Part 1 (1/2)

The Architecture and Landscape Gardening of the Exposition.

by Louis Christian Mullgardt.

The Architecture & Landscape Gardening

When San Francisco was destroyed by fire in 1906, many people predicted that the city would never be rebuilt. A great number of men and women packed their goods and chattels and hastily bade farewell to the still smoking ruins of a City That Was, firmly believing that destiny had determined that it should remain forever buried in its own ashes.

There was another cla.s.s of men and women who were optimists. They predicted that the city would be rebuilt, but that it would require from twenty to thirty years.

There was still another cla.s.s of men and women who knew by observation that it required no more time to build ten buildings than one, provided the Spirit of Energy and Determination existed, to fortify the desire.

We all know now that the Spirit of Energy and Determination did abound in San Francisco--that the City did not remain buried in its own ashes, and that it did not require from twenty to thirty years to rebuild it.

The City was not only rebuilt in less than ten years, but, in addition thereto, an International Exposition, surpa.s.sing all previous Expositions, was built by its people.

San Francisco wisely selected for the location of this International Exposition what seemed to many to be an impossible site, for it was disorderly and uninteresting to look at. But the site was appropriately situated on the sh.o.r.es of San Francis...o...b..y--beautiful in its surroundings and most convenient alike to its citizens and visitors. It consisted of a pond and a strip of waste land and marsh land, apparently destined to remain unfilled and unorderly for years to come. The People of Energy, Determination and Desire have also made this strip of waste land permanently available.

The arrangement of this Exposition is distinctive because of its Court Plan. Eight Palaces seemingly const.i.tute a single structure, containing five distinct courts or places for large public gatherings, which are open to the sky.

This colossal group of buildings, consisting of the Palaces of Education, Food Products, Agriculture, Liberal Arts, Manufactures, Transportation, Mines, and Varied Industries, is terminated east and west by Machinery Hall and the Palace of Fine Arts. To the south of this group, and on the lateral axis of the two end courts, are the Palace of Horticulture and Festival Hall. This group of eight buildings, with its Tower of Jewels, and the separate buildings, Festival Hall, the Palace of Horticulture, the Palace of Fine Arts and Machinery Hall, const.i.tute the main structures.

The buildings and gardens of Foreign Countries and of the States of the Union adjoin, at their western termination, the thirteen main structures erected by the Exposition Company. Still further west, are the Livestock Barns and Poultry Houses. The Aviation, Military and Polo Fields, including the Race Course, occupy the extreme end of the site. The amus.e.m.e.nt section, ”The Zone,” extends for a distance of seven city blocks eastward from the main group.

President C. C. Moore of the Exposition first appointed an Advisory Architectural Board, in the fall of 1911, consisting of Messrs. Willis Polk, Clarence R. Ward, John Galen Howard, Albert p.i.s.ses and William Curlett. This Advisory Board was succeeded by an Architectural Commission, consisting of Messrs. Willis Polk, Chairman, Clarence R.

Ward, W. B. Faville, George W. Kelham, Louis Christian Mullgardt (all of San Francisco), Robert D. Farquhar of Los Angeles, McKim, Mead and White, Carrere and Hastings, and Henry Bacon (all of New York); Messrs.

Bakewell and Brown and Bernard R. Maybeck were subsequently commissioned as Exposition Architects. The first named nine architects const.i.tuted the permanent Architectural Commission which recommended to the Board of Directors the General Plan of the Exposition, which was substantially followed as a guide to the results accomplished.

Three important elements in the design of an Exposition are represented by Planting, Sculpture, Color and Decoration. The Chiefs of these Departments were selected by the Architectural Commission at its second conference, August, 1912; John McLaren, of San Francisco, was appointed to the important position of Landscape Engineer; Karl Bitter and A.

Stirling Calder of New York were appointed chief and a.s.sistant chief of the Department of Sculpture; Jules Guerin, of New York, became chief of the Department of Color and Decoration. The Chiefs of these departments attended the architects' conferences and collaborated in their deliberations.

Another very important element in the design of this Exposition was represented by the Department of Travertine Texture, for the proper manipulation of colored plastic materials to give correct surface expression to all buildings and sculpture. This department was placed under the direction of Paul E. Denivelle of New York. The element of Texture as embodied in the construction of this Exposition, has again emphasized its general importance in plastic architecture.

The Marina

The north side of the main group is flanked by a greensward, called the Marina, which skirts the bay. This enormous green carpet is bordered by walks and roadways. The Marina affords excellent opportunity for thousands of people to view special attractions offered daily along the waterfront. War vessels and pleasure crafts are always just beyond the low Marina wall. An uninterrupted view of the bay and its northern coast line of hills and mountains, extending from the Golden Gate, west to east, as far as eye can reach, is here obtained under most favorable conditions. No one will ever forget the wonderful panorama which this Exposition faces.

The South Gardens

Flanking the south side of the main group is the marvelous Avenue of Palms, which appears to have existed always. It was established A. D.