The Washington herald., 1915-10-01
The San Francisco Exposition.
BY JOHN ID. BARRY,

into the South Gardens there is hedge that reD
resents new idea. w. B. Favic, of San Fran.
CISCO architect of the walls the palaces inside and
of the inner courts knew that the exposition would
have to be fenced off from the rest of the city, and
he thought the fence ought to be picturesque So
he said to John McLaren, superintendent of Golden
Gate Park, the landscape gardener: Suppose we
mahe an ivy-covered WALL like an old English wall
that took generations to grow. Let us plant deep
boxes with ivy and pile them on oneeanothcr' u
McLaren said the idea was good; but he didn't
think ivy was the best plant for the purpose He
substituted the thick-growing African dew plant
that is there now. And instead of the deep boxes,
he used shallow boxes. Then he placed irrigating
pipes on top.
As you enter the South Gardens you are at
once impressed by the brilliancy of the California
flowers. McLaren often changes them, sometimes
overnight. The design of the landscape is French,
with Spanish suggestions. To the left is the Pal
ace of Horticulture. The dome recalls the Mosque
of Ahmet l in Constantinople. The ornamentation
is French. The designs are all related to horticul-
ture to fower-basket and lattice work, and to
flowers and plants. Bakewall and Brown, the San
Francisco architects made the building consist of
the great dome and of smaller domes and half
domes. in order to keep close to nature as any
inclosed structure could be-
Directly opposite to the right, is Festival Hall,
by Robert Farquhar, of Los Angeles. 1t, too, is
French, and it belongs to the Beaux Arts type of
architecture, often to be found in the provincial
theaters of France 1t doesn't grow out of its
use, and its ornamentaton consists largely OF de-
signs applied from without Its most interesting
feature is the entrance which is stately and beau
tltul The building has added beauty at night
when the interior lighting takes the colors of red
and gold.
The Fountain of Energy in the South Gardens,
was designed by A. Stirling Calder, of Philadel-
phia acting chief of architecture and executed by
Calder with the assistance of Frederick c. R Roth,
sculptor of the animal figures at the base The
symbolism of the horse and rider, tearing across
the world, clearly explains itself Both figures are
executed with spirit; but the treatment OF the
riders arms and hands is theatrical The little
heures on the riders shoulders, symbolizng Valor
and Fame, two OF the most inspiring forces in
lite make pretty design; but you wonder VIII
they are doing up there. Though they are much
bigger than little man, they represented as be-
ing smaller. The base is graceful in shape and
original in the decorative Of two figures repre-
senting the hemispheres and suggestions of sea
life
The main tower, the Tower of Jewels, was de-
signed by Thomas Hastings OF the New York
tlrm of architects, Carrere and Hastings He felt
that tower was needed to advertise the exposi-
ton to the world and to celebrate both the spirit
that put through the canal and the spirit that put
through the exposition The structure was called
the Tower OF Jewels on account of its being deco
rated with pieces of Austrian cut glass, in many
colors, designed by the chief of the lighting de-
partment, Walter Darcy Ryan, of Schenectady,
N. Y, to be illuminated at night by Ryan's scintil-
lators.
The Tower of Jewels is 435 feet high. 1t looks
shorter The reason is that the outlines instead
lines and the globe at the tob presses down the ef
Tee !ect as whole. There is too much ornamentation
The sculptured figures are good in themselves.
types associated with California history but many
Of them are out of place, including the horses and
their riders. The tower is at its best at night,
when the lighting obscures much of the detail The
arch is fine, like all the arches on the grounds.
-, The four smaller towers, designed by George
W. kelham. of San Francisco, are Italian Renais-
sance. They resemble the Ciralda Tower of Sc
Vile, the tower of Madison Square Garden. and
The ferry tower of San Francisco. Though the plas-
Ter used Throughout the exposition was made by
Paul Denvelle in imitation of Travertine marble,
the kind of marble drawn from the bed of the
Tiber and extensively used by the early Romans,
i is frankly treated here as plaster, and colored
plHk ny JuleS OueIln ne design has been
Used on account of its suggestion of wallpaper:
credit ought to go to the makers of wallpaper for
heir good taste The four towers arc among the
most pictorial of all the architectural features,
notably fine at night under illumination
In the imitation Travertine DenivelIe used
suggestion of color for the sake of securing rich
ness and warmth. He was chosen to supply the
material for the reason that he had applied imta-
ion Travcrtne with great success on a portion of
he great Pennsylvania Station in New York CITY.
Only an expert could distinguish where the real
I rravertine ended and where the imitation began.
Denvelle wished to avoid all suggestion of new
less and glare and to make the exposition, on the
opening day look fairly old: On the plain sur
aces he had the plaster applied with trowe and
he laminations, the texture and the holes put in
with brushes. The ornamental features he had
asst in m0ds: In Jules Guerin he found sympa-
'ne coat only, relying, on the weather for season
ng. Here and there he found that the paint had
o be renewed. In his choice of colors he follow
ID the hints ir the sky the sea, the neighbor
ng landscape
Explaining Foss.
"Mr. Foss' meager totals" says the Boston