere throughout the
court. The cornice is edged with red Spanish tiles and above the
colonnade runs a richly decorated loggia that, with its suggestion of
southern influences, enhances the warm, sunny atmosphere of the court.
The repeated figure of the flower-decked and garlanded "Flower Girl" is
by A. Stirling Calder. A conventionalized frieze in delicately colored
arabesque runs between the balcony and the columns, the prevailing motif
of which is the griffin. The colonnade is broken by three portals,
opening respectively into the Palace of Manufactures on the west, the
Palace of Varied Industries on the east and the Court of Ages on the
north. These entrances, while they do not interrupt the colonnade below,
as is the case in the Court of Flowers, are made the keystones of the
ornament of the upper balcony, where the triple arches, with their
decorative treatment, furnish an effective break in the loggia.
Court of Flowers
A Vista in the Colonnade
The coupled Corinthian columns are of smoked ivory. The background of
the wallspaces is the same, but between the pilasters, occur panels of
warm pink. The pilasters are in pairs to harmonize with the pillars
bordering the colonnade. In the portals swing Roman lamps in dull
blue-green. The heavy bronze lanterns, suspended from the deep-toned
cream ceiling of the corridors, are Italian in design. At night, they
are illumined by a soft, red glow, while the light from the standards
between the columns and through the latticed doors of the entrances of
the palaces is pale gold. There is no direct lighting in the court, the
only other illumination being the deep red diffusive flow which
brightens the Italian towers from within, so that the warm, bright charm
pervading the Court by day, gives way at night to a sense of seclusion
and intimacy that makes a poetic appeal equally strong.
Court of Flowers
Italian Tower from Colonnade
The four Italian Towers, equally distant from the Tower of Jewels, two
on either side, furnish the chief elements in the fine sense of balance
and proportion of the south facade of the main group of palaces.
Occurring in in pairs at the entrances of the Court of Palms and the
Court of Flowers and employing the same architectural elements and
decoration, they show a pleasing variety in detail. The towers of the
Court of Flowers have more of simplicity in design and give an even
greater impression of height by the arrangement of columns. The same
fairy by Carl Gruppe crowns all four towers, and helps to give the name
of "the fairy courts" by which they are sometimes called. By the
original design these two courts were to embody the fairy lore of the
Occident and of the Orient, and the Court of Flowers, with the magic of
its golden blossoms and its friendly beasts, enters far into the
conception.
Court of Flowers
The Friendly Lion at the Portal
With all its loveliness of detail and witchery of color, the prevailing
charm of the Court of Flowers, true to its name, lies in the effective
planting of flowers and shrubs. The main path through the Court is
bordered on either side by spreading lophantha trees, trimmed four feet
from the ground and branching to a diameter of five feet in delicate,
lacy foliage. Masses of flowers in the pervading luxuriant color-tone
carpet the whole court with gold, while banks of green fill the corners
and outline the borders. The six "Friendly Lions" with their
conventionalized garlands, by Albert Laessle of Philadelphia, guard the
three entrances, one on either side. "Beauty and the Beast," the central
fountain which dominates the Court, is by Edgar Walters of San Francisco.
The basin is upheld by four alternating fauns and satyrs and about the
base of the fountain is a procession of beasts in low relief. The statue
of "The Pioneer" by Solon Borglum, which stands at the entrance of the
Court, while it bears no relation to the symbolism of the Court itself,
is a companion to "The End of the Trail" which occupies the same position
before the Court of Palms.
Palace of Varied Industries
Main Portal
The central portal on the south facade of the Palace of Varied
Industries is by many considered the finest doorway at the Exposition.
It is a copy of the Hospital of Santa Cruz at Toledo, done in the
Spanish Renaissance, of a style known as the plateresque. The rich
appearance has the effect of being exquisitely chiseled with scroll-like
finish, reminding one of the workmanship of a silversmith.
The sculptured ornamentations of the portal are the work of Ralph
Stackpole. He is most fortunate in his treatment of the industrial
types. The relief panel in the tympanum represents the industries of
Spinning, Building, Agriculture, Manual Labor and Commerce.
"The Man with the Pick," seen on the side brackets, is a freely modeled
statue, also appearing upon the portal of the Palace of Manufactures.
The keystone figure typifies the Laborer, who is capable of relying on
his brain. The upper group represents Age transferring his burden to
Youth.
Avenue of Palms
The South Facade by Night
Facing the Avenue of Palms is the stupendous wall formed by the Palaces
of Varied Industries, Manufactures, Liberal Arts and Education. This
long and imposing bulwark is over-topped by the great Tower of Jewels
and the two pair of Italian Towers. The walls of the palaces, ivory
tinted and shadowed by palms, eucalypti and myriad shrubs, assume a new
and more wonderful aspect under the batteries of the searchlights. The
towers stand out against the night sky, glowing with the hidden lights
like living coals, changing to pastel tints of blue and green, most
beautiful of all when the reflectors convert them into shafts of white.
The lamps along the Avenue punctuate the dark masses of foliage, and the
contrasting high lights on towers and domes make an artificial
illumination that for sheer beauty has never been equalled.
Avenue of Progress
The Fine Vista to the Marina
Spaciousness characterizes the Avenue of Progress, not only in its
breadth but in its sweeping length. From the Fillmore Street entrance,
which opens directly upon the Avenue, it appears to extend across the
bay and on to the hills beyond. The Service Building is upon the left
and from the opposite side comes the fanfare of the "Joy Zone." The
Palace of Machinery is on the eastern side of the Avenue, and on the
west are the Palaces of Varied Industries and Mines.
The landscape gardening is here most successfully carried out. Dracena
indivisa, a species of palm, are planted at short intervals throughout
the length of the boulevard. Against the dull buff of the palace walls
are banked Monterey cypress and Lawson cypress, with a heavy undergrowth
of fir and spruce. The attractive lawns add a touch of formality to the
impressive Avenue. Whatever effect of newness might have appeared in the
walls of the great palaces is mellowed by Guerin's colors and there is a
splendid atmosphere of enduring solidity, softened by the picturesque
gardens.
Machinery Hall
The Central Arch in the Portal
The Palace of Machinery extends for nearly one thousand feet along the
Avenue of Progress. Its main entrance, facing the west, is composed of
three splendid arches, set off by free-standing columns, which resemble
weather-stained shafts of Sienna marble and are the pedestals for the
sculptured figures representing the powers of "Invention,"
"Electricity," "Imagination" and "Steam." On the inner facade of the
arches are grills of amber glass, forming a strong background for the
decorative friezes and sculptured eagles, the latter being symbols which
predominate throughout the Exposition. Dwarf cedars serve to magnify, by
comparison, the gigantic dimensions of this entrance. Daniel Chester
French's commanding statue, "The Genius of Creation," occupies a
prominent place before the central arch.
Machinery Hall
The Colonnade in the Portal
The dimensions of the main entrance to Machinery Hall are in keeping
with the size of the building, which is the largest wooden framed
structure in the world. Architecturally the style is after the ancient
Roman, the motif being supplied by studies of the baths of Caracalla.
The decorative designs in the vestibule are sculptured figures and
accompanying insignia typifying the manufacture and use of machinery by
man. The relief figures of the spandrels are forcefully executed. About
the base of the pillars are friezes, symbolic of mechanical invention.
These relief designs are the work of Haig Patigian of San Francisco.
This great archway is one of the most interesting achievements, from an
architectural standpoint, to be found at the Exposition. The space
covered is large, yet so cleverly handled that no bareness is suggested.
The coloring within the vestibule is in shades of blue, and the massive
pillars supporting the three arches are toned in rich terra cotta.
