one is a Florentine structure containing a single hall devoted to purely
governmental exhibits. The Tribuna between the two is the sanctuary of
the pavilion, containing the portraits of King Victor Emmanuel and Queen
Margherita, and portraits and relics of the great of Italy, explorers
from Columbus to the Duke of the Abruzzi, scientists like Galileo,
Galvani, Volta and Marconi, statesmen like Mazzini, and soldiers like
Garibaldi. The other principal hall contains a series of rooms
representing the cities of Italy during the Renaissance. First from the
east is a reproduction of the Fifteenth Century library of the sacristy
of the Church of Santa Maria alle Grazie at Milan, a chamber of
beautiful armoires of carved wood, with panels painted with sacred
pictures in colors. Next is a Neapolitan room, filled with reproductions
in bronze and silver and marble of the Pompeiian treasures of the
Museums of Naples and Rome. Then comes the Florentine Room, furnished in
Fifteenth Century style with carved and inlaid wood, and adorned with
copies of the best bronzes and marbles of the great mediaeval city.
There is also a dining room in Fourteenth Century Florentine style, and
then comes, at the western end, the Royal Salon, a magnificent hall with
ceilings in blue and gold, and murals by Pieretto and Bruno Ferrari.
All the art works of the mediaeval rooms are copies of originals, but in
the Bargello Hall, Signor Canessa, who was J. P. Morgan's European
agent, shows his collection of veritable Italian and ancient art. Here
are many things familiar through books, Michelangelo's bust of the
Virgin; a cabinet full of reliquaries and profane vessels in crystal,
gold and enamel done by Beuvenuto Cellini; the bronze Bacchante with
silver eyes which was dug up in the gardens of the Persian embassy at
Stamboul, and which dates from the Third Century B. C.; the famous
portrait bust in rock-crystal of an Egyptian king of the Eighteenth
Dynasty; madonnas and saints by Fifteenth Century painters; a complete
garden set, fountain, statues and all, from a Pompeiian villa; Greek
bronze and silver vessels and statuettes; Bernini's bust of the Cardinal
de Medici; Fifteenth Century tapestries, and so many other objects of
mediaeval and ancient art that a special catalogue has been prepared to
describe them.
Italy's modern painting and Sculpture are well represented in the Palace
of Fine Arts, and her industrial and commercial exhibits are in the
other palaces.
Japan.--Japan has chosen her temple and palace gardens as the types to
represent her at the Exposition. (p. 169.) She dug up the Mikado's
private garden at the end of the sacred Red Bridge in Nikko, trees,
shrine, rocks, greensward and soil, and set it down again on the
Exposition grounds. So doing, she has shown the Western world a lesson
in the beauty of simplicity. The central building in this charming
garden is a copy, enlarged, of the Golden Pavilion of the Roku-on-ji
Temple in the city of Nara. It is of plain wood and lacquer, with
interior walls and ceiling entirely covered with gold leaf. The office
building joined to the temple was suggested by the shrine of the ancient
castle of Fushimi. The exhibit building north of this temple houses a
complete and remarkably beautiful fac-simile of the famous temple at
Nikko, one of the finest in Japan. The Mikado's private collection of
Japanese art, never before opened to the public, even in Japan, is
placed in the Japanese section of the Fine Arts Palace. The paintings,
scrolls, porcelain, satsuma ware, Sculptures and metal work shown in
this very noteworthy exhibit were collected by the late Emperor
Mutsuhito.
One of the tea houses is an exhibit of the Central Tea Traders'
Association, the other one by the Formosan Government. The striking
features of the gardens, beside the stream and the lakelet, are the
dwarfed conifers, priceless trees. Two of them are the products of ten
centuries of systematic pinching back. With them are three sago palms,
five hundred years old. Scattered throughout the gardens are stone
lanterns. Every plant, every bit of turf, every stone in the bed of the
stream even, came from Nippon.
Japan is one of the largest exhibitors in the Exposition. Her displays,
shown in every palace except Machinery, are an amazing demonstration of
the degree to which she has entered the trade of the world.
The Netherlands.--In its domed pavilion, gay with many bannered staffs,
the Netherlands has achieved one of the most striking buildings in the
foreign section. (p. 157.) Its architecture is not representative of the
traditional Dutch style but fulfills the modern ideas of the present-day
school of builders in Holland. Most prominent is the clock tower, where
a bell rings the hours.
