The Art of the Exposition | Page 5

emphatically one wants to
rest for awhile and give one's self over entirely to that feeling of
liberation that one experiences in a church, in the forest, or out on the
ocean. I could stay in this court forever. To wander into this Court of

the Four Seasons from any one of the many approaches is equally
satisfactory, and it will prove a very popular and successful Exposition
innovation.
Speaking of the courts, one is bound to yield to the individual note of
Louis Mullgardt's Court of Abundance, on the east of the Court of the
Universe. Of all the courts it has, without a doubt, the strongest
individual note. It seems on first acquaintance to be reminiscent of the
Gothic, of which it has, no doubt, the quality of lightness, the laciness,
and the play of many fine apertures and openings. It has, however,
neither the Gothic arch nor the buttresses of that period, and so far as its
ground plan goes, it is thoroughly original. It looks as if carved out of a
solid block of stone. This monolithic quality is particularly well
brought out in the tower on the north. While not quite so intimate as the
Court of the Four Seasons, it conveys, a feeling of shelter and seclusion
very well by showing an uninterrupted wall motive on all sides. The
sculpture symbolism of this court is particularly fine. We shall return to
it in a consideration of sculpture.
The two minor courts by George Kelham are particularly fortunate in
their open location toward the south. Their sheltered and warm
atmosphere is quite in keeping with the suggestion of Spanish
Renaissance which has been employed in the constructive and in the
many decorative motives. The western court, or Court of Palms, is
made particularly attractive by a sunken garden effect and pool. The
effect of the Court of Flowers is similar in every way to its mate on the
east.
A consideration of these two courts, with their towers, leads easily into
a study of the outer façade, which, so to speak, ties all of the eight
Palaces together into a compact, snug arrangement, so typical of the
Exposition.
Bliss and Faville of San Francisco are responsible for the very skillful
use of simple, plain surfaces, accentuated and relieved here and there
by ornate doorways, wall-fountains, niches, and half-domes. On the
south, along the Avenue of Palms, are found some very fine
adaptations of old Spanish doorways, which deserve to be preserved. It
is regrettable that we have no large museum on the coast where these
fine doorways in the outer walls of the Palace of Varied Industries
could be preserved permanently. The travertine marble has nowhere

been used more effectively than in just such details. The entrance of the
Palace of Education at the western end of the south façade is also of
great beauty of design.
On the western end two huge niches or half domes command attention
by their noble beauty and fine setting amidst great clumps of
eucalyptus. On the north, no special effort has been made. There is,
however, a decorative emphasis of the doorways along the entire front.
On the east, facing the Palace of Machinery, some very fine doorways,
very much like some of the minor ones on the south, furnish the
decoration. It was no small task to bridge the many diversified
architectural motives which penetrate into the outer wall from within,
in the shape of many avenues and courts, and one can appreciate the
difficulties of the designer who met so well these conflicting
requirements.
Of the detached palaces outside of the eight forming the rectangular
block nucleus, the Palace of Machinery attracts by its enormous size. I
am not interested in how many kegs of nails and iron bolts and washers
went into its anatomy. They add nothing to the artistic enjoyment of
this very massive building. One point, however, in connection with the
liberal use of the raw material is of artistic significance, and that is that
the internal structural aspects of this great palace, as well as of the
others, are not without charm and interest. It is only in recent years, and
particularly in America, that the engineer has dared to invade the realm
of the artist by attempting to make the constructive, anatomical
material, like uprights, bracings, trusses, and beams, assume artistic
responsibilities. It has been for many years the custom to expect the
engineer to do his share in obscurity with the idea that it ultimately will
be covered up by the work of the architect. The extraordinary
development of engineering in this country, to meet new and original
problems, sometimes of colossal proportions, particularly in the field of
concrete design, has resulted in some conditions heretofore entirely
unknown. I feel with much