Machinery Hall
One of the Minor Entrances
Flanked by Corinthian columns which reflect, in smaller size, the great
pillars of the main entrance, four minor doorways break the long western
wall of the Palace of Machinery on either side of the central entrance,
the architectural and sculptural design in them being similar to that of
the main portal. The frieze in low relief, encircling the bases of the
columns and representing the genii of mechanics, is repeated from the
larger entrance, as are also the figures in the spandrels, typifying the
application of power to machinery.
The color treatment of these doorways is especially brilliant. The
Corinthian columns simulate Sienna marble. The background in the
spandrels is stained a rich orange. The shell canopy, as in other panels
where it is used throughout the Exposition, is in cerulean blue, the
wall space beneath it is a deep pink, while the door is the customary
green.
The landscape planting along the entire wall is superb. Against the
ivory-tinted background, various species of evergreens are grouped with
consummate skill.
Palace of Mines
A Lamp Niche in the Court
The Court of Mines, opening directly across from the main portal of
Machinery Hall, is the entrance to the inner courts from the Avenue of
Progress. The effective massing of the shrubbery is enlivened by the gay
banners and streamers, designed by Jules Guerin, which are one of the
most stimulating decorative features of the Exposition. The walls on
either side are broken by the entrance portals to the buildings, done in
Italian Renaissance style. Their distinctive features are the niches on
either side of the entrances, in which are placed vigorous figures,
designed by Albert Weinert, and the ornamental lamps below. The court is
illuminated at night by concealed light thrown on the walls from
reflectors in the forms of interesting green shells resting on shapely
standards.
Court of Ages
The Tower by Night Illumination
The Court of Ages was designed by Louis Christian Mullgardt of San
Francisco. Of all the Exposition courts it is the most original and
imaginative in conception, the most complete in its organic, structural
unity, the richest in ornament, in poetic suggestion, in the depth and
dramatic appeal of its symbolism.
The Court suggests many architectural periods and types, yet eludes
classification under any one of them. The Gothic clearly predominates,
with traces of English, Spanish, and Portuguese elements. With further
hint of Romanesque, of Moorish and of French influence, these varying
elements have been so fused in the imagination of the architect that the
resultant creation is independent of all of them in its daring, yet
restrained, originality. In the magnificent square tower at the center
of its northern end, all the beauty and spiritual import of the Court
culminate. Its aspiring length of line, unbroken from base to summit,
faces poise and uplift, the broad, plain surfaces give nobility and
strength and the exquisite richness and delicacy of the ornament give
lightness and grace, while the sculpture blends and crowns the deep
pervading symbolism of the Court.
-Maud Wotring Raymond
Court of Ages
The Fountain of Earth
While it is possible to find keen enjoyment in the Court of Ages for its
delicate beauty and exquisite refinement alone, even the slightest study
of its architectural and sculptural detail reveals a depth of underlying
purpose and meaning that invites further analysis. The architect calls
it "an historical expression of the successive ages of the world's
growth." He suggests four stages: the nebulous world, symbolized by the
central fountain, in which Robert Aitken of San Francisco has worked out
a stupendous study of primeval passions. Out of chaos, come the
elemental forces, Water, Land and Light. The braziers and cauldrons
symbolize Fire. The two sentinel columns, flanking the tower on either
side, are Earth and Air. The eight paintings, by Frank Brangwyn of
London, in the corridors in great richness of color depict Earth, Air,
Fire and Water. Thus the first state is indicated.
The second stage is symbolized by the decorative motifs employed on the
arcade surrounding the court, where on piers, arches, reeds and columns,
in marvelously wrought sculptural ornament, is shown the transition from
plant to animal life through kelp, crab, lobster and other sea animals
and shell motifs.
--M. W. R.
Court of Ages
The Garden of Hyacinths
Following the symbolism of the Court of Ages through the first nebulous
period of the world's growth, through the second, which shows the
transition in successive forms of sea-plant life, the third period is
reached where are illustrated the earliest forms of human, animal,
reptile and bird life prevailing in the stone age. This age is
indicated, in the court, by the prehistoric figure surmounting the piers
of the arcade and by the first sculptured group over the entrance to the
tower. The repeated arcade figures, which were designed by Albert
Weinert, represent alternately Primitive Man and Primitive Woman.
The perfection of the landscape planting and the skill with which it
subtly accentuates the meaning of architecture and sculpture are worthy
of study. In the background, close against the piers of the arcade,
tall, slender Italian cypresses emphasize their rhythmic length of line.
Amid a growth of tropical luxuriance stand glossy-leafed orange trees
laden with fragrant blossoms and golden fruit. Balled acacias in formal
rows outline the paths, while a succession of plantings has given a
varying color scheme and a new perfume to each season.
--M. W. R.
Court of Ages
A Glimpse From the Colonnade
The Court of Ages is the only one of the Exposition courts which is
entirely independent of outside influences. The other courts derive
breadth of appeal from the fine vistas through arched gateways or along
dignified colonnades. The Court of Ages is shut in upon itself by the
arcaded and vaulted ambulatory which extends continuously around its
four sides, and by this cloistered effect, its individual impression is
deepened and intensified.
Through the lovely rounded arches of this encircling colonnade, which is
elevated a few feet, one looks down into the beauty of the court, or out
across it to the richly fretted walls. In the curve of each arch, hang
two delicately modeled lanterns.
--M. W. R.
Court of Ages
A Vista in the Colonnade
The cloistered effect of the long colonnade surrounding the four sides
of the Court of the Ages is deepened by the vaulted ceiling, which, in
its Roman simplicity of line, contrasts effectively with the filigreed
exterior of the arcade.
The only color in the court, aside from a slight use in the tower and
the massed luxuriance of flowers, is found in the corridors where,
between the square pilasters, the prevailing old ivory is stained pink
of a deeper tone than in the other courts. The ivory pilasters are
carried up into the ceiling in curving, transverse arches, while the
band of blue, following their edges, leads to the rich blue depths
between them. At the far end of every vista glows the riot of color in
the mural paintings by Frank Brangwyn. The play of sunlight through the
succession of rounded arches increases the sense of bright charm.
--M. W. R.
Court of Ages
The Tower Through North Aisle
In the North Court of Ages, leading to the Esplanade, the tower is
identical with the main court, and the entire architectural treatment,
while simpler, is in the same spirit. Robbed of the complex symbolism by
which, in the larger court, the evolution of the lower forms of life is
depicted, the higher spiritual lesson is here intensified. The
sculptured groups in the tower, by Chester A. Beach of San Francisco,
represent the rise of humanity through successive ages of civilization.
The conventionalized lily petals decorating the summit of the tower
suggest the highest forms of plant life. The delicate lace-like finials,
rising from the highest points of court and tower alike, express
aspiration. The chanticleers on the finials surrounding the court
symbolize the dawn of Christianity.
The star-like clusters of lights, raised aloft, two in the main court
and four in the north court, deepen the ecclesiastical atmosphere by
suggesting the golden monstrance emblematic of the rays of the sun and
of the radiating presence of God, and used in the Catholic Church as a
receptacle for the sacred host.
--M. W. R.
Florentine Court
Palace of Transportation
The Florentine Court and the Venetian Court lie east and west
respectively of the Court of the Universe. They are sometimes called the
Aisles of the Rising and the Setting Sun. While in reality only
connecting avenues, the wealth or careful detail lavished upon them
makes of them charming interludes between the larger and more imposing
courts, and yet so skillfully do they conform to the general plan that
they blend one larger court with another, without expressing a distinct
individuality of their own. They were planned by W. B. Faville of San
Francisco. While identical in design upon three sides, their adaptation
upon the fourth side to the courts which they adjoin, east and west, and
the variety in landscape effects, insure against exact duplication.
The Florentine Court lies between the Court of Ages and the Court of the
Universe, with the Palace of Transportation bounding it on the north and
the Palace of Manufactures on the south. Its eastern wall repeats the
rich decorative treatment of the Court of Ages, which it joins.
