Palaces and Courts of the Exposition | Page 8

have walked around the façades of the palaces of this
great block system, you can start with your courts.
I would strongly suggest that you study all of your buildings of this
group first, before entering the courts for close work.
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The Aisles Between the Palaces

The aisle between the Educational Palace and the Palace of Food
Products is called The Aisle of Spring, tho the name will probably not
be applied very often, as the aisle is not important.
The flora seen here is eucalyptus, acacia, laurestinus with its white
bloom, and veronica decussata with its purple flowers.
The border is cistus.
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The Aisle of the Setting Sun is between the Court of the Universe and
the Court of the Four Seasons.
The Aisle of the Rising Sun is between the Court of the Universe and
the Court of the Ages.
These two aisles are very much alike, the great difference being in the
flora used.
The style is Italian Renaissance and should not be called Venetian, as
many have named it.
The walls are covered with a diaper design of ochre, pink and
travertine.
Blue rondels are used with telling effect. They give a delightful touch
of color and have a fine Italian feeling. These rondels have no special
meaning, being purely decorative.
The coupled columns with different decorations have their prototypes
in the columns of the churches of southern Italy.
The arched windows have interesting grotesque keystones.
Notice that the spirals of the great Siena marble columns turn in
opposite directions. Think how they would appear if they all turned the
same way!
Notice also the beautiful manipulation of color on the Triumphal
Arches.
The latticed windows are strongly suggestive of Mohammedan work
and are a beautiful turquoise green. They are among the many Oriental
touches at this splendid Exposition. The area of deep pink and the burnt
orange medallions must be seen to realize their beauty.
No wonder Pegasus is seen in the spandrels! Who would not mount
Pegasus at such a glorious Exposition?
In these aisles are many remarkable conifers. Yews from many
different countries, junipers of various kinds, pines, firs, spruces,
cypresses of countless varieties, many thuyas, beside euonymus, holly,

datura, India rubber, aralias, the beautiful nandina domestica, a most
lovely foliage massed in the corners of the west side of the Aisle of the
Rising Sun.
In March and April these courts receive glorious rich coloring from
beds of California poppies and anemones, bordered with creeping
juniper.
The gay spring flowers will be followed by summer annuals, and later
by our autumn blossoms,

The Court of the Universe

This court, which strongly resembles the great area in front of St.
Peter's, Rome, with its sweep of colonnade to right and left, was
designed by the New York firm of McKim, Meade and White.
The architecture is Italian Renaissance and gives you the beautiful
spirit of the old-time work. It is a wonderful court in architecture,
ornamentation, color, arrangement, and above all in meaning.
In order to get the full joy of it you must pursue a regular plan and you
cannot hurry. Don't try to do it all in one day. First walk thru the court
to the Triumphal Arch on the right. Pass thru it and read the quotation
on the right at the top of the arch.
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The Cosmical Side of the Court of the Universe

"The universe - an infinite sphere. Its center everywhere, its
circumference, nowhere." This comes from Pascal, from his Pensées.
This splendid quotation gives you the infinite side of your subject.
Now pass back to the Court of the Universe and you will see ninety
times repeated against the sky, A. Stirling Calder's very decorative
"Jeweled Star." This will suggest the myriad of suns in our great
universe (since stars are suns).
The nearest star to us, our sun ("The Rising Sun," by A. A. Weinmann
of New York) then attracts the attention.
He is seen just before daybreak.
This fresh, strong young sun is just bout to start on his journey. Dawn
is soon to break upon the world and with muscles stretched, the

heavenly joy of the first move expressed upon his face, the wind
blowing thru his hair, the vigor of young life pulsating thru his body, he
will start the chest forward and move those outstretched wings.
Walk toward him and you will see him begin his journey thru space.
Now read the quotation an the Triumphal Arch of the Rising Sun:
"The moon sinks yonder in the west While in the east the glorious sun
Behind the herald dawn appears Thus rise and set in constant change
those shining orbs And regulate the very life of this our world."
- By Kalidasa (the Shakespeare of India).
The sun