Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-09-08
A BONANZA KINGS PALACE.

Miilionaire Flood II Building.
The San Francisco Neus- Letter says !:
"The rural palace which is being erected
for Mr.. j. C. Flood, ut Menlo Park, is an
object of great interest to the people Of
California. Aside from its being one of
the most magnificent country residences in
the world-not even excluding the famous
"Dukeries" of England-the edifice is
justly regarded by Californians as a monu-
ment to the almost phenomenal enterprise
and success which have given the Golden
state SO many millionaires. We have at
various times described the principal fea-
lures of the building as work progressed,
and having recently made All excursion to
Menlo Park, and inspected the mansion,
We are able to speak Of its crowning glory
the frescoing of the interior. This all
important department has been instructed
to Sig. GaribOldi, an artist whose fame is
not confined to California, but is as highly
esteemed in Europe as it is here. For fer
tility of Imagination and originality of de-
sign, GaribOldi is probably unrivaled
among living artists. 1t must be remem-
bered that his services have been called
into requisitiOn whenever a "great house,
has had to be frescoed in California. The
fact that he is sought after abroad has sdC-
feed to make him the fashionable rage in
San Francisco. Knowing how contagious
fashion is, we cannot marvel at this envi-
able notOriety, but we confess to a sense of
wonder at his ability to meet so many de-
mands upon his ingenuity and skill. 1t is
easy enough to reproduce ones own de-
signs. no matter how clever the original
may have been, but to create " something
different" every time is quite another at
fair. Sig. Gariboldi accomplishes this
The chief merit of his work lies in the fact
that he never repeats himself. Unlike Or
dinary fresco painters (even the best of
them) his designs are never duplicated.
Mr.. Floods mansion has profited richly
from this singular gift. Every ceiling
in the house that Gariboldi or his work.
men have touched is as unique as it
is beautiful. Each design is a novel con-
ception startling in its boldncss, possibly,
but at the same time extremely fasci-
mating by virtue of it's beautiful execution.
To illustrate this, we have only to mention
the ceiling of a single room-and a mere
bedroom at that. A curtain of cloth of
gold, suspended at it's four corners, is
drawn gracefully over what appears to be
a most gorgeous picture. Glimpses of this
picture appear in places where the droOp-
ing curtain fails to conceal its hidden
beauties, and here and there the carclessly
arranged fold of the drapery discloses a
lining of "ashes-of.yoscs silk. Could a
a more dainty idea be conceived? And yet
this is work of art which the designer re-
CARDS as mere triflc compared with his
more elaborate performances. Of course,
in an undertaking of this sort, the various
recognized styles of decoration have to be
followed. Thus, the various rooms of the
mansion represent the schools of Louis
Quinze Pompeii, the Renaissance period,
the Raphaelesque order, and the modern
teachings of Eastlake. But it is re.
markablc that the whole is per-
vadcd by Tho peculiar genius of
GaribOldi. He may conform to the
patterns of Raphael or Eastlake, but the
exquisitely delicate tints that have made
his work the admiration of tho world are
essentially his own. In word, he has a
knack of making more beautiful that
which was beautiful before. The stamp
of originality is set upon everything he
touches. Nor is innate genius the only
qualification required for the performance
of such work. An artist of Garibaldi's s
grade must not rest content with a knOwl
edge of line perspective /; al acquaintance
with aerial perspective must also be count
ed among his accomplishments, and fine
sense of a complete knowledge OF archi-
lecture. In other words, he must be an
artist, :,n architect and a scientist, all in
one. For ono man to execute such 4 vast
amount of labor as the Flood mansion
calls for would, of course, be an impOssi-
bility. Nor is such feat necessary. Signor
Garibolii has no fewer than twenty. five
artists working under his superintendent,
each special expert in his own line, each
performing his allotted task under the
personal supervision of the masters eye.
The decorative work, Us VIC have said, is
now nearly half completed. The second
floor and rear of the building are finished.
The hall on the first floor is also nearly
done. About eight rooms still await the
brush, and, when the finishing touch is
put to them, California will be able to
boast of the finest specimen of decorative
art in the world"