The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1904-07-01

Il
state exhibit Il With one S.or two ex-
sceptions not one az thu. Representa-
ttives Of the great resources and in-<
dustries. Of Minnesota, has given any
material assistance to the Board and
practically every i feature of the,
states exhibits had to be bought and
paid for, while in other states whole
exhibits were supplied by large spe-
cial interests. - = !
The Minnesota Building. s.
The first intention of the Board
was to erect a permanent building,
one that could be taken back to the
state, but the contractors and build
ers of Minnesota instead of helping
to this end and taking an interest
in the plan, submitted but two bids
after long waiting and personal So
.licitation, and they were nearly dou
BILE the architects estimate. Having,
therefore, to abandon this idea of
permanency, it was decided to put just
as little money as possible in the
building, saving as much as possible
for the exhibits. The design of the
building is clas sic and severely sim
pie. The finish is very plain, and as.
whole it is either sharply con-
demned for it's plainness or is highly
praised for it's artistic consistency
and beauty; there seems to be MO
middle ground of criticism. Those
who most admire richly upholstered
furniture and outward excess of
adornment, condemn, while architects
and students of art, enthusiastically
praise. It is built with special refer
ence to the hot weather that is sup
posed to visit St. Louis in the mid
summer months, and certainly if
there are any breezes, Minnesotans
visiting the fair, will find them there.
1t is an arrangement, just conven-
lent and comfortable club house.
There is the large front room, OPEN
ing on three sides, through glass
doors, to side corridors and a walled
front porch. Large urns filled with
towering plants, break and give col
or to the whiteness of this wall, while
large fiat awnings extending from
the house to the wall afford protec-
ton from the afternoon sun. Be-
sides the main room, there is "a busi-
ness Office and check room with the
postoffice, and waiting-rooms for wo-
men and men with toilets off each,
and a large room furnished for the
convenience of those who bring their
noon luncheon and wish a place to
eat it. Every daily newspaper of the
state and over one hundred of the
weekly papers are kept on file, and
what is Of decided Importance, pure
ice water is always to be had. The
States nearest neighbors are Iowa,
Massachusetts,, Kansas, New York
and OHIO, each of which has expend-
ed from forty to one hundred thou
sand dollars in it's building, while the
contract for Minnesota's was but lit
tie over sixteen thousand dollars,
which as it answers every needed pur-
pose seems quite enough to put in a
building that must practically be Civ
en- away at the close of the fair.
Building Stone.
OF the department exhibits, taking
them in their order from the state
building, the first is found in the
Palace of Mines and Metallurgy.
This shows Minnesota's building
stone and iron ores. On two sides is
a low stone wall made of polished
GRANTEES from the St. Cloud and Or
tonville districts, Kettle River Sand
stone, polished Mankato and Kasota
marble and Twin City pressed abrick,
while a polished granite column 20
feet high and weighing sixtek En- thou
sand pounds stands in the angle. On
the other two sides, are walls twelve
feet high, against which are placed
seven races of stone, each five by sew
en- feet, showing cut granite, Vino.
ma stone, pipestone and jasper, as il
laid in the wall of a building.
Iron Ore, Mines and Docks.
Minnesota has but the one mineral
to show-its iron, and this exhibit in.
cludes samples of ore from the mines
the method of mining, how the ore is
handled and how shipped by rail to
Duluth, the greatest iron shipping
port in the world. From one to four
samples of the various grades of ore
taken from every mine in the state
that is in operation, are shown in a
hundred large glass jars. There is a
statistical chart of the output and
two groups of photographs, three by
ten feet in size showing every phase
of mining. There is a model of the
cars used in shipping from the mines
of section of one of the great ore
Jocks at Duluth and of the Faya]
mine-the greatest producing iron
mine on earth. This last model is
eleven feet square, and shows even
the minutest detail of this most ia,
nous mine and the three processes OF
mining characteristic of the Mime.
sofa region,-the open-pit, the mill.
ing and the underground. In the
center of the space is a beautiful
model of Duluth city and harbor. On
it is shown every building in the city,
every elevator, dock, pier, bridge, car
line, and mill. One hundred and thir-
ty vessels, exact reproductions of the
boats that make the harbor, are there
and the whole model is covered, light
ed by electricity and viewed thru
glass covered openings. No exhibit
in the building attracts more atten-
ton and more sight seers go inside
of it's space and it holds them longer
than ony other of it's neighboring
exhibits and this is the real test of
it's worth.
| Education.
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