Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915 : San Francisco, Calif.)
Every man jack of the eight pirates on the four portals is apparently
bow-legged. There is a vast space between the knees of these buccaneers
of Panama, but when you look more closely it is hard to decide whether
those pirate knees are really sprung, or whether it is the posture of
the figures that suggests the old quip about the pig in the alley. The
sculptor has at least given to the figures a curious effect of bandy
legs. The feet are set wide apart, the space between and behind the legs
is deeply hollowed out, and the rope which hangs from the hands curves
in over the feet to add to the illusion. There used to be a saying that
cross-eyed people could not be honest. Similarly, perhaps, Newman
thought the appearance of bow-legs would increase the villainy of his
pirate. Certainly, no such blood-curdling ruffian has been seen out of
comic opera.
The east wall of the palace group becomes Old Italian, to harmonize with
the Roman architecture of the Machinery Palace opposite. The portals
suggest those of ancient Italian city walls. In the niches stands Albert
Weinert's "Miner," here used because the Palace of Mines forms one half
the wall.
In the long avenue that runs east and west through the center of the
group, the unity of the eight buildings becomes more apparent as we view
the noble arches which join them, and note the character of their inner
facades. Education and Food Products are alike in the walls and portals
fronting on the dividing aisle. The Spanish architecture of the south
facade of Education is here carried over to Food Products. Similarly,
the avenue between Mines and Varied Industries is the same on both
sides, carrying out the Old Italian of the east front, and with The
Miner repeated in the portal niches of both palaces. The avenues leading
from the Court of the Universe to the Court of Ages and the Court of
Seasons have been variously called the Aisles of the Rising and the
Setting Sun, or the Venetian and Florentine Aisles. Their four walls are
in the style of the Italian Renaissance, and show a diaper design
similar to that on the Italian towers of the Courts of Flowers and
Palms.
In an artistic sense, this group is incomplete without the Palace of
Fine Arts on the west and Machinery Hall on the east. (p. 105, 106.)
Balancing each other in the general scheme, they form the necessary
terminals of the axis of the Exposition plan. This matter of balance has
been carefully thought out everywhere, and affords a fine example of the
co-operation of the many architects who worked out the vast general
design. The Courts of Seasons and Ages are set off against each other;
the Courts of Palms and Flowers weigh equally one against the other; the
Arches of the Nations not only balance but match; even the Tower of
Jewels, which is the center of the whole plan, is offset by the Column
of Progress. In the South Gardens, the Palace of Horticulture is
balanced against Festival Hall.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account