The Architecture and Landscape Gardening of the Exposition Part 3

Palace of Liberal Arts Elephant Fountain Niche by Night

The ornamental fountain alcoves placed at intervals are important decorative features of the south walls. The shrubbery has been so grouped about the niches that the details of the fountains are partially screened. Upon closer investigation, one finds an elephant's head as the central object in one niche, alternating with a lion throughout the series. They set snugly against the pink panel just over the flaring basin of travertine wherein the water trickles.

At night, these niches are flecked with shadows cast by the surrounding trees. Electric lights, concealed beneath the water, shed a warm glow upon the head of the elephant in its frame of sculptured half columns.

These fountain niches, designed by W. B. Faville, are in the same Spanish style of architecture which characterizes the entire south facade of the palaces.

The Tower of Jewels The Great Roman Archway

Midway on the south face of the Tower of Jewels are inserted four commemorative tablets. The inscription on the panel at the left end of the colonnade reads as follows:

1501--Rodrigo de Bastides pursuing his course beyond the West Indies discovers Panama.

The Panel at the left of the central arch reads:

1513--Vasco Nunez de Balboa crosses the Isthmus of Panama and discovers the Pacific Ocean.

At the right of the central arch the panel reads:

1904--The United States succeeding France begins operations on the Panama Ca.n.a.l.

The Panel at the right end of the colonnade is inscribed:

1915--The Panama Ca.n.a.l is opened to the commerce of the world.

The Tower of Jewels Colonnade, The Fountain of Youth

Beyond the colonnades and the great Roman arch, on the north face of the Tower of Jewels as it faces the Court of the Universe, are four commemorative tablets similar to those found on the south side. The panel at the left end of the colonnade is inscribed:

1542--Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo discovers California and lands on its sh.o.r.es.

The Panel at the left of the central arch reads:

1776--Jose Joaquin Moraga founds the Mission of San Francisco de Isis.

At the right of the central arch the panel reads:

1846-The United States upon the outbreak of war with Mexico takes possession of California.

The Panel at the right end of the colonnade is inscribed:

1850--California is admitted to the Union as a sovereign State.

Palace of Manufactures Portal, from the South Gardens

The Palace of Manufactures lies directly east of the Tower of Jewels and fronts on the Avenue of Palms. In architectural design, it duplicates the Palace of Liberal Arts, the repet.i.tion giving strength and simplicity to the entire south facade. The dignified main portal is flanked on either side by two minor entrances, similarly conceived and ornamented, the lattice work within the archways relieving the solidity of the design.

The composition of the Byzantine dome, with its tier of latticed windows, the "Victory"--tipped gable, the tiled slope above the arch, the bare wall s.p.a.ces and the richly ornamented doorway, as seen from the South Gardens, ill.u.s.trates the general construction of the main group of buildings. The dome gives height and decorative effect, the "Winged Victory" lightness and grace. The latter figure, which is repeated on the acroteria, as the gable platforms are called, of all the palaces of the main group, is by Louis Ulrich of New York. It bears, outstretched, a wreath which suggests the crown bestowed for work well done.

Court of Flowers Fountain, Beauty and the Beast

Between the Palace of Mines and the Palace of Varied Industries lies the Court of Flowers, enclosed on the third or north side by the Court of Ages and open on its southern exposure to the Avenue of Palms and to Festival Hall, which lies directly opposite. In its shape, a long oval, and in its location it is the eastern prototype of the Court of Palms, which breaks the wall of the main group of buildings toward its western end. Like that, it was designed by George W. Kelham of San Francisco.

Both Courts are rich examples of the Italian Renaissance, with traces of Byzantine influence, and while a superficial view might p.r.o.nounce them almost identical, a further study reveals marked individuality in conception and development. In each, the note of emphasis and the temperamental appeal are entirely distinct. The Court of Palms is simpler, more dignified, more conventional. The Court of Flowers is richer in ornament and suggestion, more softly brilliant in atmosphere.

The prevailing color is yellow relieved by pink.

