The Saint Paul globe., 1904-06-05
FAIR is ADORNED :
BY ELECTRICITY
Palace Devoted to This Science
IsFuII of Amazing Con-
trivanceS
Globe Worlds Fair Bureau,

~ 40 tObd1AJ Dy Wdl6E, II
makes law unto itself in architecture,
and at night. because inside lies the
source of electric power, it's rows of
incandescents shine with double their
| neighbors' brilliance Figures make no
| adequate impression, but 1t is easy to
give them-the palace cost $4O0, 900, it
covers $4,000 square feet, in some
places the roof is hundred feet above
the floor, the exhibits contained are
worth many millions-quite priceless,
In fact-and 1t took two years to con-
Struct
To the eye, which records all there
is or interest to most visitors, the pal
ace OF electricity is a square, white
| coiumned building, too big to note in
| detail except that it possesses an in
Unity OF grooved columns at the side,
Jutting ornaments along the roof line.
and statues over corners and entrances.
The structure was built to embody in
| plaster a very elusive, insubstantial
force-electricity Perhaps one. would
| not guess this in looking at it first. vet
| 1t is easy to see how the long lines have
been led by multitude or ornaments
into combating the idea Of solidity.
All the outline Of the palace is elusive.
Along the rim and about the bases of
| the building are dozens of statues so
| cunningly placed that the eye Is con-
| stantly attracted from one to another
! by a suggestion of something more
pleasant beyond. 1t is hard to find on
| all the four sides of the great building
an even, sweeping line or a solid facade.
Really New
/ Tho
| trIc1ty declare that it offers something
new In exposition architecture. The
roof is f1at-not visible above the caves.
The usual domes and towers are
onltted and groups of statuary, which
are alegories of varies phases Of the
subtle and unknown force, have been
placed on six pedestaIs raised many
1eet above the cornice line. Not only
the figures, but the pedestals present
curV1ng lines and ornamentation.
much Of the sculptural work on the
| pedestals is in relief and these piles of
statuary = compounded symmetrically
| OF bas-reliefs and carved figures-rise
at each Of the four corners and on
either side of the main entrance
Beia Pratt, Of Boston, is responsible
| LOT the statuary on the corner pavilions
| pOe1c1CSs All Oh IL pre-
| SCENTS the scared wonder of the COM
mon people at the advance Of cleo
! trlcity. The Wonders of Lightning
shows a mother hugging close two
| Ddpy DoyS and presenting q marvellous
lace toward the new force. Light
| ana Darkness" is the most notable of
MI. traits work. The erect, triumph
ant figure of a woman clutches over its
mead the mystic five-pointed star.
from the shoulder a single draperv
! noats to the crouching male figures of
| darkness shielding their eyes and
| wr1thing in the dust. Bella Pratt also
exnlb1ts on the corner of the electricity
where an aged Morse father with his
| two sons watches the glimmering
| northern lights.
Truth" by Charles Crafty, is on the
| northwest corner of the building, over
looking the plaza of ST. Louis and the
/ band stand where Sousa has been play
/ ing during the month Of Nav, The
figure is that of girl, perfectly nude,
| seated on a sphere, resting her arms
/ on an unclasped shell and her feet be-
4 tween serpent heads. Her face wears
an open, sober, earnest look as she
1 gazeS out across the crowded plazas to
| the city beyond.
Aliegories in Bronze
/ A. Lukeman has sculptured allego-
| r1eS of the four attributes of electricity
| and they are placed over the four sets
| OF twin columns on the eastern side Of
| the building. Light sits tWirIing be-
tween two terminals copper wire, the
| medium by which the element Is dis
! seminated. Heat is a draped figure
| holding to the front a great burning
| brazier. Speed" has tense muscles
and head bent slightly forward; Mer-
| cury's emblem in one hand and a plas-
Erv1Fl ~ T. IL.
| power is bearded man who clutches
the handle Of an iron lever and bears
1 on his knee leather pulley strap
| careleSsly flung across
The roof Of the electricity building
/ or rather the wide caves which stretch
| from pediment to pediment-is painted
a Pompeiian red. This peculiar color
\ which is admirably set off by the dull
| cream of the remainder Of the build
| ing, is the only tint or shade used on
the exposition palaces. Here and there
/ 1T forms the background for a per-
lStyle of columns or gives an awning
| like appearance to Sloping roof For
| the rest the buildings are coated with
1 White into which has been introduced
4 tint of some darker stuff. The effect
| is compromise between the glaring
| white of the buildings at Chicago and
4 the miracle of color at Buffalo. The
| dull cream is particularly effective
Wnen IL is renected into the canals AS
| the palace Of electricity is quite sur
| rounded by water a double picture of
/ it may be seen, both by day in the
| cleaning surface Of the grand basin
/ only occasionally disturbed by a gon-
! dola-and at night when the quivering
| etching of fire is sunk deep in the
canals.
Without the statuary on the corners
| and over the entrances the building
| would look squat. For this reason no.
| where on the grounds have the archi-
| tects permitted sculpture to play so
| important a part in the architectural
| scheme. The idea Of allowing seulp-
! ture to suggest the theme of cleo
| tricity by yelling the necessarily solid
! lines of a building is original with the
architects, Walker and Kimball. About
| the entrances to the palace of cleo
! tricity are the portrait statues of
men great in electrical science, headed
| by faithful representation of Benja-
| min Franklin. The other men hon.
ored with a place in the decoration
Of the palace of electricity are Volta,
| Ampere, Ohm, Faraday and Joseph
Henry.
And Most Is Inside
If the exterior Of the electricity
building is novelty in exposition
architecture, the interior is as great
| an advance over the iIl-lighted, barn
! like interiors which were the forna-
| ton of the evolution of exhibit palaces.