Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-05-10
lib GLORY OF TENNESSEE
VIII Celebrate Its Statehood
Centennial on June |.
ITS EXPOSITION PLANS
The Historic Event to Be Solemnized by the
Dedication of the Exhibition Grounds
and Buildings.
EXPOSITION PLAN

Nashville, May Son June l, 1896,
George Washington issued a proclama-
ton setting forth the fact that Tennessee
was admitted as a state to the new union.
Tennessee was the sixteenth state to be
so honored. Aside from the thirteen
original states, Vermont and Kentucky
were the immediate predecessors of Ten
nessee in entering the union.
Patriotism flows in Tennessee in
mighty rivers, so the people OF the state
are going to celebrate it's centennial by
giving an exposition which will fittingly
commemorate the historic event. A pc
culiar feature about this exposition is
that it will not be run as money max
ing venture. No one expects to get rich
out of it. and all of the officers serve
without pay. The people of the state are
putting up the money to defray the ex-
penses and are not asking odds or favors
from any one. Not much of hullabaloo
has been raised about the exposition, and
it has no boomers travelling about de-
scribing 1t as the finest thing Of the kind
that has ever taken place. But the peo-
pie are interested in it heart and soul
and are quietly going ahead to make of
1t something worth going long way to
see.
The exposition proper will not be open
ed until May of 1897, but the inaugura-
position grounds at Nashville on June 1
next. The exposition will continue for
six months, lasting until November l,
1897. The dedicatory exercises will be of
an elaborate character and 1t will require
three days to put through the pro-
gramme. There will be parades galore,
1lluminations at night, fetes big and lit
tile and tons of speeches.
1t was the original intention of ]. w.
Thomas, president of the exposition, and
II r Ax.vf- H. To TAaf
the grounds to the public on September
] next, but owing to the great number
of buildings to be erected this plan was
abandoned and the opening date deferred
to the following May.
One thousand men have been at work
on the grounds for nine months past
and many of the buildings are now well
on toward completion. These structures
will cover many acres in extent and will
present magnificent picture, as nearly
all of them will be covered with white
staff in imitation of spotless marble.
The WON Building.
The most interesting building is that
erected by the women of Tennessee. 1t
was designed by Mrs. Sara Ward-Conley,
who took the Hermitage. the famous
home of Andrew Jackson, the patron
saint of Tennessee, as pattern. The
Hermitage is only a dozen miles from
Nashville. and it Is certain to be the mec-
ca of thousands of tourists who go to the
exposition.
The Hermitage is one of the finest SAM
Piles of colonial architecture in the coun-
try and Mrs. Ward-Conley has idealized
DIT by adding suggestions of ancient Gre
clan architecture in the woman's build
Ing. There will be numerous small apart
ments in the structure for the classified
exhibits of woman's work, while the CEN
trail part of the interior will be elevated
10 large rotunda, with a grand stair
rase leading to the right and left of the
upper floors.
The exposition park is 200 acres in ex-
tent. and has many natural advantages.
Tho state capitol, in the center or the
city. Is only two miles away from the
entrance to the grounds, making them
easy of access from all quarters OF the
city. There will be fifteen buildings in
The grounds, irrespective of the struc-
lures which individual states may erect.
The Parthenon Reproduced.
e One of the handsomest will be a repro
AUCTION of the Athenian Parthenon,
(which, with it's fifty-eight massive col
Gmns, will form a fitting place in which to
exhibit the works of the fine arts to be
gathered by the exposition officers. The
walls of this building are of brick and are
40 feet high. The brick will be covered
with staff in imitation of the marble of
the original Parthenon, as will also all of
Hhe exterior features. The roofs will be
bf glass, for. the purpose of affording a
works The Parthe1ion VIII occupy the
place of honor in the center of the
Grounds. The entrance to the building
Twill be graced by a fine statue of Pallas
Gthena, rs feet in height and mounted on
"a pedestal IS feet high. This statue Is
Alw being made in Paris, and will short
n arrive In this country. A reproduction
OF the Rialto in Venice will span a tiny
lake near the statue.
The Commerce Building.
The most extensive of the structures is
the Commerce building, located a short
distance from the Parthenon. 1t will have
a dome 10 feet high, and the building
itself covers six acres of land. All of the
other main buildings are unusually large,
the machinery building, for instance, be-
ing 526 by 124 feet, the transportation
building 400 by 125 feet and the agricul-
tural building being 300 by 200 feet. The
commerce building Is 591 feet in width
and 256 feet in depth. The style of archi-
lecture is based ON the Corinthian and
ionic orders of the Graeco-Roman. The
Interior Is divided into aisles and a nave,
the former being rs feet and the latter 40
feet high. The central pavilion Is two
stories in height, the second story form
ing a gallery on either side overlooking
the nave. This gallery Is reached by four
broad stairways, one at each end of the
-four corners.
A unique feature of the exposition Is