PART VII.

THE MAIN BUILDINGS AND THEIR
V- EXHIBITS.

' CHAPTER I.
THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING.

A Marvel of Exquisite Architectural Handiwork— Were it Stone Instead of Imitation it Would Have no
Equal— Irresistible Color Scheme and Effect— Beautiful Blending of Pale Blue, Terra Cotta,
Bright Yellow and Pale Cream— Unsurpassed Decorative Delineations— Matchless Fusion of
Harmonious Tints— Impressive Ensemble of Rotunda, Colonnade, Mezzanine and Dome— Dedi-
catory Tablets to Gutenberg, Copernicus, James Watts and Morse— The Most Beautifully Lighted
Structure in the World.

HEN a person drops a ticket for which he has paid 50
cents into the box at any of the Exposition turnstiles
and enters upon the spectacular grounds dedicated to
the memory of the discoverer of America, he beholds
what has taken ten thousand workmen more than two
years and thirty-two millions of dollars to accomplish.
He may ask himself whether all this expenditure was
worth while — he may as well ask himself whether it was
worth while for Columbus to have discovered America.
If it is worth while to open wide the shores of a hospit-
able country where liberty and equality are assured
to everyone, then it is proper to show to the whole
world what four centuries of freedom and brother-
hood have accomplished. America extends a cordial
hand to the inhabitants of every clime, from the
steppes of Siberia and the wastes of Patagonia to the shelving shores of Madagas-
car— and Anglo-Saxon and Hottentot are equally welcome; and that all may be-
hold the progress of the arts and sciences, and of education, and study the mar-
velous resources of the world up to nearly the close of the nineteenth century,
there has been provided for the reception of the people of all nations under the
sun a magnificent park on the shores of an inland sea, which combines in its varied
moods the majesty of an ocean and the limpid beauty of a sun-kissed pool dotted
all over with palaces and temples, gardens bespangled with flowers and winding
silvery lagoons. There are also government buildings of many nations, from the

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HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

stately structure of the German empire down to the cabin of the pioneer on the
wooded island and the huts of the savages on the Midway Plaisance.

As is the case at all expositions, what are known as the main buildings and
other main features command the earliest attention. This is particularly the case at
this the greatest of all world's fairs, as there have been reared structures that had
never been dreamed of ten years before; and although much has been written and
pictured in magazine and newspaper of the grandeur and magnificence of the
White City, the first sight of it never proves disappointing — its buildings are more

imposing and its gardens
and lagoons more beauti-
ful than any imagination
had pictured them.

"I had no conception
of the extent, variety, or
splendor of these build-
ings," is the exclamation,
mental or verbal, of every
visitor when he enters the
park. The appearance of
the magnificent group of
main buildings around the
lagoons is so different
from anything in the Unit-
ed States, is so un-Amer-
ican, that it startle the im-
agination. Figures can
give some idea of the size
of these palaces, but the
architecture in its infinite
detail must truly be seen

to be appreciated. When it is remembered that the area under roof is equal to
that of Paris in 1889, Philadelphia in 1876, and Vienna in 1873 combined, that the cost
of the main buildings is estimated roughly at over $6,700,000, some conception of
the thought, the care, and the labor which they represent may be obtained. The
Administration Building is considered the gem of the Exposition palaces. It is
situated at the west of the great court in the southern part of the site, looking east-
ward, and at its rear are the transportation facilities. The great gilded dome of
this lofty building is one of the most striking architectural features on the grounds.
There is no dome in this country to which this one can be compared. It is
finer in every respect than any other on the Western Hemisphere. Richard M.
Hunt is the architect. This imposing edifice cost $463,213. It covers an area of
260 feet square, and consists of four pavilions 84 feet square, one at each of the tour
angles of the square and connected by a grand central dome 120 feet in diameter
and 220 feet in height, leaving at the center of each facade a recess 82 feet wide,

STATUARY OPPOSITE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

205

within which are the grand entrances to the building. The general design is in the
style of the French Renaissance. The first story is in the Doric order. It is of
heroic proportions, and is surrounded by a lofty balustrade. The great tiers of the
angle of each pavilion are crowned with sculpture. The Ionic style of architecture
is represented in the second story, with its lofty and spacious colonnade.

