The Architecture and Landscape Gardening of the Exposition Part 4

The sculptured ornamentations of the portal are the work of Ralph Stackpole. He is most fortunate in his treatment of the industrial types. The relief panel in the tympanum represents the industries of Spinning, Building, Agriculture, Manual Labor and Commerce.

"The Man with the Pick," seen on the side brackets, is a freely modeled statue, also appearing upon the portal of the Palace of Manufactures.

The keystone figure typifies the Laborer, who is capable of relying on his brain. The upper group represents Age transferring his burden to Youth.

Avenue of Palms The South Facade by Night

Facing the Avenue of Palms is the stupendous wall formed by the Palaces of Varied Industries, Manufactures, Liberal Arts and Education. This long and imposing bulwark is over-topped by the great Tower of Jewels and the two pair of Italian Towers. The walls of the palaces, ivory tinted and shadowed by palms, eucalypti and myriad shrubs, a.s.sume a new and more wonderful aspect under the batteries of the searchlights. The towers stand out against the night sky, glowing with the hidden lights like living coals, changing to pastel tints of blue and green, most beautiful of all when the reflectors convert them into shafts of white.

The lamps along the Avenue punctuate the dark ma.s.ses of foliage, and the contrasting high lights on towers and domes make an artificial illumination that for sheer beauty has never been equalled.

Avenue of Progress The Fine Vista to the Marina

s.p.a.ciousness characterizes the Avenue of Progress, not only in its breadth but in its sweeping length. From the Fillmore Street entrance, which opens directly upon the Avenue, it appears to extend across the bay and on to the hills beyond. The Service Building is upon the left and from the opposite side comes the fanfare of the "Joy Zone." The Palace of Machinery is on the eastern side of the Avenue, and on the west are the Palaces of Varied Industries and Mines.

The landscape gardening is here most successfully carried out. Dracena indivisa, a species of palm, are planted at short intervals throughout the length of the boulevard. Against the dull buff of the palace walls are banked Monterey cypress and Lawson cypress, with a heavy undergrowth of fir and spruce. The attractive lawns add a touch of formality to the impressive Avenue. Whatever effect of newness might have appeared in the walls of the great palaces is mellowed by Guerin's colors and there is a splendid atmosphere of enduring solidity, softened by the picturesque gardens.

Machinery Hall The Central Arch in the Portal

The Palace of Machinery extends for nearly one thousand feet along the Avenue of Progress. Its main entrance, facing the west, is composed of three splendid arches, set off by free-standing columns, which resemble weather-stained shafts of Sienna marble and are the pedestals for the sculptured figures representing the powers of "Invention,"

"Electricity," "Imagination" and "Steam." On the inner facade of the arches are grills of amber gla.s.s, forming a strong background for the decorative friezes and sculptured eagles, the latter being symbols which predominate throughout the Exposition. Dwarf cedars serve to magnify, by comparison, the gigantic dimensions of this entrance. Daniel Chester French's commanding statue, "The Genius of Creation," occupies a prominent place before the central arch.

Machinery Hall The Colonnade in the Portal

The dimensions of the main entrance to Machinery Hall are in keeping with the size of the building, which is the largest wooden framed structure in the world. Architecturally the style is after the ancient Roman, the motif being supplied by studies of the baths of Caracalla.

The decorative designs in the vestibule are sculptured figures and accompanying insignia typifying the manufacture and use of machinery by man. The relief figures of the spandrels are forcefully executed. About the base of the pillars are friezes, symbolic of mechanical invention.

These relief designs are the work of Haig Patigian of San Francisco.

This great archway is one of the most interesting achievements, from an architectural standpoint, to be found at the Exposition. The s.p.a.ce covered is large, yet so cleverly handled that no bareness is suggested.

The coloring within the vestibule is in shades of blue, and the ma.s.sive pillars supporting the three arches are toned in rich terra cotta.

Machinery Hall One of the Minor Entrances

Flanked by Corinthian columns which reflect, in smaller size, the great pillars of the main entrance, four minor doorways break the long western wall of the Palace of Machinery on either side of the central entrance, the architectural and sculptural design in them being similar to that of the main portal. The frieze in low relief, encircling the bases of the columns and representing the genii of mechanics, is repeated from the larger entrance, as are also the figures in the spandrels, typifying the application of power to machinery.

The color treatment of these doorways is especially brilliant. The Corinthian columns simulate Sienna marble. The background in the spandrels is stained a rich orange. The sh.e.l.l canopy, as in other panels where it is used throughout the Exposition, is in cerulean blue, the wall s.p.a.ce beneath it is a deep pink, while the door is the customary green.

