Architects - Bakewell and Brown of San Francisco.
Architecture - Byzantine in the arrangement of the domes (the mosque of
Ahmed I of Constantinople being the inspiration) and in the use of tall
finials suggesting minarets, but quite French in its ornamentation.
The building is one of great beauty and is considered one of the finest
exhibit palaces ever erected at any exposition.
The ornamentation below the dome is by Boutier.
The Caryatids of the Caryatid Porch are by John Bateman of New York.
The great opulence of the harvests of California is brought to mind by
the lavish abundance of the ornamentation on this building.
The combination of the smoked-ivory color of the travertine and the
lattice green of the decorations produces a more lovely effect.
The basket atop is over thirty-three feet in diameter.
The dome is 152 feet in diameter. St. Peter's dome is 137 feet; the
Pantheon dome is 142 feet.
Under the dome will be a constant display of hothouse plants. At the
opening of the Exposition were seen cinerarias and cyclamen of glorious
hue.
A wonderful display of orchids is seen in another portion of this great
building.
Those interested in orange packing will have a chance to see the
different stages of the packing as shown from the arrival of the fruit
at the packinghouse to the nailing of the cover on the box.
A model olive-oil press is in working order and will afford great
interest.
Great steel framework will enable the vast amount of glass of the dome
to withstand the wind pressure.
The dome will be illuminated three times a week.
It will at times look like a great pearl or a fiery opal.
Luther Burbank, the wizard of horticulture, and Carl Purdy, of bulb and
wild flower fame, will have headquarters at this palace during the
entire Exposition, ready to answer and help those who apply to them.
Sixty-five acres of land are to be devoted to horticultural interests.
The Netherlands have fifty-three thousand square feet in a wonderful
display of bulbs and other plants.