Court of the Universe
Through Three Great Arches
When one stands in the Court of the Four Seasons, facing east, two
splendid arches are seen framed by the Eastern Gateway of the Court. The
first, across the Venetian Court, is the Arch of the Setting Sun,
surmounted by its symbolic group of the Nations of the West. Across the
vast Court of the Universe, beyond the Fountains of the Rising and the
Setting Sun, is the triumphal Arch of the Rising Sun surmounted by its
symbolic group of the Nations of the East.
These magnificent modern expressions of the arches erected by the old
Romans to commemorate their triumphs were designed by McKim, Mead and
White, the architects of the Court of the Universe, and are richly
adorned with sculpture designed by various artists. In the attics are
carved appropriate inscriptions selected by Porter Garnett, which will
be found on succeeding pages.
There is an atmosphere of bigness about the Court of the Universe,
created not only by the architectural features, but by the symbolism of
the final meeting of the Nations of the World, made possible by the
completion of the Panama Canal.
Court of the Universe
Triumphal Arch, The Setting Sun
The magnificent mass of the Western Arch is heightened at night by the
effective illumination. Shafts of white light from concealed projectors
pick out, the sculptured group that surmounts it. The bulk of the arch
catches only the rays from minor lamps within the court and upon this
shadowy pedestal, the group of the Nations of the West stands out in
strong relief. Below, the ceilings of the arch and corridors are
brilliant from concealed lights placed within them.
Court of the Universe
Triumphal Arch, The Rising Sun
The triumphal arches which by night gain in majesty and mysterious
power, by day have the added beauty of the color manipulation and
decorative treatment, which is exceedingly rich and varied.
The twisted columns of Sienna marble which flank the arch, two on either
side, are composite, mingling Corinthian and Ionic elements. Each column
is crowned with a sculptured figure, representing the "Angel of Peace"
by Leo Lentelli. Between the columns, set in a square of deep pink, is a
burnt orange medallion, the figures in relief, suggesting Nature and
Art, being designed by A. Stirling Calder and B. Bufano.
On either side of the curve of the arch, latticed windows in green give
a Moorish touch. The figures in the spandrels, representing Pegasus are
by Frederick G. R. Roth. A frieze in relief, bands the arch beneath the
inscription, while Cleopatra's needle, four times repeated, gives height
and classic emphasis to the crenellated parapet out-lining the summit.
The sculptured groups "The Nations of the East" and "The Nations of the
West" are the joint work of A. Stirling Calder, Frederick G. R. Roth and
Leo Lentelli.
Court of the Universe
Fountain of the Rising Sun
In the eastern portion of the sunken garden is the Fountain of the
Rising Sun. The tall, slender shaft, a column of travertine by day and a
column of light by night, supports a sphere upon which is poised a
statue typifying the dawn of day. Adolph A. Weinman is the sculptor of
this "Rising Sun" which is so deservedly popular on account of the
irresistible appeal of the youthful figure.
Everything about the fountain is indicative of the vigor of youth, the
energy associated with the rising of the sun. The friezes about the base
represent the triumph of light over darkness, and the merry play of
waters suggests perpetual activity. The concrete bowl is of goodly
proportions and within the pool are sculptured figures representing
mythical creatures of the ocean.
Bordering the fountain are gardens, at first ablaze with rhododendrons,
then massed with the pink blooms of hydrangeas, and later bright with
the flowers of each successive season.
Court of the Universe
Fountain of the Setting Sun
Quite as lovely in every detail as the preceding is the Fountain of the
Setting Sun. It is in the opposite portion of the sunken garden where,
when the sun is in its descent, it is shadowed by the Triumphal Arch of
the Nations of the West.
Crowning the pillar is the figure of a maid, her drooping wings and
languorous pose denoting relaxation, a suspension of the day's toil.
This statue was also modeled by Adolph A. Weinman. The supporting shaft
conveys an impression of buoyancy and there are friezes above and below
the bowl of the fountain similar to those of the Rising Sun. At night
the columns which support these figures are aglow with concealed lights,
and the beauty of the fountain is wonderfully enhanced.
Court of the Universe
The Fountain Pool and Tower
The inscriptions on the two Triumphal Arches in the Court of the
Universe are drawn respectively from Occidental and Oriental literature.
It was designed that the large central panels possess a cosmical, an
epical, or an elemental quality, and that the smaller panels on either
side deal with abstractions, such as truth, nature or beauty. In
accordance with this plan, the inscriptions on the Arch of the Setting
Sun facing away from the court are as follows:
The panel at the left of the attic, representing Italy, reads
The world is in its most excellent state when justice is supreme.--
Dante.
The panel in the center of the attic, representing Germany, is inscribed
It is absolutely indispensable for the United States to effect a passage
from the Mexican Gulf to the Pacific Ocean; and I am certain that they
will do it. Would that I might live to see it--but I shall not.--Goethe.
The panel at the right of the attic, representing France, reads
The Universe, an infinite sphere, the center everywhere, the
circumference, nowhere. Pascal.
Court of the Universe
Corinthian Colonnade & Gardens
The inscriptions on the Arch of the Setting Sun, facing the Court, are
as follows:
The panel at the left of the attic, representing England, reads
In nature's infinite book of secrecy a little I can read.--Shakespeare.
The panel in the center of the attic, representing America, reads
Facing west from California's shores,
Inquiring, tireless, seeking what is yet unfound,
I, a child, very old, over waves
Towards the house of maternity,
The land of migrations look afar,
Look off the shores of my western sea,
The circle almost circled.
--Whitman.
The panel at the right of the attic, representing Spain, is inscribed
Truth, witness of the past, councillor of the present, guide of the
future.--Cervantes.
Court of the Universe
In the Promenade by Night
The inscriptions on the Arch of the Rising Sun, facing the Court, are as
follows:
The panel at the left of the attic, representing China, is inscribed
They who know the truth are not equal to those who love it.--Confucius.
The panel in the center of the attic, representing India, reads
The moon sinks yonder in the west,
While, in the east, the glorious sun
Behind the herald dawn appears
Thus rise and set in constant change those shining orbs
And regulate the very life of this our world.
--Kalidasa.
The panel at the right of the attic, representing Japan, reads
Our eyes and hearts uplifted, seem to gaze on heaven's radiance.--
Hitomaro.
Court of the Universe
A Niche and Urn by Night
The inscriptions on the Arch of the Rising Sun, facing away from the
Court, are as follows:
The panel at the left of the attic, representing Arabia, reads
He that honors not himself lacks honor wheresoe'er he goes.--Zuhayr.
The panel in the center of the attic, representing Persia, is inscribed
The balmy air diffuses health and fragrance,
So tempered is the genial glow that we know neither heat nor cold.
Tulips and hyacinths abound.
Fostered by a delicious clime, the earth blooms like a garden.
--Firdausi.
The panel at the right of the attic, representing Spain, reads
A wise man teaches, be not angry; from untrodden ways turn aside.--Phra
Ruang.
Palace of Transportation
In the Corinthian Colonnade
This promenade, formed by the vast portico of the Palace of Agriculture,
is in harmony with the architectural scheme of the Court of the
Universe. It is the eastern wall of the aisle leading from the the main
court to the Column of Progress.
The shafts of the pillars are fluted and capped after the Corinthian
order. Terra cotta, mellow in tone, is the color which has been used
upon the travertine material of the columns, and the walls flanking the
majestic array of pillars are painted a warm pink. The height of the
ceiling is intensified by its deep blue, which seems to blend with the
azure of the sky, as one glimpses it through the far opening of the
corridor. Masked lanterns adorn the arched ceiling; on the columns are
shell-screened lamps and at night the sweep of the promenade is
magnified by the indirect lighting effects.