Within, the pavilion presents Holland as one of the great colonial
nations. Roughly, it has three divisions, devoted to the mother country,
the Dutch East Indies, and the Dutch West Indies, in each of which
industry and commerce is pictured in dioramas and exemplified by
displays of products. Dutch girls in national costume serve visitors in
the refreshment room.
Holland's most noteworthy exhibits are those made by the Board of
Horticulture of the Netherlands in the gardens of the Palace of
Horticulture, and her pictures in the Palace of Fine Arts. Holland sent
to San Francisco ten carloads of rhododendrons, conifers, and bulbs. To
install them she sent Mynheer Arie Van Vliet, the landscape engineer of
the Peace Palace at The Hague. Her industrial exhibits are in the
Exposition palaces.
New Zealand.--The New Zealand Pavilion is of mixed French and Italian
styles. It was designed by Lewis P. Hobart of San Francisco, in
collaboration with Commissioner Edmund Clifton. While it contains a
representative display of the chief products of the youngest of the
Dominions, the main exhibits are in the Palaces of Mines, Agriculture,
and Food Products.
Norway.--Norway, like Sweden and Denmark, has succeeded admirably in
reproducing its national spirit in its pavilion. The building is a long
story-and-a-half structure, in the ancient Norse style, dominated by a
beautiful tower on which is emblazoned the Norwegian coat-of-arms. The
lower floor contains three large dioramas of characteristic Norwegian
scenery, and an exhibit hall wherein are shown products of the
industries of Norway, especially her great maritime activities. As in
the case of the other two Scandinavian countries, the sons of Norway in
California built the pavilion, while the Norse Government provided the
exhibits.
Portugal.--A sign of the glorious past, when Henry the Navigator made
his country a great sea power with colonies around the globe, appears in
the knotted cable that binds Portugal's Pavilion. The fantastic
architecture of this little palace is also historically significant, for
it was adapted from that of the Cathedral of Jeronymos, the Convents of
Thomar and Batalha, and the Tower of Belem, built in celebration of
Portugal's golden age of discovery. The style is known as the Manuelino.
Antonio do Couto of Lisbon was the architect, assisted by the sculptor,
Mota Sobrinho. The building has a local significance in California,
where thousands of Portuguese have settled. In the pavilion is a display
of laces, inlaid articles and wickerwork, exhibits which are repeated in
greater variety and with other products in the Exposition palaces. The
walls are beautified with a series of very remarkable photographs of
famous Portuguese cathedrals.
Siam.--The Siamese Pavilion is a perfect example of the architecture of
the Far East. It reproduces a pavilion on the palace grounds at Bangkok.
It was first built there by native workmen, taken apart in sections and
shipped to San Francisco to be set up on the Exposition grounds. Teak,
sandal-wood and other rare Asiatic timbers are used in its construction.
Hammered metal work, carved ivory, and tapestries form its interior
decorations; but, in striking contrast to its ancient art and spirit,
the building is a moving-picture palace where Siam's life and industry
is shown.
Sweden.--Sweden has delighted everybody with her pavilion, a building
finely representative of the people who built it, and with her
industrial exhibit as well. (p. 160.) The pavilion combines the best in
Swedish ecclesiastical and domestic architecture, the church tower and
the gabled hall near the center, dwelling-house types at the ends. It
was designed by Ferdinand Boberg, a noted leader in Swedish art.
The building is almost entirely filled with exhibits of Swedish
industry, a presentation as good in its way as Canada's splendid picture
of her great, hardly touched resources. The Swedish steel works have
sent numerous models of locomotives, steamships, and machinery, and
full-sized samples of smaller products. The government has furnished
models of docks and bridges, of buildings and other engineering works.
The familiar Swedish matches are here in pyramids. There are rooms
furnished by Swedish artisans in birch and oak, with chandeliers of
hammered iron, carpets from Swedish looms, and fine ceramics from the
Swedish potteries. Other exhibits are in the Exposition palaces. In art,
the Swedish collection in the Palace of Fine Arts is perhaps the most
distinctive display made by a foreign nation.
Sweden's part in the Exposition was made possible by the Swedish
citizens of California, who gave the funds for the pavilion, while the
home government provided for the installation of the exhibits.
