BUILDING AN EXPOSITION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XL, Issue 13191, 27 September 1913, Page 10

BUILDING AN EXPOSITION.

fay Peter ;Clirk' r Macfarlane.) Mighty oaks from litlle s_oriis ! That is the first one leaVnjf about the PanamaPacific ExpositiOYi. &eub6n H.- Hale, merchant,, planted. the, scorn. The Paci- % Do^n Exposition Upjjnpany. , transplanted .the sprout. Citizens arid San Francisco and environs j the ' State of •Calif ornia aiid the County of San Francisep ..by .bonds, aitd "subscriptions, -mulch, 'ed its roots with between £3,600,000 and £4 ? 0pQ ; 000V C. C. Moore, mechanical engineer, rich by the drive of ais own engines., president of the PanaTtta^Pacific Exposition Company by the insistence. of his fp,Uows, is, .growing ; the treeT-J^t a salary of nothing " a tnoi\th arida cost t-f £8000 a year to his' own business, : GERM OF GIGANTIC ENTERPRISE. ItWvas nine years ago, just after the Louisiana Exposition, that Hale proposed at. a banquet that , San Francjsco should, celoorate the c^mpte^on, of .the Panama Canai bv'.ihr, first W world'*? exposition ever held to c6mmerijqrate r a "conTOmporarieous fcvent. The-prop^sal fo"ok hold of it-he -popular imagination r », .- •; v ,w The.idea^rew^.anfl the; . Pacific jQeean Co|»j>any was builtVto give it temporary housing. An Act of Congress matte San Frjjiciscb's -• project - the ha■fcion'B.;.; With.^his-.distinetion, however : San Eranciscoja^d California were to pay the bills, and, dijreci the' job! This bad ohA unfortunates reflex. It prevented tKe "nation from realising its paternal responsibility,, to such aft extent, as it might have j.doae^.if : son^e <of i^,.p-wn.. millions wereTbeuig :pouriad out, ~ , .... 7 Confronted squarely,, TßyTa'sVupettdous task, San Francisco incorporated the Panama-Pacific Exposition Company with thirty .directors, \vfcile .Governor Johnson appointed, a , .commission " of, seven men to ' co-operate : arid administer the State's appropriation of •Bi;000 > 000. Returning frdm.;New York. to find that he .: had bqen v appointed, : ir^. r absence , Mr Moore sais: 7%.wjU,tako7tb«f job if you di-rectops, each and ill ' o. yon, ' will agree nover td" ask ihk. to appoint any man to any position.-'v - ,- SEEKING A HEAD. •' v . :.- Tlie directer9.^aasented rpromptly— were so ,much -in-ewpestvabQUt it . that they spread Upon their minutes a resolution to that effect, and;bes]de it they laid another, providing i*tns^ .no . director should, at any 'tim^, -_Cbnie'or remain interested m any" contract, concession, or morify-makifig interelit m connection witatW exposition." - "' 'A : "-"■>.' -'V -X ''■ ...-w ;^E)^: ; jj_>_j__!. ; v7'7w. -■'•: One jtjreat . cpmj^ij^ s;against5 ;against previous shows has been ]. their/ tpo w^ide . scattering so that people walked themselves stupid getting a,roundj;>.^.To 4 -obviate tbis> the first decision of the; poiigress was'fo forget.,the thought pfVt^pildii*|'s entirely, and spread J^e.fsptire e%pp^LS>n .&&. #c great oblong ,lsoor, ajong t^eji^at^r Vfroht, ,-yJHth a, . wide esj^nadei.' of "gi&en .. grass and pp^sj^s. .? b^Vwee^i it . the tide, . , and .V' wit'h.* anqthppwhuge ..belt' "of shrupb cry and. blossoms '.At., tbe back between exposition -,buildA*pgs..and the •uprising, hoins-hung hiUsides ( of the, city, th^y C&rxed this rectangular iflppr. into^ eight,. sections^V,':^ -.represent buildings jn Minep-, Tra*^*p^rtatio*n, Agrilabei^l.. ; Art's, .A^d) so oh-^ei_ht y^st floors l? ;wij_i*, wide avepnes between, ,4i*ia' gr^at, .sweeping', qii ; pi^.s. aL.tfa'e inter.sections cd ' a the, t . principal cross, sjtjreet's.V ■ . v Eipm^ tiiis.^va^/i^vpl^^^.tftejnoye^ and : , aiirdist\pguisl^g; l feat'*^», : t t f l^. l Cburt Sys-; teni of , _uvhitecitur,|, tfy 4i Vhii-jV the .build -,' . ings 'tHe^s^iy^s.Ts^^bejlost^ view,' b^hVd" miles, and. miles .of^orn^meijtpj '.fascadeju. , f Indeed,,. what* one sees is a - ma^njffiaent.- " , systfem ' ofj ccui'ts,. some. reci?^uia:T„,^ojm,e, <yrpiilai;,' sopfie .elliptical, .^eafilv, il^pre9siv:d j( • beauti-' fid, wiih graceful sci^pipres, ,warm xolor.; . ings^.^and, graphic ißural, r! 4 ficora *'W s -' \v,luph' "^c6)(itinu34.iy suggest .spipe noblcj pageant ,tha^. &%<s& s aJjilhe . "flyijle flow i ng? 7)ast. ,us, njatter of ...fact,, it jisj o^-rselves frp^i cii-cle, t<^ Cvu^ivjiisgiei^df^'mt^*^ tb circle .ajijaiii ;by iffie) aj^tacfjuralv ,after • another. , .