Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1894-01-05
The California Exposition Grounds at
San Francisco Opened to
the Public.
An Immense Crowd of Enthusiastic
Spectators Thronged the
Grounds.
A Brief Description of the Buildings.
An Exhibition Of Which Coasters
Can Be Proud.

have been opened to the public. The
rainy weather and the delay in the arri-
val of the exhibits necessitated the post
ponement of the formal opening Of the
fair, which was set for New Years, for a
fortnight, hut there was nevertheless an
immense crowd in attendance, full
of enthusiasm and individually and
collectively proud Of the marvels
which it was their good fortune to
gaze upon. Here in this Western
metropolis, at the extreme edge of the
Western hemisphere. with the placid
waters of the great Pacific in view, the
hand of man has created a city neither
so beautiful, SO wonderful nor so extern
sive as the now quietly fading great.
White City by Lake Michigan, but one
that is truly grand and which the people
OF California and the other Pacific
states
May Justly Be Proud OF.
It was only in the latter part of last
May when the end of the Chicago fair
was in view that some Californians in
Chicago conceived the idea of having a
A"'A Ill SA14 1duS4SCOs ollOIt1y tlGCI-
wards it was decided to go ahead in the
m ter, and Golden Gate park was Sc
lected as lpc ltion for the great fair, con-
coded by all to be the prettiest spot OH
the face of the earth. On the esd of
August, in the presence of fully 10000
people, the enterprise was inaugurated
by turning the first shovelful
0 q r., Immediately after which
work of grading was COM
meaced, followed in a few weeks by the
inauguration of work on the five main
structures. These are the administra-
ii n, manufactures and liberal arts, ag-
rio u!ture and horticultural, fine arts and
mechanic arts buildings, all of which
are grouped around a parallelogram in
the center Of which is an electric tower
$50 feet in height, several
Artistically O%rnalnented Fountains,
statuary and a wealth Of palms, flowers
and shrubs. This is known as the grand
court. Many buildings surrounding the
court and scattered in every. direction
over 100 acres, are special buildings
erected by the different states, counties
and concessions Greeted at the cost of
the states, counties and Individually for
their exclusive exhibits. The manufac-
lures and liberal arts building is the
largest on the grounds. It's dimensions
ara 1852 by 237 feet, covering 1O1,7s4
square feet Of ground. This building is
Moorish in design.
Mechanical Arts Building
is the second largest. It is a structure
$50 feet long.by 200 feet wide. It is
nearly pure Indian in design and highly
artistic in it's rich oriental style.
By far the most striking architectural
feature Of the exposition is the horticul-
iural building. It is in the Spanish mis-
sion style, and is a low roof design so
much in favor on this coast. The great
dome is 100 feet in diameter by 100 feet
in height, and around this dome on the
outside is : a roof garden. The extreme
dimensions of the main building and
annex are 400 feet in length by 100 feet
in width.
This structure contains the greatest
display of the products of the soil of
California ever put together, and that is
synonymous with saying that such a GAs-
play Of agricultural and horticultural
material OF the United States has never
been placed OF exhibition.
The fine arts building is intended for a
permanent structure, constructed of
brick and iron. It is simple in plan, be-
ing a rectangle, 100 feet long by so feet
wide. The brick walls on the side are
40 feet high, and to the apex eff the pyra-
mid it is 81 feet. It is an example of
Egyptian architecture, and the sculpture
and columns are in harmony with it.
The administration building, which
'contains the Offices Of the exposition
management, the department Of pub
licity and promotion, the foreign de-
partment, assembly rooms for foreign
commissioners, press headquarters, the
postoffice and information bureau, is the
smallest of the five principal buildings,
bns the form Of structure is such that it
is II f the most imposing. The de-
sign is oriental in outline and in the de-
tail of its concentrations is uindoubt-
eddy Siamese.
Am INDUSTRIAL BOOM.
u - a- 10. ~ 3Ia.H -t~# ---