Turkey.--The Turkish Pavilion supplies the one touch of Islam in the
foreign section. The Ottoman building is a copy of the palace of Sultan
Ahmed I at Stamboul, the summer home of the present Sultan. Within the
pavilion is a ballroom, cafe, and lounging rooms. But the interest of
the building, and of the little mosque behind it, as examples of Turkish
architecture, is entirely overshadowed by the wonderful collection of
rare rugs, beautiful brasses and carvings, and rich inlaid and jeweled
ornaments, all part of the Sultan's treasures, and valued at $1,500,000.
XVII.
The State Buildings
A section full of historical and architectural interest--Many notable
buildings simply furnish State headquarters, others contain important
exhibits--California's great Mission structure--The remarkable display
of her counties--New York's stately palace--Oregon's timbered
Parthenon--Interesting chapters in American history told by the houses
of Massachusetts, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey--Fine
buildings of the Western States--Attractive pavilions of the
Philippines and Hawaii.
The state buildings at the Exposition fall naturally into three groups:
those that reproduce or suggest historical structures, those
characteristic in some way of their builders, and those that express the
importance of their states by dignified architecture and significant
exhibits. The richer the history of the state, the more likely its
building is to reflect its past. Several states which possess famous
historical buildings, such as Mount Vernon or Independence Hall, have
either copied them or used their motives in the Exposition structures.
Twenty-seven states, the Territory of Hawaii, and the Philippine
Islands, are represented by twenty-eight buildings.
The California Building, Thomas H. Burditt of San Francisco, architect,
by far the largest state building ever erected at any exposition, is an
exceedingly happy treatment of the Mission style. (See p. 179.) Its
commanding tower is better than anything ever done by the padres in
California. From its facade, Fray Junipero Serra looks out over a
charming garden, which, more than anything else, invests this building
with the real spirit of California. It is a reproduction, even to the
fountain, the pepper trees, and the old fashioned flowers, of the
private garden of the Santa Barbara Mission, a spot where no woman
treads. From this garden, enclosed by walls of clipped Monterey cypress,
one looks at the tower and is at once translated to Southern California.
This building covers five acres, and is worthy to be ranked with the
Exposition palaces. Under the tower is a fine vaulted loge and a
reception room, both opening into a splendid balconied ballroom behind,
all finished in the Exposition travertine. The walls of the reception
room are hung with magnificent tapestries, loaned by Mrs. Phoebe A.
Hearst. The west wing contains the administrative offices of the
Exposition and the Woman's Board, and the directors' club rooms. The
large eastern wing is entirely filled with the displays of the
fifty-eight California counties. (p. 182.) These together form one of
the most noteworthy exhibits in the entire Exposition. They demonstrate
the fact that a multitude of other resources besides her gold entitle
California to be called "the Golden State."
The Oregon Building, Foulkes and Hogue of Portland, architects,
imitates, though it does not reproduce, the Parthenon of the Athenian
Acropolis. (p. 191.) Doric marble is replaced by the natural columns of
the great trees of Oregon, and the frieze of Phidias, by the fretwork of
the bark of pine and fir. There are forty-eight of the great columns,
the same number as in the outer colonnade of the Parthenon, and,
coincidentally, one for each State of the Union. They were cut from
among the largest of trees. The Douglas fir, next to the redwood and the
sequoia the most massive of living things, furnished most of them. But
the largest happen to be the two giant incense cedars, which stand on
either side of the main entrance. These are eight feet and ten inches in
diameter. Then there are two columns on the south side, both cut from a
spruce that was four feet seven inches through at 101 feet above the
ground.
In exterior proportions the building reproduces the Parthenon, but the
Parthenon had a double row of columns around its porch, the Oregon
temple has but a single row. In size it is considerably larger than the
Partheon. The great flagpole is a single stick of Douglas fir, 251 feet
long, set in a 200-ton block of concrete. The building contains an
excellent exhibit of Oregon's resources.
The Washington Building, A. F. Heide of San Francisco, architect, is a
striking example of the French Renaissance. (p. 191.) Unlike most of the
state buildings, it is used largely for the exhibition of home products.
Its motion pictures, its group of wild life, and its displays of
agriculture, mining, forestry and fisheries, are all designed to
advertise the remarkable scenery and resources of the Evergreen State.
Washington is an important exhibitor in the Palaces of Horticulture,
Agriculture, Food Products, Mines and Education.
