The City of Domes : a walk with an architect about the courts and palaces of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, with a discussion of its architecture, its sculpture, its mural decorations, its coloring and its lighting, preceded by a history of its growthBarry, John D. (John Daniel)
History
The City of Domes : a walk with an architect about the courts and palaces of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, with a discussion of its architecture, its sculpture, its mural decorations, its coloring and its lighting, preceded by a history of its growth
Barry, John D. (John Daniel)
Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915 : San Francisco, Calif.)
"Faville designed a magnificent entrance here," the architect went on,
glancing up at the three modest arches that McLaren had tried to make as
attractive as possible with his hedge. "It would have been very
appropriate. But the need of keeping down expenses caused the idea to be
sacrificed. However, the loss was not serious. As a matter of fact, in
spite of the efforts of the Exposition to persuade visitors to come in
here, a great many preferred to enter by the Fillmore Street gate.
During the day this approach is decidedly the more attractive on account
of leading directly into the gardens and into the approach to the court.
The Fillmore Street entrance, with the Zone shrieking at you at one
side, hardly puts you in the mood for the beauty in the courts. At night
the situation is somewhat different. The flaring lights of the Zone make
the dimness of the court all the more attractive."
III
In the South Gardens
Though the arrangement of the landscape might be French, these flowers
were unmistakably Californian. The two pools, ornamented with the Arthur
Putnam fountain of the mermaid, in duplicate, decidedly French in
feeling, were brilliant with the reflected coloring from both the
flowers and the buildings.
The intention at first had been to make a sunken garden here; but the
underground construction had interfered. Now one might catch a
suggestion of Versailles, except for those lamp posts. "Joseph Pennell,
the American etcher, who has traveled all over Europe making drawings,
finds a suggestion of two great Spanish gardens here, one connected with
the royal palace of La Granga, near Madrid, and the other with the royal
palace of Aranjuez, near Toledo. They've allowed the flowers to be the
most conspicuous feature, the dominating note, which is as it should be.
Masses of flowers are always beautiful and they are never more beautiful
than when they are of one color."
"And masses of shrubbery are always beautiful, too,", I said, nodding in
the direction of the Palace of Horticulture, where McLaren had done some
of his best work.
"There's no color in the world like green, particularly dark green, for
richness and poetry and mystery. It's intimately related to shadow,
which does so much for beauty in the world."
"The Fountain of Energy almost hits you in the face, doesn't it?" I
said.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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