Venetian Court
Palace of Agriculture
The great triumphal arches of the Central Court dominate the connecting
aisles on either side, the Arch of the Rising Sun forming the west side
of the Florentine Court and the Arch of the Setting Sun the east side of
the Venetian Court. All the splendor and dignity of architectural
treatment and decorative ornament that enrich the arches as they face
toward the Court of the Universe are repeated on the reverse sides.
The treatment of the side walls in the Florentine and Venetian Courts is
identical, displaying some of the most delightful features of the
Italian Renaissance, with marked richness in the use of both color and
ornament. The walls are covered with a diaper pattern in pink and warm
ivory. Bright blue and deep orange stain the overhanging cornice. The
great windows are latticed and bound with green, the keystone of their
arches being a quaint figure with folded wings. Between the arches are
inset blue Italian medallions. Between the windows are coupled
Corinthian columns, their shafts richly overlaid with ornament after
patterns suggested by the churches and palaces of southern Italy. The
planting is profuse, with masses of green against the walls and a wealth
of bloom, pink predominating in the Florentine Court and yellow in the
Venetian.
Court of the Four Seasons
The Night Illumination
The Court of the Four Seasons is the most restful, the most intimate and
the most harmonious of the three main courts, an effect produced by its
classic simplicity and the charm of its architecture, sculpture and
planting.
The long approach of the north court, which is entered from the
Esplanade, is bordered by the stately colonnades of the Palace of
Agriculture on the east and the Palace of Food Products on the west. The
columns are Ionic, the decorative treatment of their capitals, and of
the frieze above, being in fruits and grains, happily conventionalized.
The green sward of the avenue is set, here and there, with fine yew
trees, while tall, slim eucalypti flank the entrance to the Court.
The Fountain of Ceres designed by Evelyn Beatrice Longman, by the poise
of its crowning figure and by the grace and dignity of its entire
outline, no less than by its classic conception and fine architectural
feeling, enhances the chaste beauty of the long vista whether seen by
day outlined against the misty bay and the sweep of hills beyond, or by
night, silhouetted against the white rays of the scintillators which are
placed on the harbor's edge.
Court of the Four Seasons
The Great Half Dome
The theme of the Court, the fruitfulness of the changing seasons, is
sympathetically rendered by architecture, sculpture and painting in
happy combination. The decorative forms all employ agricultural motives,
and the sculptured groups or figures and the mural paintings are
variations of the same thought.
In architecture, the Court, which was designed by Henry Bacon of New
York, is almost severely classic, enriched in its minor details by
touches of the Italian Renaissance. The Half Dome, which lies directly
opposite the long northern approach, is modeled after Hadrian's villa
near Rome. The decoration of the vault of the dome is influenced by the
richer coloring of the Court of Palms into which it opens on its inner
side, while the archway softens into lighter tones in harmony with the
more delicate coloring of the Court of the Four Seasons.
The fine balance of line and proportion which characterizes the Court is
shown in the three sculptured figures by Albert Jaegers,--"Harvest,"
the seated figure which fitly crowns the half dome, blending finely with
its nobility and strength of outline, and "Rain" and "Sunshine," which
surmount the splendid columns of Sienna marble on either side of the
dome.
Court of the Four Seasons
The Western Archway
The east and west entrances to the Court are massive archways, most
satisfying in their purity and dignity of architectural form and
treatment, as well as in the superb outlook which they give on either
hand. The arches are divided by Corinthian pilasters of Sienna marble.
Within, their vaulted ceilings are delicately colored and modeled in
faint relief after ancient classic designs, suggesting harvest scenes.
The spandrels in the triangles over the curve of the arch and the four
times repeated figures which serve as pilasters in the paneled attic
space above, are by August Jaegers. All are gracefully molded women's
figures, and all alike are emblematic of the richness of the harvest.
The signs of the zodiac letter the cornice between the arches and the
attic. The inscription above the eastern gateway is from Spenser's
"Faerie Queene," and that over the western from "The Triumph of Bohemia"
by George Sterling.
The serenity and intimate seclusion of the Court are due perhaps more
than to any other single feature, to the quiet, circular pool in its
center, shut in by banks of shrubbery and bare of sculptured ornament.
Court of the Four Seasons
One of the Colonnade Murals
The Court is octagonal in shape, by reason of the fountains, screened by
stately rows of columns, which fill its cornet recesses. These corner
fountains are distinctly Roman in inspiration, the detail being
suggested by the baths of Caracalla. Between the double rows of massive
Ionic columns runs the colonnade. The capitals of the columns are
enriched by pendant ears of corn, surmounted by a single open flower.
Above the severely treated doorways, in each recess, are two mural
paintings by Milton Bancroft, picturing alternately the seasonal
pleasures and pastimes and their activities or industries. The murals,
with the two in the half-dome, also by Milton Bancroft, are all
conventionally classic, in keeping with the spirit and atmosphere of the
Court.
Within the sheltered niches are the fountains of the four seasons, where
the water, rose-tinted by day and a luminous green by night, slips
softly and musically over three broadening semicircular terraces to the
cool, green pool beneath. The sculptured groups, surmounting the
terraced fountains, are by Furio Piccirilli of New York. The enclosing
walls are soft pink, the line where they join the blue vault of the sky
charmingly broken by the living green of luxuriant, trailing vines.
Court of the Four Seasons
The Ionic Columns
Through the columns is a glimpse of the Eastern Gateway where, carved in
three panels over the entrance, is the following inscription:
So forth issew'd the seasons of the yeare,
First lusty spring all dight in leaves and flowres.
Then came the jolly sommer being dight
In a thin cassock coloured greene,
Then came the autumne all in yellow clad,
Lastly came winter, cloathed all in frize,
Chattering his teeth, for cold that did him chill.
--Spenser.
The triple panel in the attic of the Western Gateway reads:
For lasting happiness we turn our eyes to one alone,
And she surrounds you now.
Great nature, refuge of the weary heart, and only balm to breasts that
have been bruised.
She hath cool hands for every fevered brow
And gentlest silence for the troubled soul.
--Sterling.
Court of the Four Seasons
The Colonnade and Lawn
The harmonious impression of the Court of the Four Seasons is due
largely to the faithfulness with which classic influences have
controlled every detail, both in architecture and in ornament. The
bulls' heads between festoons of flowers which decorate the base of the
entrances into the north court, the eagles at the corners of the pylons
above, and the vases repeated on the balustrade about the Court are all
Roman in design. Thoroughly classic also are the wreaths of fruits and
grains on the panel of the cornice and the lions' heads above. While
"The Feast of Sacrifice," the superb groups by Albert Jaegers, crowning
the pylons at either side of the entrance to the north court, recall the
ancient custom of celebrating the close of harvest by the sacrifice of
flower-garlanded bulls.
The planting of the court is quiet and stately, and notably carries out
its spirit, with the gray-green of foliage plants and eucalyptus trees
and the gnarled stems of gray old olive trees. In its vistas from any
angle or point of view, the Court is peculiarly satisfying and
beautiful.
Court of the Four Seasons
The North Colonnade by Night
To stand in the midst of this curving octagonal court and hear, above
the whisper of the trees, the murmur of the four hidden fountains that
gush unseen from the base of allegorical groups of statuary, glimpsed
through colonnades, is to stand in Hadrian's villa of old, where we hear
"Fitly the fountains of silver leap,
Whose sound is as soft as the listless flow
Of streams that forever linger and go
Down delicate, dream-far valleys of sleep."
As in a dream, one looks down the last vista to the open rotunda and
crescent hemicycle of the Palace of Fine Arts beyond a lagoon that
mirrors them on its surface. Rising from the rich, green massing of
shrubbery and mossy banks, the rotunda lifts its proud head, encircled
with garlands of symbolical figures, as above a grove of Academe. Behind
it the soft red walls of the place glow like the fading embers of
sunset. These courts, strung like a rope of pearls between the two poles
of man's achievement--mechanics and art--are the heart of the
Exposition, and in them are treasures of color and form untold.