The New York State Building is, next to that of California, the largest
structure erected by any state. (p. 170.) It is in every way a dignified
and noteworthy example of the best modern civic architecture. Charles B.
Meyers, of New York City, was the architect. The building is finished in
plastic travertine. A magnificent entrance opens upon a wide central
corridor. An assembly room, intended for the use of New York
organizations, and a restaurant, pierce the second story. The other
rooms on the first floor are devoted to the reception and convenience of
New York visitors. On the other floors are the offices and apartments of
the Commission, with a special suite for the Governor of the State. New
York's official exhibits are in the several exhibit palaces.
The New York City Building, Bertram G. Goodhue, of New York, architect,
is the only municipal building at the Exposition. It is a simple classic
structure, housing an extensive display intended to demonstrate and
promote municipal efficiency. Its exhibits, maps, models, photographs
and charts,--admirably illustrate all sides of city government.
The Massachusetts Building, planned by Wells and Dana, of Boston, is a
fac-simile reproduction of the Bulfinch front of the Massachusetts State
House on a scale of two-thirds. (p. 181.) Within, as well as without, it
is of commanding interest to every American. Its rooms are furnished
with veritable colonial furniture. The club room to the right of the
entrance hall is done in Jacobean style, the reception room opposite
shows fine copies of Chippendale, Sheraton, Hepplewhite and Adams
originals, and is hung with a long series of historic portraits, lent by
Massachusetts families and the State Historical Society. On the second
floor is a room filled with genuine old furniture by the most famous
makers, fine colonial mirrors, and a Willard clock. The Governor's suite
and the Commissioners' rooms are furnished with exquisite copies of
colonial models.
The Pennsylvania Building, Henry Hornbostel, of Pittsburgh, architect.
This interesting structure is reminiscent of Independence Hall,
Philadelphia, though it is not a reproduction of the Cradle of Liberty.
(p. 181.) Its plan was dictated by the necessity of a fireproof
structure in which to house the Liberty Bell at the Exposition.
Consequently, it is the solidest and most enduring of the state
buildings. Besides the Bell, which is placed in the loggia, its most
striking feature is the two fine mural paintings under the attic, from
the brush of Edward Trumbull, of Pittsburgh, one representing Penn's
Treaty with the Indians, and the other Pittsburgh Industries.
The New Jersey Building, Hugh Roberts, of Jersey City, architect, like
those of Pennsylvania and Virginia, tells of the days of the Revolution.
It is a copy of the old Trenton barracks, erected in 1758, and used
alternately by British and Colonial troops during the Revolution.
Within, its simple and comfortable appointments make it one of the most
popular of the state buildings. A large lounge with blazing fireplaces,
and furnished in white reed, occupies the entire central section. In the
east wing are the offices and rooms of the Commission. The west wing
contains the lobby and a reception room in which hang two large marines
painted by N. Hagerup, of San Francisco. As the building is to be
President Wilson's headquarters if he comes to the Exposition, a
splendid suite, corresponding with the rooms occupied by General
Washington, has been furnished and reserved for him.
The Maryland Building, designed by Thomas, Parker and Rice, of
Baltimore, presents a fascinating study of colonial architecture in its
reproduction of "Homewood," built by Charles Carroll of Carrollton in
1802. The present aspect of "Homewood" has been imitated in appearance
of age given to the brickwork and the timbering. The contents of the
building are no less delightful, historically, than the structure
itself. The Colonial Dames of America have enriched the walls with
original portraits of colonial celebrities, old prints, original grants
by the Baltimores, and many historical documents and relics. Colonial
furniture adorns the rooms. Few of the state buildings will so well
repay a visit.
The Virginia Building, Charles K. Bryant, of Richmond, architect, is as
significant historically as any on the grounds. It is a complete
reproduction of George Washington's home at Mount Vernon, down to the
spinning room, the detached kitchen and the servants' quarters, and
furnished in part with Washington's own furniture loaned by Miss Nannie
Randolph Heth, of Virginia, the official hostess of the building. There
is Washington's chair, Mrs. Washington's work box, Nellie Custis' music
stand, and many other relics of the Father of his Country. The remaining
furniture, also loaned by Miss Heth, consists of antique specimens
brought over from England in colonial days.
