The Washington herald., 1908-04-19
City Of Palaces Springing Up
in Suburb of London.
LIKE AN ARABIAN NIGHTS"
Under Direction of Imre kiraIfy
FrHncO-BFttish Exhibition Being
Erected at Shepherds Bush VIII
Be Wonderful structure-ArtiheiaI
Lakes and All Kinds of Sports.

and written about the FranCo-BTitish EX-
hibition at Shepherds Bush, but no one
who has not been on the ground lately
can have any idea of the imposing White
City which has sprung up there at the
bidding OF that modern magician, Imre
KiTalfy.
The magician in the story Of Aladdin"
was able TO create a palace In a night.
Mr. Kiralfy. in an incredibly short time.
has called into being some twenty pal
aces. which now cover the 40 acres OF
exhibition ground. almost ready foT the
exhibits to be put into them.
The first sod was cut less than fifteen
months ago. Then the place was a des-
ert. gloomy stretch of mud and rank
grass. Now it is a stately town, with
wide roads and pleasan gardens and a
broad canal mesndering through il. with
fine buildings at every turn, each vista
revealing fresh beauties. and every prom
ise of being ready for the public to gaze
upon its wonders at the beginning of
Nay
II is hard TO believe when you see the
palaces glitter in the sunlight that they
are not solid construction of stone. The
plaster work is marvellous, and all the
details, as well as the broad outlines II
design. are really in excellent taste. Il
rem nds one now OF the Chicago Worlds
Fair now Of the last Paris Exposition.
Certainly nothing so good Of its kind has
ever been seen in England before.
The court of honor will be one of the
chief admiration spots for the crowds
which will throng the place during the
summer months. Around an immense
basin fed by the canal are vast halls Of
Oriental aspect Their cupolas and min
arets form q delicate fretted pattern
against the sky Their dignified solidity
and Testful architecture breathe an age
less majesty and calm. At one end a
cascade Of water will ripple down over
crystal steps illuminated from beneath
with changing colors Ike some gigantic
kaleidoscope.
Aids to LOcOmotiOn.
Upon the lake. and hither and thither
on the canal electric and petrol motor
launches will swiftly bear visitors from
one point to another There Will also be
wheel chairs for the weary, pushed by
wiry, ue-bloused little men. These aids
TO looomotion will be greatly valued. SO
large an area does the exhibition cover
that depending on ones legs alone would
soon reduce one to a state of limp de-
spaiT
Fortunately the fatigue of getting there
is reduced 10 a minimum. There are two
railway stations actually in the grounds
the Central London Tube terminus and
the Uxbridge Road Station are at the
very doors. The London United Electric
tramway cars pass the entrance, and the
London county council is constructing a
new tramway line up Wood lane, upon
which the exhibition grounds border.
Again, all those who spend the day
there will find excellent restaurants al all
prices, French or English. whichever they
prefer; and plenty OF opportunities to
rest whenever they find the stress Of
sightseeing becoming too strenuous
What better antidote against WEAKNESS
could be imagined than the unpoetica1y
named fiipfap, a cOntrivance consisting
OF two huge cantilever arms, which raise
you I'D high In the air, giving you a
bird s-eye view Of the whole exhibition,
and gently deposit you ninety yards away
from where you made your ascent?
All Kinds of Sports.
There viii be always opportunity, also,
TO rest in the stadium. whether the Olym-
pic games are in progress or not This
enormous oval amphitheater has a run
ming track a third Of a mile round, an
outer track for bicycles, motor, and
$50 yards In circumference, and
seats for 40.000 spectators. There is, in
addition. a swimming pool more than 100
yards long and in the middle fourteen
feet deep for diving competitions.
Here the international sports of every
will take place in July. while
before and after there will be all kinds
of other athletic displays. Three times a
week, too, there will be fireworks in the
stadium, and late in the season football.
and hockey matches will be
played Altogether the area is reckoned
capable Of holding as many as 10000 peo-
pie, all getting good view of whatever
Is going on.
Especially forward are the colonial pal
aces, in which the King, who is to open
the exhibition. takes a particular inter-
est To Australia. for example. his mai
esty has lent very large painting of the
OF the commonwealth. by
Tom Roberts. With the French exhibits,
too. the King is, OF course. keenly SYM
pathetic. There can be no doubt that the
exhibition will help to make the entente
cordiale more intimate and more real.
There Is every indication that IL will be
an enormous success,