Part 4 (1/2)
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.