The West Virginia Building, designed by H. Rus Warne, of Charleston, W.
Va., while not copying any individual structure, suggests well-known
colonial types. Its veranda, in particular, is like that of the home of
the Lees at Arlington. The chief room is the long reception hall, where
logs always burn in a huge fireplace, typifying the warmth of West
Virginian hospitality.
The Mississippi Building, Overstreet and Spencer, of Jackson,
architects, was designed to suggest the old-style Southern mansions.
Some of its motives, especially the pillared portico, were taken from
the old capitol building at Jackson. The displays contained in it are
chiefly agricultural. Mississippi is also represented in the Exposition
palaces.
The Ohio Building, designed by Albert Pretzinger, of Dayton, is a copy,
on a smaller scale, of the classic State House at Columbus. Containing
no exhibits except the relics shown by the State Historical Society, the
building serves the social side of Ohio's participation in the
Exposition. Its upper floor is entirely occupied by suites for the
Governor and the Commissioners.
The Indiana Building, designed by J. F. Johnson, of Indianapolis,
represents a type of modern Hoosier dwellings. It is of permanent
construction, of sandstone and brick with a tiled roof, and unique in
the fact that all of the materials used and all the furnishings are
Indiana products. State pride appears again in the library of 15,000
volumes, confined entirely to the works of Indiana authors and books
about Indiana. In addition to the building, which is wholly an exhibit,
Indiana is well represented in the Exposition palaces.
The Illinois Building, designed by State Architect James Di Belka, of
Chicago, is perhaps the best exhibit of the State at the Exposition. (p.
180.) It is a dignified three-story structure of the Italian
Renaissance. The Sculptured tablets of the facades represent the history
and progress of Illinois. The exhibits within are of unusual interest.
The Lincoln Memorial Room, made possible by Mrs. Jessie Palmer Weber,
contains a great collection of photographs, letters and relics of
Lincoln, and many articles connected with his life. The valuable series
of films prepared by the Chicago City Planning Commission is shown in
the moving-picture hall. This building contains a fine pipe organ on
which frequent recitals are given.
The Wisconsin Building, designed by R. A. Messmer & Co., Milwaukee, in
the colonial style with wide porticoes, contains one of the State's best
exhibits in its interior finish of fine Wisconsin hardwoods. The floors
are all of maple and the paneled wall of birch. "Old Abe," the famous
Wisconsin war eagle, stands above the main entrance. Over the fireplace
in the reception room is a panel in relief, "The Progress of Wisconsin."
The building is used a headquarters for Wisconsin visitors.
The Iowa Building, Clinton P. Shockley, of Waterloo, IA., architect, is
a classic structure, finished, like most of the state buildings, in the
Exposition travertine. It does credit to the public spirit of Iowa
business men, who, in default of a legislative appropriation, supplied
the funds.
The Missouri Building, designed by H. H. Hohenchild, of St. Louis, is a
structure of real distinction in the Georgian style. (p. 180.) It copies
no Missouri building, and is historical only in its pleasant combination
of architectural features much used in early days. The building is of
permanent construction and after the Exposition closes is to be turned
over to the Government as a club house for the army,--this as a
compliment to Major-General Arthur Murray, who, like so many other
eminent Americans, hails from Pike County. The Missouri Home, as it is
called, is used as a gathering place for visiting Missourians, and for
the strong Missouri Society of California.
The Kansas Building, Charles Chandler, of Topeka, architect, is a
pavilion in the style of the Italian Renaissance. It is a club house,
devoted solely to the comfort and entertainment of visitors. Strong
exhibits are made by the state in the palaces of Agriculture,
Horticulture, Food Products, Education, and in the Live-Stock Section.
The Arkansas-Oklahoma Building, designed by George R. Mann, of Little
Rock, was built and furnished by private subscriptions by citizens of
the two states. It is a roomy bungalow designed for the convenience of
visitors from Arkansas and Oklahoma, and exhibits some of their
products.
The Texas Building, Page and Brothers, Austin, architects, is a pleasing
example of Mexican architecture as distinguished from the California
Mission style. It suggests the Alamo, and bears the Lone Star pierced
through its raised cornice. Within is a patio, reached by broad
entrances from the verandas at front and rear. A motion-picture hall, a
ballroom, offices and rest rooms occupy the greater part of the
building. The state exhibits are in the Exposition palaces.