of Paris and the National School of Sculpture
of America, respectively.
The Palace of Education and Social Economy shows developments
since 1905. Comparative exhibits of educational interests of all nations
are shown.
Child welfare, playgrounds, care of the feebleminded, treatment of the
insane, missionary work, the Red Cross system, criminology, park
systems, street improvements, methods of disposing of sewage, and
many other allied subjects are interestingly worked out for public
benefit.
The flora is just about the same in front of these palaces as that which
you have noticed. The veronica buxifolia is grouped around the lawn at
the corner of Palm and Administration Avenues.
The west side of the Palace of Education as well as that of the Palace of
Food Products, has great Roman half domes above the entrances. Again
your architecture at the portals is changed to suit the style of the palace
opposite. The Fine Arts Palace is mainly old Roman.
These are called respectively "The Dome of Philosophy" and "The
Dome of Plenty." The female figures carrying the books "Ex libris," as
well as the male figures carrying cereal wreaths, are by Albert Weinert
and Earl Cummings, respectively.
"Out of books comes much knowledge," says the woman.
"If you wish to be as physically strong as I am, eat my food," says the
man. This figure then represents physical vigor.
The fountains of the vestibules are by W. B. Faville of San Francisco.
That in the vestibule of the Palace of Food Products is strongly
reminiscent of the fountain of Perugia.
The great Siena pedestals beside these palaces carry Ralph Stackpole's
"Thought."
The niches have alternate groups of "Abundance" and "Triumph of the
Fields," both by Chas. Harley of Philadelphia (studio in New York).
Abundance expresses to you the overflowing amount of all that we
have today. Her symbol, the cornucopia, is seen on either side. Her
large hands are spread out as if to say:
"I give you all that I have. Take. Choose what you will."
One certainly has a bountiful choice.
The eagle's head is on the prow of the vessel in which she sits. It surely
suggests that considering all we have put before us today, we have
reason for inspiration (the eagle being the symbol of inspiration).
The Triumph of the Fields shows man surrounded by the symbols of
the harvest festivals when the Celtic cross, to take one case, or the
standard with the bull atop, to take another, was carried through the
fields at the time of the bringing in of the harvests.
Man has been the guiding hand to the bull, but the bull has really
triumphed since it has actually done the work, while man receives the
credit. Man has surmounted the bull, as it were.
Above is the wheel of the wain of old.
The seed in the black earth appears almost to possess intelligence. You
get that idea by the head below. Has not the seed produced the bearded
barley head you see represented? Does not that power of production
appear to be intelligence in the seed?
Below the niches are facsimiles of old Roman baths such as one sees in
the Lateran Museum, in Rome. (See picture in Bannister Fletcher's
History of Architecture, page 170.)
Fronting the Esplanade are four great palaces:
The Palace of Food Products, which allows you to see how a number of
our dry groceries are made;
The Palace of Agriculture, dealing with the many interests of the
farmer and the orchardist, the fisheries, forestry, reclaimed land, etc.;
The Palace of Transportation, which enables one to see the remarkable
progress made in automobiles, aerial navigation, ocean liners, overland
trains, etc.;
The Palace of Mines, which has been spoken of before.
These four palaces have the same kind of doorway. The style is the
Spanish Plateresque, the same kind of work that was used on the fine
portals of the Palace of Varied Industries.
The Spanish Cavalier (by Allen Newman) is the type of man who came
to America in the 16th century, during the period following its
discovery. He is the type of Spanish conqueror (conquistador).
The Pirate (by Allen Newman) is the type of man who infested the
shores of Spanish-America and preyed upon the commerce.
The Palaces are intimately placed for several reasons.
From experiences at previous Expositions "tired feet" are strongly to be
considered, hence the nearness of the buildings.
San Francisco has a few (?) windy and foggy days in the Trade Wind
Season, so if the walls are high and near together, the courts on the
inside of those walls will be well protected from both winds and fogs.
The high walls lift the cool air so that it passes over the buildings of the
great block, thus sheltering the courts within.
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