--Edwin Markham
Palace of Food Products
The Portal from the Gardens
The north facade of the Palaces which line the Marina is bare almost to
severity, except for the rich adornment of the portals, the same detail
being repeated for each palace. Spanish models served as the patterns
for these handsome doorways, the three fine arches, with their
supporting columns, suggesting the earlier Spanish Gothic, while the
decorative features reflect the Moorish influence of a later period.
The motif is appropriate for the waterfront, reminiscent as it is of the
epoch of the Spanish Main. This hint is carried out in the sculptured
figures in the alcoves above each arch. Allen Newman modeled them,
giving to his work the dash and daring of the domineering conquistadors
and piratical deckhands of those stirring days. The portal here pictured
leads directly to the Esplanade near the Gardens adjoining the
California Building.
Palace of Food Products
A Detail of the Main Portal
It requires several visits to the Exposition to become accustomed to the
stupendous scale which has been followed, not only in the expansive
landscape gardening, but in the architectural plans.
In this illustration, a faint conception is afforded of the proportions
of the main entrance to the Palace of Food Products. The doors
themselves are of ample size, yet are dwarfed to insignificance by the
lofty columns and vaulted ceiling of this delightful portal, which is a
reproduction from the Spanish Cathedral of Salamanca. The great arches
are decorated after the plateresque style, and the spandrels abound in
garlands, horns of plenty and other goodly tokens. A Moorish note is
detected in the lacy network of the latticed windows. The domed ceilings
are painted blue and tints of pink and dull orange are used on the walls
and columns of the portal.
The Esplanade
North Facade, Column of Progress
The Esplanade is bounded on the north by the Marina and the sparkling
waters of the Bay: The boundary line on the south is the imposing
frontage formed by the north facade of the four palaces, broken by the
inviting entrances to the Court of Ages, the Court of the Universe and
the Court of the Four Seasons.
The domes which mark these entrances loom up in fine proportions, and
the entrances to the various palaces are particularly well done. Against
the old ivory of the massive walls are clustering thickets of cedar,
spruce, eucalyptus and clumps of low-growing shrubs.
It is a rare combination--the view one has from the Esplanade. Across
the Bay are the inviting hills of Marin County and equally enticing are
the vistas stretching through colonnades and arches formed by the courts
and palaces of the Exposition. The Column of Progress, surmounted by the
"Adventurous Bowman", holds the most noticeable position on the
Esplanade.
North Facade
A View from the Bay
The Esplanade extends westward from the ferry slip, along the north
facade of the main group of buildings, past the massive walls of the
California building and through the States' section to the Massachusetts
building.
From the Bay, the dominating center of the Esplanade is the splendid
Column of Progress, on either side of which lies the Spanish wall of the
north facade broken only by the four magnificent and identical
sixteenth-century Renaissance portals which open into the Palaces of
Mines, of Transportation, of Agriculture and of Food Products. From the
base of the Column of Progress, the vista stretches away, through the
Forecourt of the Stars and the Court of the Universe, to the Tower of
Jewels, which dominates the southern approach to the grounds. Against
the sky-line are outlined the lesser spires of the Italian towers, the
heavy bulk of the sculptured groups crowning the arches of the Rising
and the Setting Sun, the square summit of the Tower of the Ages and the
round domes of the palaces.
Palace of Food Products
A View from the Fine Arts Laguna
The impression of unity of design in the main group of buildings is
heightened by certain distinctive features which characterize all of
them in common. On all, there is the central dome, which, with the
repeated smaller domes on the corners, is the chief source of charm in
the pronounced Oriental or Moorish effect when seen from a distance. The
long, unbroken lines and wall spaces give a sense of repose and
restraint and emphasize the richness and beauty of the entrances where
the decoration is massed. The Palace of Food Products occupies the
north-west corner of the main group of buildings. Its western exposure
is Roman in design to harmonize with the Palace of Fine Arts on the
opposite side of the laguna. Its dominant feature is the great
half-dome, officially called "The Half Dome of Physical Vigor," which
forms its west entrance. The tall Corinthian columns on either side
support Ralph Stackpole's figure of "Youth" and crowning the smaller
columns which line the dome are the repeated statues by Earl Cummings,
portraying "Physical Vigor," from which the dome takes its name.
Palace of Education
A View from the Fine Arts Laguna
The western exposure of the Palace of Education duplicates the same wall
of the Palace of Food Products and the entire facade along the laguna is
called the Roman wall, by reason of the thoroughly classic spirit in
which it is conceived.
The half-dome here, as there, forms the architectural keystone, and in
both buildings, the three niches on either side hold the same
alternating figures. While the half dome, with its entire decorative
treatment, belongs more fittingly to the Palace of Education, the
sculptured figures in the alcoves, by Charles R. Harley, representing
alternately "Abundance" and "The Triumph of the Fields," are more in
keeping with the Palace of Food Products.
The north face of the Palace of Education, which opens on the Court of
the Sunset, connecting Administration Avenue with the Court of the Four
Seasons, duplicates the three Spanish doorways of its south facade; and
in harmony with these doorways, those on the south wall of the Palace of
Food Products, which look out upon the same avenue, are similar in
treatment.
Palace of Education
The Half Dome of Philosophy
The two magnificent Roman half-domes which give character to the
otherwise long and bare wall space of the western facade are called in
the Palace of Food Products "The Half Dome of Physical Vigor" and in the
Palace of Education "The Half Dome of Philosophy." In dignity and
nobility, due to massive size and strength of treatment, in beauty of
modeling and restraint of decoration, this effective use of the
half-dome is one of the finest architectural achievements on the
grounds.
The fine, strong figure by Ralph Stackpole, which surmounts the giant
Corinthian columns on either side of the opening is used also at the
entrance of the Palace of Food Products and here, as there, it is called
"Youth," the repeated figure evidently signifying in the mind of the
artist the union of intellectual and physical vigor which exemplifies
the finest type of manhood. The dome takes its name from the eight times
repeated female figure, representing Education, which crowns the
Corinthian columns lining its inner curve.
Palace of Education
The Fountain in the Portal
The central decorative feature within the half-domes which form the
western portals of the Palaces of Education and of Food Products is, in
each case, a fountain, architectural in character and of great dignity
of line and beauty of modeling; Both were designed by W. B. Faville from
old Italian models found in Sienna and Ravenna. Both are circular in
form and built up in successive tiers, the one at the entrance to the
Palace of Education being the simplest in construction and gaining more
in charm and grace from the flow of the water.
The interior treatment of the domes furnishes an effective background
for the fountains. The vault of the ceiling is a richly colored
conventionalized pattern in orange, pompeiian red and blue. The repeated
Corinthian columns lining the curve are of Sienna marble. The doorways
between them, with the Moorish grill above the doors, are in green,
while back of the lattice work is set stained glass in deep amber.
Administration Avenue
The Fine Arts Laguna
The Baker Street Entrance to the Exposition leads directly into
Administration Avenue. The Horticultural Gardens first attract attention
by their kaleidoscopic patches of blooming flowers. Then the eye travels
on past the Palace of Horticulture to the massive bulwark of the Palaces
of Education and Food Products in the walls of which two great
half-domed portals form the principal points of interest. Across the way
lies the Laguna with its reflected image of the Palace of Fine Arts,
perhaps the loveliest spot in the Exposition grounds. Plants grow in the
pool and the shores are lined with iris, primroses, periwinkles, pampas
grass and, overtopping these, weeping willows mingled with other lovely
trees and shrubs.
