CORONATION EXHIBITION.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1071, 9 March 1911, Page 9

CORONATION EXHIBITION.

A MID-WINTER ATTRACTION. ' SPLENDID PREMISES. London is not going to have it all its own way with its merry-making at Coronation time. Wellington is arranging to celebrate the occasion by the holding of oji exhibition, which is to be the biggest thing of its kind held in tho Dominion since the New Zealand Exhibition. Up to the present Wellington folk have uot the faintest conception of tho size, and importance of the Coronation Exhibition, which is being slowly but surely brought into being by tho Wellington Industrial Association. First of all the organising authority has been particularly ■ fortunate in . securing almost i(leal premises from the Wellington Harbour Board, which has offered the uso of "U" Shed on Waterloo Quay, and the new three-story "J" Shed, now in the last stages of completion. Those are not sheds in .the ordinary acceptation of .the word—they are great, solidly-con-structed buildings, with concrete floors, and strong enough to take any exhibit likely to be offered. The location must be regarded as favourable. The exhibition will be within a minute's walk of the tramway stopping-place, opposito Levin and C'o.'s warehouse, the Railway Station is three minutes' walk, and the ferry wharves ara immediately adjacent to tho premises. By tho time the exhibition eventuates in May, it is hoped that •tho tramway extension from.Willis Street via Customhouse Quay to Waterloo Quay will have been completed, so that all visitors will be adequately served. This will merely mean the linking up of the lines between Stewart Dawson's comer and the General Post Office, a work 'already approved. At tho exhibition terminus the Waterloo Quay is to be brilliantly lighted, and no one need be detetred from leaving the building on the score that they are afraid to go home in the dark. Plans and S?ace. ir - v "U" Shed is that nearly new long shed, beyond, and to the north of, the Customhouse, which lias ." a verandah and raised terrace extending.its full length along Waterloo Quay. • It is proposed, according to plans submitted by Mr. Thos. Ballinger at a meeting of the Industrial Association on Tuesday evening, that the grand entrance shall be at the southern end of this shed, i.e., the end nearest to the tram terminus and tho brighter part of the town. The verandah which now projects for four or five feet ont;froni the building for a section of the end of .the she<l is to be extended along so as to connect with the side verandah. "U" «hcd within resembles a lingo arcade,.which after being separated into three sections, divided by broad aisles, will yield 10,75.) superficial feet of since for exhibitors, inclndi'ig the gallery which surrounds the whole building. This shed will be retained for exhibition purpose, puro And simple, and will bo the sole means of entrance to tho other part of the exhibition. This will be contained in tho magnificent three-story new brick store—the finest of its kind in. New. Zealand—which will be connected with '"IT" shed by an annexe. "J" store bos a fine broad gallery on the Waterloo Quay ,=ide of the building, extending_ its full length, supported by massive reinforced square concrete pillars. Onlv a portion of this huge building—some 4791 ft.—will be available for exhibitors, as about half tho building will bo utilised as a concert hall.

The Concert Hall. The Concert Hall, which is destined to be the centre of. attraction, will be the northern half of "3" shed. Here a space 87ft. by SOft. will be partitioned off from wall to (rail crosswise, and as the gallery runs along the Waterloo Quay side, the platform .will be erected on that side of the building 'noafest the harbour front. The advantage of this is that both the _top and .side gallery can be used for seating accommodation. The sole disadvantages are (ho huge reinforced, concrete, pillars, which intervene here and there, but, au effort ; will- ba made to get them in the centre _of the aisles, in order that tliey will 'block tho view of as few people as possible. As the roof is very high, and the walls are-of white-washed brick, the pillars may .be a-blessing in breaking up tho sound, and so prevent 'who. Mr. Bnllinger calculates that the Concert Chamber, above and below, will seat about 13-50 people. A raked flcor will be built in to ensure a pood view of the stage from all parts of the hall. Sports Garden Dc Luxe, "J" Shed has three stories and has concrete floors throughout. At present only a narrow wooden staircase leads up to the third door—but what a third floor it is! As Mr. Balliugor 'pointed out, it is an ideal sports ground. The entire floor is. 216 f- long and S7ft. wide—big enough .to. run races and hold sports of almost' any description on. The concrete floor is at present being covered with a two-inch layer of Netichatel asphalt, which will give it a perfect, surface on the dead -level. . Here at least eijht riuks of bowlers could play were the asphalt covered_ with felt'or some stuff with a bit of grip in it. On one occasion in bad weather a whole tournament was flayed in the old Drillshed in Maginnity Street, by hying down roof-felting, on which the bowls rolled with the greatest truth. The only thing that stands in the way at present, is tho means of access and the City Council by-laws. When the last exhibition was held in Wellington, the City Council was approached to suspend t]i<- building by-laws ,as far as the. exhibition was concerned, as it was only a _ temporary structure. Sumo such concession as th;s is needed in' the proVision of temporary shinny; from 0 u(- ,\ r » Ve 'i c J his tho third floor ot J shed would probably turn out to be a feature of tho exhibition. The annexo will jirovide another IGGlft. ,0.1 space for exhibits, making in all 17,2101t In addition, (he ' Technical School IS being given 2120 ft. of space for an exhibit, and 25i!0ft. is being set aside in .1 shed as an art gollerv. The local Al ', t ., S " ol . ot - v 1 intend, it is understood, to exhibit Us best pictures, and in. ( idditiou hold a •how during the exhibition. It is not improbable that, musical and elocutionary contests, now mooted, mav be held in the Exhibition Concert Hall in August.