Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-03-03
Board of Agriculture Looking
Ahead Many Years in Caring
For lowa's Big Fair
MAKES PLAN FOR THE FUTURE
Magnificent Plaza to Adorn Center of
the Grounds-Impement Manufact-
urers Willing to Erect Permanent
Buildings of Their own-controI
Board to Do Less Building.
pecial to Tlmes-Republlcan.

Special to imes-Republican.
Des Moines, March 3.-Plans for
magnificent plaza and permanent i'm
provements costing many hundreds OF
thousands of dollars will be adopted
by the state board of agriculture when
it meets in q few days. The state
board has had in mind for some time to
adopt permanent scheme of i'm
provements for the fair grounds. 1t
has been recognized that if new i'm
provements were placed each year
without regard to the future plans OF
the grounds there would soon be trou-
BILE.
This year the board decided to erect
a $4,000 administration building. and
when the question arose as to where
the building should be situated, it at
once became apparent that before it
could be located the future plans of the
fair must be decided upon also.
1t is practically decided now to have
a magnificent plaza in the center of the
grounds. This plaza will probably
extend from the street car station in-
side the grounds in a northeasterly di-
rection past the agricultural building.
At the extreme northeast end will
stand the administration building. This
plaza will be brilliantly lighted at night
and during the fair will be magnifi-
Gently laid out in flower beds and
walks. 1t will give the grounds the
appearance OF an exposition, which the
institution is in fact.
In order to determine this question
of the plaza and its location, and the
location of the administration build
ing, the board must decide at this time
whether there shall ever be q mile
track at the fair ggrounds. 1t must
also determine where the mammoth
machinery hall is to be located when
built and where the new amphltheatfe
is to stand when erected. 1t must de-
termine the location of the new STOCK
pavilion, which it is recognized the
institution must some day have, and
the location of the new cattle and horse
barns.
1t is possible that the board may de-
eide to some day entirely cut away the
greater part of one of the hills to the
rear of the agricultural building. Two
plans for the grounds have been
drawn and will be submitted to the
board when it meets. One OF these
provides for the plaza to extend from
the street car entrance northeast. The
other provides that it shall extend
thru the grounds north and south just
west of the street running west of the
stock pavilion and agricultural build
ing. 1t is possible that the board will
find that the latter plan is impractical
because the present amphitheatre ex-
tends over the site where the admin
istraticn building would have to be
placed if this latter plan were adopt
ed
Several of the large implement man
ufacturers have signitied desire TO
erect costly permanent buildings on
the state fair grounds to be used Tor
their exhibits each year. They nave
not been allowed to erect them thus
far because no permanent plan Tor the
grounds have been adopted. AS soon as
these plans are adopted these build
ings will go up. some of them possl-
bly, this year if the ground can be
made available.
Altogether the plans that the board
will adopt at this time will contemplate
improvements in the grounds reaching
close to a million dollars and provid-
ing for all the more important i'm
provements that will be made in the
grounds for the next generation. Each
year these improvements will be made
and the grounds bettered as the pro-
fits of the fair and the liberality of the
state legislature will permit till the
whole scheme is completed and 1T is
the hope of the board that all the i'm
next decade.
Fewer new buildings will be erected
by the state board of control this year
than in many years and this is partly
due to the low stage Of the money in
the state treasury. Last year the board
laid the foundations for $65,000 mfr
mary at Mt. Pleasant a 100000 new
cell house at the Fort Madison peni-
tentiary and started new infirmary
at Clarinda. These will be completed
this year.
In new buildings the board will this
year erect $4,000 cottage at the
Girls Industrial School at Mitchell
VILE, and a $4,000 new cold storage
building at the school for the deaf at
Council Bluffs. These will be the only
buildings to be started and completed
this year The plans and specifications
are in the hands Of the contractors now
for bids.
Two other buildings will be started,
however. One will be a s125,000 mfr
mary at Cherokee and the other
s125. 900 infirmary at Independence.
Only $4,000 of the appropriation in
each instance will be available this