Towards the end of the Avenue is the small but attractive Hawaiian
pavilion. The tower of the California building is silhouetted against
the background of the Marin hills. Administration Avenue receives its
name from the fact that it leads directly to the administrative
headquarters of the Exposition, located in the California building.
Palace of Fine Arts
The Rotunda and Laguna
The Palace of Fine Arts has the finest natural setting on the Exposition
grounds. Consummate skill in planning the entire architectural ensemble
gave it a commanding position, at the extreme west of the group of
exhibit palaces. The architect, Bernard. R. Maybeck of San Francisco,
found as an asset on beginning his work, a small natural lake and a
fine group of Monterey cypress. With this foundation he has created a
temple of supreme loveliness, thoroughly original in conception, yet
classic in its elemental simplicity and in its appeal to the highest and
noblest traditions of beauty and art, revealing the imagination of a
poet, the fine sense of color and harmony of an artist, and the sure
hand of a master-architect in his confident control of architectural
forms, of decorative detail and of the contributing landscape elements.
The conception of the rotunda is said to have been suggested to the
architect by Becklin's painting "The Island of the Dead" and that of the
peristyle by Gerome's "Chariot Race."
Across the Laguna from the Palace of Fine Arts runs Administration
Avenue and the magnificent Roman wall which forms the western facade of
the main group of palaces.
Palace of Fine Arts
The Rotunda and Peristyle
The Palace of Fine Arts is, in reality, not one complete building, but
four separate and distinct elements. The rotunda, an octagonal
structure, forms the center of the composition. On either side is a
detached peristyle which follows the curve of the gallery itself, as it
describes an arc about the western shore of the Laguna, yet so
successfully are they all bound together by the encircling green wall
and by the other landscape elements, that an impression of satisfying
unity results.
The architecture, as a whole, is early Roman, with traces of the finer
Greek influences. In general treatment, there is a suggestion of the
Temple of the Sun at Athens, while much of the detail was inspired by
the Choragic monument of Lysicrates, also at Athens.
The rotunda is Roman in conception, Greek in decorative treatment. By
its sheer nobility of form and of proportion, and by its enchantment of
color and sculptured ornament, it dominates the entire landscape. The
high spiritual quality of the architect's conception culminates in the
Shrine of Inspiration, directly in front of the rotunda, as seen from
across the laguna, where kneels Ralph Stackpole's lovely figure of "Art
Tending the Fires of Inspiration," exquisite in its simplicity and
delicate charm.
Palace of Fine Arts
The Peristyle and Laguna
On either side of the central rotunda the peristyle of the Palace of
Fine Arts encircles the shore of the laguna in a long semi-circle,
formed of a row of Corinthian columns their pale green simulating
age-stained marble. At each extremity of the colonnade and at intervals
throughout its length are groups of four larger columns, in ochre, each
group surmounted by a great box, designed to hold flowers and vines.
Panels simulating pale green, veined marble are inset in these
receptacles and at their corners are drooping women's figures by Ulric
H. Ellerhusen representing Contemplation. Between the columns, at their
bases, are also set receptacles for growing plants.
In its pervading dignity, in the strength of the columns, in the rich
beauty of the capitals and in the chaste refinement of the cornice, the
colonnade is essentially Greek.
Palace of Fine Arts
In the Peristyle Walk
Between the Palace of Fine Arts itself and its bordering colonnade of
massive Corinthian columns runs a broad promenade which, while binding
the two together, receives a sense of freedom and serenity from the open
sky above.
The wall of the gallery is interrupted only by the simple entrances at
intervals. It is low and intimate in comparison with the great
proportions of the other exhibit palaces and its height is further
broken by a terrace midway, set with growing plants and shrubs. The
whole effect desired by the architect is of an ancient ruin, overgrown
through the centuries with vegetation. Along the edge of the roof runs a
latticed Pompeiian pergola, hung with trailing vines, and the wall of
the building is colored a deep pompeiian red.
The immense flower urns, banded with classic figures in deep relief,
bearing heavy swinging garlands, are by Ulric H. Ellerhusen. Alternating
with the massed green of shrubs and plants against the wall are niches
holding sculptured groups. The Roman urns which crown the square pillars
marking the doors and which, in varying size, are repeated here and
there about the building, are by William G. Merchant.
Palace of Fine Arts
The Rotunda from the Peristyle
From any point in the peristyle of the Palace of Fine Arts and under any
atmospheric conditions, either by day or by night; the vistas are
peculiarly satisfying and charming. About the columns of the stately
colonnade are blooming plants in simple, natural groups. And at
intervals between the columns under the rotunda or along either end of
the laguna, the outdoor gallery of sculpture finds a sympathetic
background and setting.
The great dome of the rotunda which crowns so many of the vistas, is
stained a velvety burnt orange, with a turquoise blue-green border.
Beneath, are eight panels in low relief by Bruno L. Zimm, symbolizing
Greek culture and its desire for poetic and artistic expression,
conceived in a deeply classic vein and executed with spirit and grace.
Below the panels is an attic of pale-green marble.
Flanking each pier of the rotunda are two Corinthian columns in Sienna
marble, within the arches are corresponding Corinthian pilasters, and
within the dome against each pier is another massive Corinthian column
in marble, each one crowned with the serene and noble "Priestess of
Culture" by Herbert Adams of New York.
Palace of Fine Arts
The Peristyle Walk by Night
Of all the wonderful night effects of the Exposition grounds none are so
full of haunting beauty as the vistas afforded by the Palace of Fine
Arts and its surroundings. By the indirect system of illumination, an
effect as of strong moonlight is produced and from concealed sources,
under cornices or behind columns, a soft reflected radiance pervades
peristyle and rotunda. The trees, shrubs and columns cast long, intense
shadows. Through the columns may be seen the long line of the Roman wall
across the laguna, its great, half-domes suffused with a mellow, golden
light and in the everchanging waters between, it gleams again.
From the other side of the laguna, the rotunda and the long crescent of
the colonnade are seen reflected as in a mirror, and when flooded with
the white radiance of the searchlights, their majestic beauty is
indescribable.
Palace of Fine Arts
A Fountain in the Laguna
Beautiful as the Palace of Fine Arts is from any viewpoint, its
simplicity and noble strength are at their best when seen with a
foreground of trees and water. The landscape, in its simple naturalness,
is in feeling an intimate part of the building itself and so perfectly
do they blend that they seem to have grown together through quiet,
serene centuries.
Between the columns and along the wall of the building are blooming
plants and shrubs, groups of Monterey cypress and eucalyptus trees. The
shores of the laguna are banked with shrubs, loosely massed, and groups
of evergreens and weeping willows bend over the lake. Outlining its
irregular border, broken by small promontories and inlets, thousands of
blooming plants creep down to the water's edge and venture out into its
placid depths--periwinkles, primroses, daffodils, heliotrope, pampas
grass, white and yellow callas, Spanish and Japanese iris and myriads of
others whose names and gay, nodding blossoms are more or less familiar.
Fountains play in the edge of the lake, the charming spirited group here
illustrated being "Wind and Spray" by Anna Coleman Ladd.
Palace of Fine Arts
A Picturesque Garden Fountain
The graceful garden fountain shown is the work of Anna Coleman Ladd. It
is located toward the north end of the building near the entrance to the
peristyle. Of the general effect of the Palace of Fine Arts and of its
deeper meaning, the architect, Bernard R. Maybeck, says:
"There is a succession of impressions produced as one walks through the
different parts of the grounds that play on the feeling and the mind,
each part having its own peculiar influence on the sentiment. Along the
main axis, for example, the Machinery Hall and neighborhood suggest a
mixture of the classic and romantic, as you understand the terms in
literature."