Court of Flowers Portal of Varied Industries

In the Court of Flowers, the colonnade encircling the entire length of its oval is bordered by Corinthian columns arranged in pairs. The smoked-ivory tone is used throughout, except in the portals, where Sienna marble gives a deep note of color. The highly ornamental floral light-standards between the columns occur elsewhere throughout the court. The cornice is edged with red Spanish tiles and above the colonnade runs a richly decorated loggia that, with its suggestion of southern influences, enhances the warm, sunny atmosphere of the court.

The repeated figure of the flower-decked and garlanded "Flower Girl" is by A. Stirling Calder. A conventionalized frieze in delicately colored arabesque runs between the balcony and the columns, the prevailing motif of which is the griffin. The colonnade is broken by three portals, opening respectively into the Palace of Manufactures on the west, the Palace of Varied Industries on the east and the Court of Ages on the north. These entrances, while they do not interrupt the colonnade below, as is the case in the Court of Flowers, are made the keystones of the ornament of the upper balcony, where the triple arches, with their decorative treatment, furnish an effective break in the loggia.

Court of Flowers A Vista in the Colonnade

The coupled Corinthian columns are of smoked ivory. The background of the walls.p.a.ces is the same, but between the pilasters, occur panels of warm pink. The pilasters are in pairs to harmonize with the pillars bordering the colonnade. In the portals swing Roman lamps in dull blue-green. The heavy bronze lanterns, suspended from the deep-toned cream ceiling of the corridors, are Italian in design. At night, they are illumined by a soft, red glow, while the light from the standards between the columns and through the latticed doors of the entrances of the palaces is pale gold. There is no direct lighting in the court, the only other illumination being the deep red diffusive flow which brightens the Italian towers from within, so that the warm, bright charm pervading the Court by day, gives way at night to a sense of seclusion and intimacy that makes a poetic appeal equally strong.

Court of Flowers Italian Tower from Colonnade

The four Italian Towers, equally distant from the Tower of Jewels, two on either side, furnish the chief elements in the fine sense of balance and proportion of the south facade of the main group of palaces.

Occurring in in pairs at the entrances of the Court of Palms and the Court of Flowers and employing the same architectural elements and decoration, they show a pleasing variety in detail. The towers of the Court of Flowers have more of simplicity in design and give an even greater impression of height by the arrangement of columns. The same fairy by Carl Gruppe crowns all four towers, and helps to give the name of "the fairy courts" by which they are sometimes called. By the original design these two courts were to embody the fairy lore of the Occident and of the Orient, and the Court of Flowers, with the magic of its golden blossoms and its friendly beasts, enters far into the conception.

Court of Flowers The Friendly Lion at the Portal

With all its loveliness of detail and witchery of color, the prevailing charm of the Court of Flowers, true to its name, lies in the effective planting of flowers and shrubs. The main path through the Court is bordered on either side by spreading lophantha trees, trimmed four feet from the ground and branching to a diameter of five feet in delicate, lacy foliage. Ma.s.ses of flowers in the pervading luxuriant color-tone carpet the whole court with gold, while banks of green fill the corners and outline the borders. The six "Friendly Lions" with their conventionalized garlands, by Albert Laessle of Philadelphia, guard the three entrances, one on either side. "Beauty and the Beast," the central fountain which dominates the Court, is by Edgar Walters of San Francisco.

The basin is upheld by four alternating fauns and satyrs and about the base of the fountain is a procession of beasts in low relief. The statue of "The Pioneer" by Solon Borglum, which stands at the entrance of the Court, while it bears no relation to the symbolism of the Court itself, is a companion to "The End of the Trail" which occupies the same position before the Court of Palms.

Palace of Varied Industries Main Portal

The central portal on the south facade of the Palace of Varied Industries is by many considered the finest doorway at the Exposition.

It is a copy of the Hospital of Santa Cruz at Toledo, done in the Spanish Renaissance, of a style known as the plateresque. The rich appearance has the effect of being exquisitely chiseled with scroll-like finish, reminding one of the workmans.h.i.+p of a silversmith.