Final Report of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition CommissionLouisiana Purchase Exposition Commission
History
Final Report of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission
Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission
Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904 : Saint Louis, Mo.)
In making choice of an interesting type to be followed in the British
Royal Pavilion at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, it was felt that
the Orangery of the Royal Palace of Kensington would be representative
of English domestic building at one of its happiest periods, and a
tribute also to the memory of the great architect, Sir Christopher Wren.
In the Orangery of Kensington was found a building that could be
strictly reproduced to its real size. The Orangery was 170 feet long
and had a range of sash windows uninterrupted by doorways, the central
and end windows having stall boards under them, making the entrances.
The long line of roof was broken only by the three brick parapets or
pediments, the center one being carried on half-round columns and
pilasters of gauged brickwork. The walls were of red brick and stock
brick spaced out with design, imitation white stone being sparingly
introduced in cornices or keystones to give a note of white in the
color scheme. The long hall ended in circular anterooms. In the
replica, at St. Louis, of Wren's building, the only departure from the
original was the introduction of an enriched plaster ceiling, such as
would be found in a house of the period; the real Orangery was left
bare and whitewashed.
The architects used the Orangery as the principal front to a
quadrangular building, the necessary offices and accommodation for royal
commissioners and executive staff being provided in wings that led from
the two circular anterooms. The fourth side of the open court was made
by a colonnade, the royal arms being above the central opening. The
character and details of the Orangery were carried through as far as
possible, so that harmony and unity was given to this pleasant
composition.
In the garden surrounding the pavilion an attempt was made to reproduce
on a small scale the style of garden that was generally attached to the
mansion residences in England during the reign of William III and Mary,
in the latter part of the seventeenth century, and at the time of Queen
Anne, in the early part of the eighteenth century. The old-fashioned
garden with characteristic features of shady terraces of "peached
alleys," as they would be called, inclosed by hedges clipped into shapes
and embellished with topiary work with the forms of animals and birds
cut out of yews and boxes attracted much attention. The garden was
filled with old-fashioned flowers. A water basin and fountain, typical
of the old English gardens, were there, as also were stone statues and
lead urns and vases. The garden became one of the sights of the
exposition and was usually crowded with interested and delighted
sightseers.
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