Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-08-06

One advantage of a city being shaken down and burned up is that it can bs rebuilt on a grander, finer scale than ever before, so that eventually the catastrophe turns out to be blessing. As the years progress this is going to be true of San Francisco, for out of her ruins there is slowly but surely rising a finer and better city. And then in such time of need there are so many to aid in the building of a grander city that many unexpected features present themselves for the establishment of the city. Among the many such is the gift of a design for a temple of music and art, wondrous plan which represents 12 years of work by Hendrix Christian Andersen, the master architect and sculptor of Rome, man to whom the most captious critics accord the greatest honor. They say that no sculptor or architect of the world save Andersen, today embodies so 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 a 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 a 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 San Francisco this result of 12 years work, plus his genius. It surely cost a pang to send these plans from the place for which they were intended, particularly as the reason that they were not developed in Rome lay in the repeated disasters that came to Italy. So much money was needed for the desolated. suffering people that the fund designed for the temple was di- verted to their use. Under the circum- stances there could be no thought of this architectural dream in Rome, but the creator of it believed in the possi- 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 ized.
 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- tion and experience. he conceived this splendid composite. The plan em- bodies a double stage. one for grand opera and the other for symphony concerts or other big musical expres- 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 a tremendous seating ca pacity; that for the symphony con certs is approximately smaller. A circular promenade affords equal and fitting access to the art galleries which l surround the auditoriums. where per manent exhibitions would be placed. l Adequate entrances to the varied in terests in the temple from outside are provided for.
 It Is true that the magnihcenee 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 i block site of the former Mark Hop kins institute of art. It 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 p:ece of architecture nothing could be more impressive than Ander- sen's design and nothing more fitting | to crown an eminence. A dome of l harmonious lines well fitted to the proportions of the building proper has its groupings of statusTy as has the | building Across the three doors of | the main entrance a fTieze in relief | done in bronze like the groups adds | great beauty and dignity to the fine | ensemble of art and architecture. Fig