Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1915-08-25

| this week, WIFI 0AC0lI0nC duuT0SSoS ny
Hon. Levi Bancroft, ex-attorney gen
eral of Wisconsin, who came here as
the representative of Gov. Philip,
and by one of the exposition officials.
About two thousand people, former
citizens of Wisconsin, assembled at
the building for the ceremonies, and
it furnished an opportunity for many
to meet old friends whom they had
not before seen in years. Myself and
Mrs. Lowrey attended and there met
Miss Emma Schreiner, Mr.. and Mrs.
]. H. Howe and daughter, Theda, and
Miss Peterson, all of Lancaster, who
had just come up from the Yosemite,
and are spending the week here, af-
ter which they will leave on their
homeward trip by way Of Portland,
Seattle and other Puget Sound points.
Mr.. and Mrs. H. w. Brown and son,
Dick, of Lancaster, also reached here
few days ago and will remain about
| 10 days before going to Los Angeles,
for which point Mrs. Lowrey and my
self also expect to start within a very
few days.
Exhibits Large and Fine.
The exhibits at the exposition are
very large and fine, equalling those
at the others that have preceded it
Notwithstanding the fact that the Eu-
Lropean war has resulted in preventing
many foreign exhibits that had been
expected. France, Italy, Portugal,
Greece, Sweden and Denmark are the
only European, countries that. have
building, and the Orient is represented
| by. Japan, China and the Philippine
Islands. !, OF all. the buildings on the
grounds the most interesting is the
one of Canada, in which the display
| is of the most varied and interesting
character Wisconsin measures up
we'll with the other states in the dis
| play of her products. 5er,
San Francisco a Wonderful City.
| San Francisco itself is a wonderful
and interesting city. What has been
accomplished in rebuilding, upon a
larger and grander scale than ever
| before, since the city was to so great
an extent destroyed by earthquake
and fire, nine years ago, is almost be-
yond comprehension 1t is, perhaps,
the most cosmopolitan city in the
United States, unless it may possibly
be New York. Here one meets upon
the streets every day people of prac-
tically every country upon the face
of the globe
Old Chinatown is Missing.
| But it is a rapidly changing CITY,
Some of the features" which made it
most talked of a decade ago are gone
The old Chinatown, for instance, with
it's opium joints, its joss houses, its
gambling haunts and it's "highbind-
ers" belongs to the days that are past
and gone forever, and its "Barbary
Coast" will never come back.
City Extending Towards Bay.
Within the past few years the retail
section in the business portion of the
city has rapidly been extending down
toward the great ferry building, where
the wholesale stores are likely to fol-
| low soon Many, many thousands Of
people are handled daily by the boats
of the various ferry lines, which all
concentrate at this one building and
extend to Oakland, Berkeley, Almeda,
and Saulsalito, upon the opposite
shores of the bay these places being
the residence of thousands who work
or conduct business of one kind or an
other in San Francisco.
Superb Transportation.
Time and space will not permit of
more extended comment upon the
points of interest concerning the city,
at present, other than an allusion to
it's wonderful system OF street car and
iitney service, all of which centerS in
Market street. from whence it spreads
in every direction, and to the opera
tions now in progress for the con-
struction of magnificent civic center,
unsurpassed by any city on the globe.
Colossal New Auditorium.
uicitod thot nOint Yesterday and
inspected the colossal new auditor
ium which is just nearing completion
at a cost of two millions of dollars.
It's main hall seats twelve thousand
people and under pressure will &C
commodate many more. 1t is said that
upon at least one occasion 10000 peo-
pie were assembled there this year
and the seating arrangements are
such that the chairs can be rapidly re-
moved in sections and the place con-
verified into a dancing hall or mann
moth banquet room. The building al
so contains numerous other smaller
halls which are rented at nominal
charge for conventions and other
gatherings of various kinds.
Magnificent New City Hall.
A magnificent new city hall cost
|
site the auditorium, is nearing COM
pletion, to take the place of the old
building destroyed by the earthquake
and operations. have been begun upon
tremendous municipal theater
building nearby. In time the county
and federal building will mot doubt
also be added to the group. 1t is a
splendid plan. and fully abreast of the
most modern ideas upon this subject.
Another Letter Soon.
Well, L. have already made this let
ter much too long and must close it
abruptly, right here, although there is
much more l could say of San Fran
cisco and it's sister city of Oakland
which must either go untold or wait
until another time.
| Yours sincerely,
B. ]. LOWERY.
| REET0WN