The landscape planting along the entire wall is superb. Against the ivory-tinted background, various species of evergreens are grouped with consummate skill.

Palace of Mines A Lamp Niche in the Court

The Court of Mines, opening directly across from the main portal of Machinery Hall, is the entrance to the inner courts from the Avenue of Progress. The effective ma.s.sing of the shrubbery is enlivened by the gay banners and streamers, designed by Jules Guerin, which are one of the most stimulating decorative features of the Exposition. The walls on either side are broken by the entrance portals to the buildings, done in Italian Renaissance style. Their distinctive features are the niches on either side of the entrances, in which are placed vigorous figures, designed by Albert Weinert, and the ornamental lamps below. The court is illuminated at night by concealed light thrown on the walls from reflectors in the forms of interesting green sh.e.l.ls resting on shapely standards.

Court of Ages The Tower by Night Illumination

The Court of Ages was designed by Louis Christian Mullgardt of San Francisco. Of all the Exposition courts it is the most original and imaginative in conception, the most complete in its organic, structural unity, the richest in ornament, in poetic suggestion, in the depth and dramatic appeal of its symbolism.

The Court suggests many architectural periods and types, yet eludes cla.s.sification under any one of them. The Gothic clearly predominates, with traces of English, Spanish, and Portuguese elements. With further hint of Romanesque, of Moorish and of French influence, these varying elements have been so fused in the imagination of the architect that the resultant creation is independent of all of them in its daring, yet restrained, originality. In the magnificent square tower at the center of its northern end, all the beauty and spiritual import of the Court culminate. Its aspiring length of line, unbroken from base to summit, faces poise and uplift, the broad, plain surfaces give n.o.bility and strength and the exquisite richness and delicacy of the ornament give lightness and grace, while the sculpture blends and crowns the deep pervading symbolism of the Court.

-Maud Wotring Raymond

Court of Ages The Fountain of Earth

While it is possible to find keen enjoyment in the Court of Ages for its delicate beauty and exquisite refinement alone, even the slightest study of its architectural and sculptural detail reveals a depth of underlying purpose and meaning that invites further a.n.a.lysis. The architect calls it "an historical expression of the successive ages of the world's growth." He suggests four stages: the nebulous world, symbolized by the central fountain, in which Robert Aitken of San Francisco has worked out a stupendous study of primeval pa.s.sions. Out of chaos, come the elemental forces, Water, Land and Light. The braziers and cauldrons symbolize Fire. The two sentinel columns, flanking the tower on either side, are Earth and Air. The eight paintings, by Frank Brangwyn of London, in the corridors in great richness of color depict Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Thus the first state is indicated.

The second stage is symbolized by the decorative motifs employed on the arcade surrounding the court, where on piers, arches, reeds and columns, in marvelously wrought sculptural ornament, is shown the transition from plant to animal life through kelp, crab, lobster and other sea animals and sh.e.l.l motifs.

--M. W. R.

Court of Ages The Garden of Hyacinths

Following the symbolism of the Court of Ages through the first nebulous period of the world's growth, through the second, which shows the transition in successive forms of sea-plant life, the third period is reached where are ill.u.s.trated the earliest forms of human, animal, reptile and bird life prevailing in the stone age. This age is indicated, in the court, by the prehistoric figure surmounting the piers of the arcade and by the first sculptured group over the entrance to the tower. The repeated arcade figures, which were designed by Albert Weinert, represent alternately Primitive Man and Primitive Woman.

The perfection of the landscape planting and the skill with which it subtly accentuates the meaning of architecture and sculpture are worthy of study. In the background, close against the piers of the arcade, tall, slender Italian cypresses emphasize their rhythmic length of line.

Amid a growth of tropical luxuriance stand glossy-leafed orange trees laden with fragrant blossoms and golden fruit. Balled acacias in formal rows outline the paths, while a succession of plantings has given a varying color scheme and a new perfume to each season.

--M. W. R.

Court of Ages A Glimpse From the Colonnade

The Court of Ages is the only one of the Exposition courts which is entirely independent of outside influences. The other courts derive breadth of appeal from the fine vistas through arched gateways or along dignified colonnades. The Court of Ages is shut in upon itself by the arcaded and vaulted ambulatory which extends continuously around its four sides, and by this cloistered effect, its individual impression is deepened and intensified.

Through the lovely rounded arches of this encircling colonnade, which is elevated a few feet, one looks down into the beauty of the court, or out across it to the richly fretted walls. In the curve of each arch, hang two delicately modeled lanterns.

--M. W. R.

Court of Ages A Vista in the Colonnade