The four entrances, one on each side of the building, are 50 feet wide and 50
feet high, deeply recessed and covered by semi-circular arched vaults. In the rear
of these arches are the entrance doors, and above them great screens of glass, giv-
ing light to the central ro-
tunda. Across the face of
these screens, at the level
of the office floor, are. gal-
leries of communication
between the different pa-
vilions. The interior of
this building exceeds in
beauty and splendor even
the exterior, imposing as
that is. Between every
two of the grand entrances
and connecting the inter-
vening pavilion with the
rotunda is a hall 30 feet
square, giving access to
the offices, and provided
with broad circular stair-
ways and commodious
elevators.

From the top of the
cornice in the second story
rises the interiordome 200
feet from the floor. In the

center is an opening, 50 feet in diameter, transmitting a flow of light from the
exterior dome overhead. The under side of the dome is enriched with deep
panelings, richly molded, and these panelings are filled with sculpture in low relief
and immense paintings representing the arts and sciences. The sculptor of the
Administration Building is Karl Bitter, of New York. He executed the groups
on the small domes and, among other subjects, groups representing "Commerce,"
"Industry," "Justice," "Religion," "War," "Peace," "Science," and "Arts." There
are dedicatory tablets to Gutenberg, Copernicus, Watts and Morse.

The decoration of the dome was executed by William Leftwich Dodge, the
youngest painter commissioned by the Exposition. The space covered by Mr.
Dodge's painting is 315 feet in circumference, and 40 feet from apex to base.
The subject of the painting is "The glorification of the Arts." On the throne,

MACMONNIES AND ELECTRIC FOUNTAINS.

206 HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

which is seen in the portion of the dome opposite the main entrance to the building,
Apollo is seated crowning the Arts as they approach from either side. There are
ninety-five important figures in the composition, and those in the foreground are 25
feet in height.

The general color scheme is a pale cream. Tints of terra cotta, bright
yellows and pale blues, however, heighten the decorative effects. The Corinthian
columns to the lower portion of the frieze beneath the mezzanine story have been
painted a warm yellow. This, however, is but the body color, as the columns are
finished in imitation onyx. In the spandrels gilded shields crossed by laurel
wreaths typify foreign countries that have come to exhibit their products at the
Columbian Exposition.

In this building are the offices of the Director-General and his staff, and the
headquarters of the newspapers from every quarter of the globe.

Emerging from the east entrance of the building, the visitor may stand on
the spot where the dedication ceremonies took place, and where President Cleve-
land touched the button that started the machinery. Immediately in front of the
building is a plaza 200 yards square, and in the distance lies the most enchanting
architectural and landscape scene in the Exposition or in the world! Its central
feature is an immense basin of water, probably 3,000 by 1,000 feet in size, fringed
with balustrades, symbolical pillars, terraces, grass plats, and flower beds. In the
foreground is MacMonnies' wonderful fountain representing Columbia seated on
the ship of state, which is steered by Father Time, and on the prow of which stands
the figure of Fame. This vessel is driven through the water by eight girls stand-
ing at the oars, four on either side.

Around the circumference of the basin are young men on horses, and mer-
maids and cherubs disport themselves in the waves in the wake of the boat. On
either side of this fountain are two electric fountains. Rising from the water in the
distance is French's colossal statue of the Republic, and beyond that, in dazzling
white, Atwood's peristyle, between the columns of which are seen the deep-blue
-waters of the lake. At the space of a hundred yards from the water on every side
stand in grandeur and beauty the great buildings of the exposition.

It is when in the gorgeous glow of monster search and thousands of incandes-
cent lights that the Administration Building takes on its most spectacular and most
bewitching robes. There never was such a matchless fusion of harmonious colors
and tints; and colonnades, mezzanine and ddme are resplendent amidst a jubilee of
light. There never has been such a brilliantly and beautifully illuminated structure,
while all of its handsome surroundings are liberally caparisoned with harmonious
lines of lights. Were the Administration Building stone instead of imitation it
would have no equal in the world.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR. 2og