Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-06-28

party reached st. Louis, Thursday af-
tcrnoon, after a delightful run over the
lIoosac Tunnel route. West Shore and
Wabash, Z. Il. Robbins, who had pre-
lViouSiy been over the route gunned us
through to destination, and landed us
in the arms of our Old friend Stattler,
of the Inside inn, who entertained the
party so royalty at Buffalo in 1902.
think everybody who has given the
worlds fair q thought has pictured to
himself or herself, as the case may be-
just what it is like. / know l did, but
fell far short OF the mark; in fact,
could have inflated my mind picture
about four times and then been Il little
under The Worlds Fair of 1904, is I'M
qucstionably the largest the country
has ever seen and VIII see for fifty
years to come. 1t is laid out in the
form of j parallclogram and covers an
area of some 1910 acres, or approx
mately two miles long by one mile
wide. If the fair was set down in the
kenncbec valley, it would cover an area
of length from Augusta to Hallowcll
and in width from North street on the
west TO Malta hill on the east side of
the river. In this vast tract is con-
Sregated the worlds greatest wonders,
where but two years ago this was but Il
| barren tract now has Il city of over
1000 buildings. Our country has made
very liberal appropriation and every
state excepting possibly three, is rep
resented, and has buildings appropriate
to their section or state they represent.
| -, 1,
CeptionS, have taken the matter up and
have reproduced Oh the fair grounds
some building or temple, some repro
duction of famous places in their own
country. Great Britain reproduced the
famous Orangery of kcnsinSton palace;
France, the Grand Trianon; Germany
the imperial castle, the Charlottenburg;
Belgium, the Antwerp town hall; China
the palace of Prince Pu Lun, and SO on.
The State buildings are grouped to-
Scthcr i'll what is called the plaza of
states. Here one sees the old log cabin
from our own State, one of the promi-
ncnt buildings i'll its class. Virginia
has reproduced Monticello, the home of
Thomas jefferson. New Jersey, the
mosquito state, has given us Washing
y
thing is reproduced even to the Ratchet.
The nutmeg state has done likewise
with the SiGourncy mansion at Hart
ford while Mississippi has given us in
all its southern beauty. Beauoir, the
home of jefferson Davis, who attained
sCme notoriety in the early sixties.
think one of the most striking build
!, ings in architectural designs is the
Texas building. built in the shape of il
lone star. it looks as if it had dropped
from the Sky.
Cabildo, the Louisiana state building,
is Il reproduction of the building where
the famous transfer of the Louisiana
territory took place. Every building
in the group has distinct in
diNiGuality of its own, in fact the sam,
idea seems to prevail all through tho
grounds. ! think the style of architec-
tire especially i'll the fifteen larger
buildings is described by those who
know what is what. us a free treat
mcnt Of the renaissance i'll other words
it seems to have been taken to mean
carte blanche by the architects.
| Everything here is Oh a colossal
scale. The original idea was to cxpend
an equal amount that was paid for the
original Louisiana purchase, SIS, 900, GOO
but like Il SNOWFALL rolling down hill it
has grown and enlarged until the
amount at the present time has reached
. the enormous sum of SJ0000 900. The
promoters evidently made up their
mind to Guido the world. and the re-
suit is tho Worlds fair of 1904 is twice
as large as any previous exhibition in
| irDt in
time hut one must first become familiar
; with ones surroundings. A Building 4
quarter of Il mile long is nothing much
to speak of at the st. Louis World s
Fair. Furthermore, some of the eX-
hibt palaces. being built in the form Of
Il segment of circle with their angles
and curves disguised with colonnadcs
and porticoa. have a very disconcorting
habit of running around the corner to
meet You after you ina CINE you have
finished with them and are taking n
short cut to another building. Do not
consider it a reflection upon your in
tclliScnve if you get lost few times
during your first days at the fair.
Perhaps it will help the visitor to
kcnp his bearings If he will remember
that the "nrafn picture" or principal
|
ing landscape adornments are laid our
in the form of u fan. the broad end OF
which points outward toward the
mort beast and toward the city. The
handle OF the fan formed by the Fine
Arts building lies back in the grounds.
Festival Hall is the central pivot
which holds the ends of the ribs. which
are broad avenues, together. The only
railroad depot. through which the great
M iority will probably pass, as
well as the more -irnportat troll
Icy terminals. are on the outer
end of the center rib of the fan
which is COMPOSED of very broad
plaza. called the Place of st. Louis.
and the Grand Basin. On the right of
the center rib as one faces Festival Hall
are first the Varied Industries building
and next the Electricity building. On
the left is the Manufactures building
on the outer rim and then the Educa-
ton and Social Economy building. To
the left of these and beyond the left rib
of the fan is the Liberal Arts building.
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