The north facade of this palace duplicates that of the Palace of
Agriculture. But when one turns the west corner into Administration
Avenue, one finds an entirely different atmosphere, where the Spanish
architecture has given way to Italian. The dominating feature of the
building's west facade is an immense half-dome, officially called "The
Half-dome of Physical Vigor." This is an exact replica of the "Half-dome
of Philosophy" on the Education Palace.
Sculpture. Before the half-dome here, on columns, are replicas of Ralph
Stackpole's statue of the physically vigorous man in thought. Inside the
half-dome is a repeated figure of a man with a wreath, by Earl Cummings.
In the niches along the walls are two alternating compositions,
"Abundance" and "The Triumph of the Field," by Charles R. Harley.
Abundance is typified by a seated woman, with the conventional
overflowing cornucopias beside her, as well as a conglomeration of
details suggestive of the riches of land and sea. This group certainly
belongs to the Food Products building, but it really ought to be inside,
with the flowers made of butter and the tower of raisins. The Triumph of
the Field shows a man seated, and around him a museum of ancient symbols
of agriculture, and of agricultural triumph, such as were once carried
in the annual harvest festivals. These two groups are among the most
amusing things at the Exposition; but artistically they can hardly be
said to count at all.