"The Court of Ages suggests the medieval with all its rising power of
idealism in conflict with the physical. The Court of the Universe
suggests Rome, inhabited by some unknown placid people. The Court of the
Four Seasons suggests the grace, the beauty and the peace in the land
where the souls of philosophers and poets dwell."
"The Fine Arts Palace suggests the romantic of the period after the
classic Renaissance, and the keynote is one of sadness modified by the
feeling that beauty has a soothing influence."
Palace of Fine Arts
The Garden and Fountain of Time
In the foreground of this poetic garden scene is the foremost figure of
Lorado Taft's "Fountain of Time." In sympathy with the atmospheric
influence of such a vista, Bernard R. Maybeck, the architect, continues
the thought of the preceding page:
"To make a Fine Arts composition that will fit this modified melancholy,
we must use those forms in architecture and gardening that will affect
the emotions in such a way as to produce on the individual the same
modified sadness as the galleries do. Suppose you were to put a Greek
temple in the middle of a small mountain lake surrounded by dark, deep
rocky cliffs, with the white foam dashing over the marble temple floor,
you would have a sense of mysterious fear and even terror, as of
something uncanny. If the same temple, pure and beautiful in lines and
color, were placed on the face of a placid lake, surrounded by high
trees and lit up by a glorious full moon, you would recall the days when
your mother pressed you to her bosom and your final sob was hushed by a
protecting spirit hovering over you, warm and large. You have there the
point of transition from sadness to content, which comes pretty near to
the total impression that galleries have and that the Fine Arts Palace
and Lake are supposed to have."
California Building
Bell Tower and Forbidden Garden
The California Building is the result of perhaps the most interesting
combination of requirements that could be imagined--to provide a host
building for the home State of a great Exposition where welcome could
warmly and generously be extended to the millions of visitors, where the
officials could have suitable quarters and where the fifty-two counties
of the State could have their exhibits. The location set aside for the
concrete development of these requirements was most stimulating. An
edifice to terminate the vista looking north over a laguna of silent
water flanked by the wonderful Palace of Fine Arts, and just beyond, the
beautiful Bay of San Francisco with a background formed by distant
Tamalpais.
No style of architecture could be more appropriate to these needs than
that which exists in California--an architecture romantic, peaceful,
subtle and charming in its proportions. The task of adapting the Mission
architecture to the requirements was given Thomas H. F. Burditt. He
entered into the spirit of the old Padre builders with rare intuition,
and he designed a building of impressive dignity and hospitality.
California Building
The Arches of the Colonnade
The Mission Padres had built neither in magnificence nor in magnitude,
and as both of these were requisite qualities in the construction of the
California Building, they presented peculiar problems, and were treated
with the thought of what one of the old Padres with a limited knowledge
of architecture would have done if presented with the larger problem. So
it seemed that the entrance foyer should be quiet, and massive and
should form a nucleus to all parts of the building. The magnitude of the
edifice was so great that all the existing Missions of California could
be housed therein, and in order to show the largeness of its proportions
and varied functions, each part was designed as a motif in itself and
closely related to that part by which it stood.
From the forecourt in replica of the Forbidden Garden of Santa Barbara,
surrounded by old cypress hedges, by driveways, and walled in by
cloistered arches, one can find the principal entrances to all the main
divisions of the building, and also to the administrative portion which
contains the executive offices of the Exposition and the official
reception and banquet rooms.
California Building
A Vista in the Colonnade
The cloistered colonnades so intimately associated with Mission
architecture have been successfully handled in the Court of the
California Building. The molds for the columns of the arches were made
by the architect himself, to give the semblance of age and that each
should differ from the other. It was most necessary to avoid mechanical
regularity in any feature of the building, and in consequence all the
details vary, so that no two that are exactly similar are placed near
each other. The arches are made of slightly different radii, and the
bells vary both in size and design. There are ten main groups of
entrances, but no two of them are in any way similar, and it was through
these means that the attempt was made to obtain a varied change of
interest in plan, mass, silhouette and detail and the lack of precision
which must have existed at the time when the old California Missions
grew into being.
California Building
The Forbidden Garden
There had grown on this location for forty odd years, a hedge of
cypress, weary with its age, and groups of trees forming wonderful
masses of foliage to charm the eye. This happy circumstance was cleverly
utilized by the architect in designing the court of the California
Building. A replica of the enclosed Garden of Mission Santa Barbara was
laid out within the boundary of this old hedge and planted with
old-fashioned flowers such as would have delighted the Mission Fathers.
In the center is a fountain similar to that at Santa Barbara, and the
quiet splash of its water adds a touch of charm and romance. The bell
tower of the building throws an afternoon shadow over the garden, and
within a niche in the tower stands the statue of Padre Serra overlooking
this peaceful nook.
California Building
The Semi-Tropical Garden
To the south of the California Building, off the Esplanade, lies an
interesting garden filled with various species of cacti and unusual
semi-tropical plants. Interspersed among these are masses of brightly
blossoming dainty flowers--baby blue eyes in the spring and others,
equally lovely, as the seasons change. In a sheltered nook rise the tall
slender stalks of rare bamboo, sent from a private garden in
Bakersfield.
The massive walls of the building form a rich background. Their
appearance of stability, enhanced by a slight batter--that is a slight
receding from the perpendicular--is shown by a least visible thickness
of three feet. These features are evident in every wall throughout the
exterior of the building. Within the corridors, the floors appropriately
are paved with red brick, and the ceilings are beamed and roughly
finished.
Netherlands Pavilion
As Seen from the Laguna
The Pavilion of the Netherlands is located sufficiently near the Laguna
to be reflected within the pool. The high dome is adorned with four
clock towers and a forest of flagstaffs and spires. K. Kromhout, who
designed the building, followed the modern ideas of the present-day
school of architects in Holland. The ultra style of the Pavilion fails
to recall the staunch and dignified brick structures for which the Dutch
are famous, but it is a striking edifice. The tiled panels are lovely
and the warm colors used in the exterior decorations most attractive.
When viewed from Administration Avenue, the numerous towers, fluttering
pennants and harmonious colors are set oft to best advantage by the
trees along the Laguna. About the building, the Hollander's love of
flowers is strongly in evidence. Ten carloads of bulbs and shrubs were
imported for the horticultural display.
Italian Pavilion
The Piazzetta Venetia
The Italian Pavilion consists of a group of eight buildings, combining
architectural styles of the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries. The main entrance to the pavilion is on the west, and a
broad, low flight of steps leads into the Piazza Grande, graced by a
fountain by Tacca and pieces of Italian sculpture. On the left is the
medieval palace, containing authentic works of art of many ages. Facing
this is the Lombard palace, of the period of fourteen-hundred, used by
the Italian Commissioners as a reception hall. The Royal Salon and Casa
Italiana form the east wall of the main court. The inner courts are
beautified with fountains and statuary groups. Covered passageways,
supported by slender pillars, extend around three sides of the
piazzetta, and add a delicate charm to the enclosure. The Venetian Well
in the center is a characteristic note, and the stairways leading to the
upper verandas, and the niches about this court, are delightful in
design. The outer elevation of the main building is of the sixteenth
century. Within the Casa Italiana there is an exact reproduction of the
library of the S. Maria delle Grazie, Milan.
Italian Pavilion
In the Court Verrochio
The arcade which connects the Etruscan Tower with the Bargello Hall
separates the smaller court of the Italian Pavilion from the Piazza
Grande. The most attractive feature in this ideal court is the staircase
and balcony, done in the period of the fourteenth century, with a most
interesting composition of the flat walls, pierced by a graceful double
arch, attractively spotted with plaques and brightened by the color of
the Della Robias and the geraniums blossoming through the balustrade. A
delicate touch is given by the Fountain of the Winged Boy with the Fish,
by Verrocchio, which occupies the center of the stone-flagged court. To
the left of the staircase is a mural fresco depicting the "Return from
the Crusade."
