The Indianapolis journal., 1902-10-13
FESTIVAL FIELD.
vastness of the Ensemble Astonfshed
Many Thousands.

To those who have followed with only
perfunctory interest the news of the build
ing of the shows from a tissue of ideas to
substantial and handsome structures, archi-
tecturally pleasing and artistically deco
rated, a first glimpse of Festival Field and
the horse show arena means shock or
pleasurable amusement The ensemble Is
something more than astonishing in its
vastness, in the beauty Of the decorations,
in the immense number of attractions to
be offered to the public, in the grace ana
size OF the buildings. in the skill of arrange
ment and in other no less remarkable de-
tails. There were many thousands of peo-
pie who sauntered out to Festival Field yes
terday afternoon out of mere idle curiosity
who remained for hours marveling at the
general appearance of the grounds Ejacu-
lations of astonishment on every hand re-
vealed with amusing clearness how utterly
unaware was the general public of the pre-
tentiousness of the entertainments the mer-
chants of the city are offering this year.
why" said one astonished citizen who
had not been on the grounds ten minutes
why, had no idea 1t was going to be any
thing like this" No more had any one
else, not even the managers themselves at
the start, for the festival and the horse
show have developed like giant snowballs
rolling field of adhesive ideas. AS
the plans developed the expense grew, and
it would seem like exaggeration to estimate
how much the shows have already cost In
hard cash. The point is that the money
has been expended with intelligence. ana
with comprehensive grasp of the possibili-
ties of the hour a great exhibition mas Deen
produced that Indianapolis can point 10 IN
after years with a swelling Of pride in the
municipal breast.
THE PROMENADE.
cir
great three-arch gateway. done In red and
yellow, surmounted by gargoylic heads. one
comes full tilt on the wide public prom
enade, broad as Washington street. oval
in form and a full half-mile in length.
Its boundaries are furnished by slender,
graceful poles wreathed in red and yellow
and strung with more colored incandescent
lights than the mind likes to attempt to
compute into intelligible figures. In the
daylight these slender decorated poles are
pretty enough; in the night, with their col
ored fire jewels, they are entrancingly beau.
tiful. Around the outer edge or the oval
promenade situated the side shows, to
which entrance fees will be charged-no
more than 10 cents in any case, 1t Is stated:
the fascinating inscriptions that maketh the
heart of the small boy to exult and the
blood of the sedate parent to course lit
tie faster. Here will be seen, II the In
scriptions are true-and what matter II
some of them are inaccurate. its all In the
show anyway-animals familiar and strange
to natural histories, creatures known and
unfamiliar to anatomy. freaks OF nature
and freaks of mans devising. Some Of
these shows are known by reputation to be
good. There is BOstOck s. trained animal
show, De Kreko's Egyptian shows, Baba
Delgarians Hindoo company, Harter's little
horses, Captain Paul Sorcho's deep-sea div
ing exhibitions, the fairyland electric the
alter, the Andrews glass blowers, the Al
satan garden with the Hirschorns's Tyrole-
an yodlers. Carmontelle the contortionist;
the Lamonte acrobats, Karmatz. the ma
gician, in a vaudeville programme, and the
big Ferris wheel II the youngsters and
| the older folk cannot get some fun out Of
crate crate days. All around the big oval they
| will be placed with their merry riot Of
racket and medley Of excitements.
MANY ATTRACTIONS.
In the center of the oval formed by the
| public promenade will be the free shows.
| Dan Canary, who does things on bicycle
considerably higher up in the atmosphere
than most people want to climb by the
| aid Of a ladder, is full Of promise. He
rides up bottomless stairway and de-
scends finally by means Of stairway one
hundred feet long. Captain Fox will have
his famous English Zouaves go through
| their drills and scale the wall of Peking.
| The diving horses, King and Queen, will
| be there, and the Temple of Music, the
| spotless structure in the center of the
| field, will be the center from which will
radiate the music of the band. The giant
| orchestrion Of the Willards will be fea-
| ture of tie musical entertainment.
The merit Of Festival Field that strikes
| the spectator at once Is the splendid ar
| rangement of attractions. Nobody need
| hunt for what he may want; despite the
size of the field 1t will be there before
! him. Free shows and the others are so
| arranged that each has a place of promi-
nence where it cannot fail to meet the eye
| of the seeker for amusement.
| Banners and electric lights are potential
| In their possibilities for decorative effect,
| and the way these bases have been util-
| lied at Festival Field is a revelation OF art
| and ingenuity. Banners Of red and yellow
| swing and fly from roof and pole, giving a
| warm glow of color To all. At night the
| seemingly endless stIeamers and designs
Of colored incandescents will illuminate the
| field in a profusion of brilliant effect.
| Twelve big arc lights have already been
| placed as the principal centers of illumina-
ton. and the numbers of the smaller decor
ative lights are uncountable. On account
| of the size Of the field, and the freedom
from those restrictions that the use OF
| streets would have entailed, decorative and
| illuminative art have been brought to q
point of perfection.