-.'•>■ « y '^j> :ZZA\X ' .:..*..y-.^ : • GORGEC*^i^I_^IESv Vw T)io idea *is Sufficienfrry " unique to- be '"worth getting -clelirly into f mind ; yet the plan is simpie-^-mel'elj'' to. take the section, of a street *■ between side walls' and crossings at-; eitber '. endi '; knd 'treat it f as a. unit, iashibphig the I ' external walls of the . different buildings ;whieh 'Imv it* into the facades of a botu-t. --If \ve imagine^sul*selVes r ' stahdlhg- m the centre of the 'Court' bfo-this.f^un and Stars, which- is thei'^rand dourt v of honor, we, shall catch ttie genius of7-the plan instantly. 'This court •is elliptical •: m form and very, larg§, about 800 by 900 feet ih its respective "diameters.'-' • The street leading "«oufc- of ; it. tbla-ard i'tlie setting sun is the tfebtatigular^Conrt*; of ithe Wes*t, , and* tli^o^gh; it "Xye "glimpse the imposing •Ci*?cul_r :-<3ourfc- of- -tbe* Four Seasons, while- 'tpw^d'thev-risirife sun is very appropriately- the i 'recta_ig«lar Court V>f the. East, _ through which 1 one fcsees wie 'Strikingly 7> beautiful- Circular Court' of Abundance • \\yitlx i*& Veff ective' tower and '■■' b&w|tcl*dhgV cascade' ofhshinimering varicolored .From where we stand tbe cpurt ilfusiort-'is perfect.. Immediately •about' 'us iwe ate' conscious, of a widely qu^ng^,wloni)ade ; iif the' finest classic Btyl%- r brealdifig' at intervals' into noble domes?; while arches, ofteh ' tdWer-crcWvned) - }>^yd- } above ■ the; streets. We have yno ' stispicion that ' as we face' to the north tW **right ! forward arc of tho .colonnade is "a. "portion' of 'the* t Transportation .Building j that ibe right-? rear arc bears the' ;sarhe v'relation to Manufacturers ; that ihe' lef&fore arc- i^ Agric^ture, . and :i_e -"left tdjtr is Lib-' ei'al' vArts ;- -yet "that* is'* the-v -fact, -and each of those gretpvbuildings is of Itself an interior and individual b&rmony-thalf is without a- jar.. V' W-V '■" •■-, | T-h-^e are tWo : otfiei* ttbtable feat (ires of the axchiterture. W- One is.- the color scheme. ' * White . ■ is"; out _ of- • fashion . The Pan„i>ia-Pacific is to have a*sßt of colbrs of its own by Jiiles 'Guerin, the Now York rtural painter, and illustrator. Every traveller remembers ho vf well that pinkish grey >' of 'greyish b\iff of the Franciscan -misslohs' becomes the Californian landscape. .'/..r'TJiat is to be J the body color of the" exposition build- J ings. From the* missions t too,^ Mr Guerin got the idea' of 'a Spanish' red for roofs, and <de6p;. shadbwj*-- Vi-allsi while for ceilings' and ittteriors genei^lly he mixed a Blue right-out of Cantor nian sky and the,' Golden GatSe* Itself, -w ; T*f_E EIG^ "TH^T WAS. ; Yet the lighting is by f^r. tho most daring archi^ctural, detail. pThe .trite and unimaginative- plan-.,.. 0f outlining building oonto,urs m ,thousai"idS|.pf in,oandescent bulbs ,is rej«3ted S*^„p,tt§rly passe. The first principle „of "t^e , new plap is concealed light., jf^pt "a .Jjeam' will be seen from the thousands :qf { arcs that will burn nightly. Efl-ch. light will be screened by a banper ad^rr-ed with heraldic devices, and m „t he-expositione -exposition colons, the effeqt of -\vh^ch will be a soft? alluring . effulgence , \ha£ ■" will'-.j majce all as light asVday, and yet, the,, iace of court and promenade, Wyith^the whimsical harlequin ipf^ajcs of. a rajnbow moon -' ■ ■ ', ,n W- ii.:' W 'iZ. .•'■<.?■'■'■ . But the crowning; feature- is a, system of lighting by refrac'iipn '. from V, jewelsiEvery tower,! every , squlpturedV, figure^ every roof, and donae x ahd,^pirf, is, to le. bedecked with difW 0 / I^;^? 1 ? 6 crystals from one to threp inches m.^diameter.. of diffen.'il colors— -y-ellojv,.,^lu«i,; etc.r-r a nd cut to present njanj*.,., prismatic,-, angles* .To the ninnl^er ot : theseVwill be suspended so that thoy will ..^ffible con| staptly m ; the .^lv^ys ,^tjrriing b,f/pezes. while fron} barges a^iored/Jn the,J^ate{ and from commaQdi^gVj9]utsVohVf*,dja-« cent buildings.7 po'w,e«ii?i' searchlights, singly and m batterie^^ will,, play.