Old iron-framed lanterns hang from the gray-toned ceilings of the
arcades. The coloring of the walls and pillars is stone gray blended
with shades of brown and grayish-blue. The vivid green of the sun-lit
grass within the Piazzetta Venetia relieves the sober color scheme of
this court. The balconies are lined with blooming flowers, and shrubs
and plants in artistic receptacles add to its attractiveness.
Avenue of the Nations
Tower of Sweden's Pavilion
The Avenue of the Nations extends from the Exposition group of Palaces
in a diagonal direction westward to the Marina, and is lined on either
side with the pavilions of the Foreign Nations. In the picture there is
a glimpse of the Canadian Building to the left, and prominent in the
view is the characteristic Swedish tower, typically northern, and
interesting in detail.
Immediately beyond is Bolivia's Palace, to an equal degree typical of
the south, followed by the pinkish-toned building erected by Cuba.
Denmark's Pavilion, on the left of the Avenue adjoining the Palace of
Fine Arts, is distinctly individual, marked by its towers which
reproduce several historic towers in Denmark, and the moat in which
frogs croak at night. The interior is arranged to represent the rooms of
a gentleman's country home. On the hillside to the south are several
avenues about which are grouped others of the Foreign Pavilions--the
picturesque gardens of Japan, the open court of France, with its Rodin
bronze, and the dignified pavilions of Australia, Norway, Greece and
many other nations.
The Esplanade
A View of the Foreign Pavilions
The pavilions of the Foreign Nations are on the south side of the
Esplanade, westward from the group of Exposition Palaces. In the
foreground of this view is seen Canada's stately building, guarded by
the massive British lions. The admirable and comprehensive exhibit
within has aroused great admiration and established a standard for such
displays. Beyond is the pagoda of the Chinese gardens, and the tea
houses, with their roofs colored in the wonderful yellow which occurs so
often in the old Chinese rugs.
The slate-colored dome of Argentina's ornate Palace precedes the
pinkish-toned Netherlands building seen in the distance--the rather
whimsical style of the latter adding a distinct note to that section of
the grounds. The park to the south is distinguished by two Oriental
buildings erected respectively by Siam and Turkey. The first is an exact
copy of a royal pavilion in the Garden of Maha Chakkri Palace, at
Bangkok. The latter is equally typical of the East, marked with dome,
minarets and spires, and includes the main pavilion and a near-by mosque
and prayer tower, connected with it by a corridor.
The Esplanade
A View of the State Buildings
The buildings erected by California's sister Commonwealths occupy the
district west of the California Building, and the north line of the
Esplanade to the Marina. Designed in various individual and dignified
styles, surrounded with handsome lawns and beautiful gardens, they have
formed a most important and interesting feature of the Exposition
grounds. Many of the buildings reproduce historic landmarks. The golden
dome of the Massachusetts State House is as dominant a feature at the
head of the Esplanade as is the original on Beacon Street in Boston. The
loggia of Independence Hall is familiar enough to bring a patriotic
thrill to the heart of the loyal American, even were not the cherished
Liberty Bell on view. Another Colonial feature is the Trenton Barracks,
Washington's headquarters in New Jersey; and "Homewood" takes one back
to Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, and Baltimore in 1802. The massive
log building from Oregon is fairly representative of that state of
virgin forests, notwithstanding the mistaken attempt to reproduce the
classic Parthenon in such a crude medium. In this view the magnificent
building for New York is in the foreground. Beyond, in the order named,
are the buildings for Pennsylvania, New York City, Illinois, Ohio, Utah
and Massachusetts.
The Zone
A Holiday Gathering
The Zone, while providing excellent entertainment and relaxation, is
above the standard established by the amusement sections of former
expositions, many of its concessions being of an educational nature.
This is notably true of the Panama Canal, which appears on the left of
this picture. Because of its value as a faithful reproduction of the
great work which the Exposition commemorates, many consider it as
deserving a place in the main grounds. Almost equal to this in
educational interest and quite ranking it in beauty are the
reproductions of the Grand Canyon with its Hopi and Navajo Indians, and
Yellowstone Park. Old Faithful Inn in the latter is a favorite place for
social gatherings.
For pure fun and gaiety, Toyland Grown Up, that whimsical conceit
especially built for youngsters, old and young, has provided merriment
for thousands. Of thrillers that raise the hair and make the heart beat
high and without which no amusement section would be complete, the Zone
announces its full quota with much rattling of machinery and many
shrieks of joy.
And the presence of strange peoples, one of the recognized features of
these places, is also noticeable along the Zone. A Maori tribe from New
Zealand, Samoans, Hawaiians, Aztecs from Old Tehauntepec, and others
bring their customs and costumes from unfamiliar lands.
The Zone
The Bizarre Decorations
There is something naive about the Zone. It presents its colossal
grotesques--its gargantuan Uncle Sam, its monstrous elephants--rather
with an air of acknowledging that it cannot compete with the beauty one
leaves behind when one turns in under its gay flags ad lanterns. Here is
frankly the spirit of abandon. To the right and left the bawling barkers
shout their enticements, begging one's patronage. Up and down the street
the endless patter of the feet of men and women, the wheeze of the
little electrics and the blare of brassy music ebb and flow. Here and
there is the dominant note of the Exposition, its pastel shades of burnt
orange and red, and its indefinable blue. They flutter forth, hooped
about the flagpoles with Oriental effect. Those wonderful lanterns, that
delightful medieval touch which one finds through the grounds, are here
employed with great effect.
When one is tired of gigantic horses with ever-impending hoofs, tired of
large plaster ladies whose complete poise does not entirely atone for a
rather excess of buxomness, one can always turn to these reminders of
the beauty that is the essential characteristic of the Exposition
itself.
The Fireworks
Star Shells and Steam Battery
Notwithstanding the excellence attained by the Exposition in the beauty
of its coloring, the poetry in its courts and architecture, the mystery
and glamour of its illuminations, the spectacular element could not be
overlooked. This finds expression in the fireworks that are let loose on
the Marina several evenings each week. Here, however, a distinct advance
has been made upon the familiar pyrotechnic display of former events.
The use of powerful scintillators with their colored rays playing upon
smoke clouds and flying devices from exploded bombs high in the air, or
upon weird shapes of steam sent out by the engine on the border of the
yacht harbor, lends infinite variety and beauty. In several of the
numbers the scintillators secure the effects unaided, their lights
making strange figures in the heavens. "Spooks' Parade," "Aurora
Borealis," "Devil's Fan," are some of the ideas suggested.
Zone Salvo
The Final "Big Noise"
The Exposition Fireworks are under the direction of William D'A. Ryan,
Chief of Illumination. On each occasion a set program is followed
consisting of twenty-four numbers. At the opening, a salute of ten
detonating bombs and a large rocket announce the event. This is followed
by features of the scintillator lights, combinations of these with
steam, with smoke bombs and with orange showers and Japanese daylight
shells, and by fancy star shells, festoon rockets and candle fountains.
The climax is reached in the Zone Salvo when a tremendous explosion of
hundreds of detonating devices occurs, with rockets and star shells
exploding in the air, the rays of the scintillator coloring the smoke
clouds in brilliant hues; and amidst it all, high above, suddenly
appears a beautiful American flag caught and followed by the ray of a
powerful white searchlight as it floats away from sight.
Here ends The Architecture and Landscape Gardening of the Exposition,
with an introduction by Louis Christian Mullgardt. The descriptive
titles have been written by Maud Wotring Raymond and John Hamlin.
Edited by Paul Elder. Published by Paul Elder and Company and seen
through their Tomoye Press under the typographical direction of H.
A. Funke in the city of San Francisco during the month of September,
Nineteen Hundred and Fifteen.
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Gardening of the Exposition, by Louis Christian Mullgardt
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