The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1907-09-07

One advantage Of city being shaken
down and burned up Is that 1t can be
rebuilt on . grander, finer scale than
ever before, 10 that eventually the
catastrophe turns out to be . blessing.
As the years progress this 10 going to
be true Of San Francisco. for out OF
her ruins there is slowly but surely
rising . inner and better city. And
then In such a time Of need there are
10 many to aid In the building OF
grander city that many unexpected
features present themselves for the
establishment Of the city. Among the
many such Is the gift Of design for
q temple of music and art, wondrous
plan which represents IL years OF
work by Hendrix Christian Andersen,
the master architect and sculptor OF
Rome, a man to whom the most
captious critics accord the greatest
honor. They say that no sculptor or
architect of the world save Andersen.
to-day embodies 80 thoroughly the
vital creative genius of the immortal
Michael Angelo. Andersen Is but 36
years of age.
Perhaps because California is re-
garded as another sunny Italy" where
there is Just appreciation Of music
and the other arts, perhaps because
of the sympathy born Of kindred mis-
fortunes. and surely because Ander.
sen wishes to see this work of love be-
come reality. he sent all these beau
tiful plans and their detail to San
Francisco with the hope that the new
world, and. incidentally, the most at
tractive part of 1t, might have the
finest temple dedicated to the arts in
any country. Freely. fully and with
genuine. good will, Andersen gives to
Gan Francisco this result of IL years
work, plus his genius. 1t surely cost
. pang to send these plans from the
place for which they We're intended.
particularly as the reason that they
wese not developed in Rome lay in the
repeated disasters that came to Italy.
6O much money was needed for the
desolated. suffering people that the
fund designed for the temple was d.
vNfted to their use. Under the circum-
stances there could be no thought OF
this architectural dream in Rome. but
the creator of 1t believed in the posi-
bilities of the rich, new country.
This temple Of music and art was to
have been built by the municipality
of Rome. Because of the large ex-
penditure involved In this scheme
some money had been set aside an
nually for several years. Just about
the time the first definite steps were
to be taken for the building of this
monument the recent Vesuvian dis
asters came and because the claims of
suffering humanity come first the
money for the temple was given to the
victims. Then came San Francisco's
time of trial and Hendrix Andersen
sent the plans thither, thinking that
in the upbuilding Of the newer and
greater city the temple could be real
lied.
To attain the result Andersen has
achieved in these plans. he visited and
studied all the galleries Of art and
many of the opera houses Of Europe:
and, out of the centuries Of competi-
ton and experience. he conceived this
splendid composite. The plan en-
bodies double stage, one for grand
opera and the other for symphony
concerts or other big musical express
sion. The two stages are back to
back and so arranged that they can
be thrown into one when necessary.
The auditorium of the grand opera
house has tremendous seating ca
pacity; that for the symphony con-
certs is proportionately smaller. A
circular promenade affords equal and
surround the auditoriums. where per-
manent exhibitions would be placed.
Adequate entrances to the varied in
terests in the temple from outside are
provided for.
It Is true that the magnifcence of
, the design for this temple means a
suitable setting with possibilities of
egress and ingress on all sides, but
all this would be possible on the half
block site of the former Mark Hop
kins institute Of art. 1t is not too
much to dream that this great struc.
ture might be built ON one Of the
many hills of San francisco instead
of one of the seven hills OF Rome.
As a piece Of architecture nothing
could be more impressive than Ander-
sens design and nothing more fitting
to crown an eminence. A dome of
harmonious lines we'll fitted to the
proportions of the building proper has
its groupings Of statuary as has the
building. Across the three doors Of
the main entrance friexe in relief
done in bronze like the groups adds
great beauty and dignity to the nne
ensemble Of art and architecture. Fig