* their s"*--*'?ke beams upon "these t iens of thou^ sa/ida of shiver^ jewels, raakipg of each flickering, 'pnsnijatic . facet a flashiri3; spoctrum, a^d i/he "Vhole of /them, ooru^cating at f once under the whirling beahis iviU forift. siich*an .artificial.' aurora thatr speptatoj-s^may ,fcurji7 twice the heiayens to make si*ro some astr^upmical Hagenbecl^ has no^iflnare^' t^e Milky Way and, chained A^ , ther<*»* ,'iipon thq exposition .grounds. ,.v7v - 7 , - A »HNlATjlfe.P_^A^_ (jANi(LV) Mr Burt py opvs^f. amusement .of . the sort ' the Americ?!*. ' pepple, ,li|te^ .plenty of action, plenty^ojF,cle^ .if uii,V plenty of ' Shocks, thrillftiVlSUrprises, Reasoned with little chortlnig^ecstasies and those prolonged satisfactions which '-stir the senses and leave ' a good taste m the memory. But it will not be all Jdle water which passes thi'ough _ Tlie ' Spillway. A. frequent challenge tothe higher faculties is to be offered.

Here fit-t- a. few of the features already Icpntracted for : A miniature reproduction of the Panama. Canal. You get ma. boat at Colon, on the Atlantic side ; you are locked through the Gatun Dam. you sail . across the lake, you emerge from the gorge of Culebra, and out through the locks of PedrO Miguel and then of Miraflores to Balboa and the Pacific. There you disembark upon a movinp; sidewalk, sink into a comfortable armchair, with a graphophone at your ear, and enter upon a. land journey back along the canal you have just traversed to your starting point, and a-s you go the graphoplione delivers a "personally Conducted" lecture upon the features ahd details of canal construction and operation as they pass before you. Tiirie consumed, 20 minutes ; cost. 60 cents. And the chances are you wili haye a better idea of the real canal than those who passed through it. You can do the Grand Canon the same way.

Think of a Montreal winter carnival, with its palaces of ice, with its blankets of .white, with its huge toboggan slide, and all the associated extravagances of human pleasure, and consider that one concessionaire has contracted to transpose a, few acres of the fair site, by means of artificial refrigeration, into a sectipn of the polar zone, with every detail of those frosty saturnalia of the sno\vs reproduced" m this environment of palms and ftowers. It is greatly to the writer's regret that space does not permit of a word m detail of the many striking features of the exposition plan.; of the horticultural building with its lofty crystal dome ; ol the Palace of Fine Arts with broadlyextended arms curving to • embrace a shimmering lagoon ; of the chromatic horticultural display to be marshalled by that wizard of* Golden Gatf> Park. John McLaren, a succession of hues of leaf and blossom such as would be. possible onlyl in California; of the sculptures supervised by Bitter and Calder *, of the succession of congresses, 138 of which have already been scheduled ; of the agricultural and live-stock exhibits with their daily scientific demonstrations; of the speedway and athletic field upon which the contests of human and ahimal prowess will succeed each other like vast Olympics ; of the marvels of progress to be revealed m the departments of social economy, of education, of liberal arts, of manufactures, of machinery, of transportation, of mines and metallurgy — of the vying challenges that already Degin to ring from nation to nation. „. THE HIDDEN OF IT. As one walks over the grounds to-day ahd sees the foundations of acre upon acre of buildings going m; as one observes m the vast curved space reserved for the buildings of the States arid nations the signs that begin to bloom m every part of the arc proclaiming th.;t this soil or that is already deeded^ to Sweden, to Japan, to Bolivia, to New York, to Illnois, or New Jersey, it wants but little imagination to contemplate this vast congress Of State and national exhibits already standing, complete and furbished, a world exposition " m itself, although quite, over and above what has hitherto been described. To the westward above this curved arc of the States and nations ris-e the conse-clad heights of Uncle Sam's great, military station, the Presidio, and the ,sky rattles and roars with the booming of 'her heavy guns now engaged m target practice. Fascinated, the eye sweeps on round the southern circle to the homecovered vistas of the city's upknd ; on; eastward to where the concession district -■rill rear its sixty-five acres of palace* of joy, on to the north where stretches; the great parallelogram which is to be the exposition, proper.