The Art of the Exposition | Page 6

satisfaction that the unobscured appearance
of the wood construction in the Palace of Machinery is very pleasing,
owing to its sound constructive elements, as well as to a very fine
regard for pattern-making in the placing of the bolts and braces. Here
we discover the engineer in the role of the artist, which he seems to
enjoy, and which offers endless new opportunities, particularly in the

field of concrete construction, as well as in wood. The great size of the
Machinery Palace is much more enjoyable from within, on account of
the constructive patterns left in the raw, than from without, where there
is not enough animation in the many plain surfaces of the outer walls. I
do not know that it is customary to put the engineer's name, together
with that of the architect, on a building; the time s approaching very
rapidly when we shall be in duty bound to do so.
Aside from the structural charm of the inside, the outer façade of
Machinery Hall is not entirely devoid of architectural interest. Its
general forms are apparently those of an early Christian church,
although its decorative motives are all indicative of the profane
purposes for which it is used.
Festival Hall, by Farquhar, of Los Angeles, at the east end of the south
gardens, does not look particularly festive, and it is not original enough
to shine by itself, like its very happy mate at the south end, the
Horticultural Palace. There is nothing like this Horticultural Palace
anywhere on the grounds in its gorgeous richness of decorative
adornment. It has no relation to any other building on the site. It is very
happy, with its many joyous garlands, flower-baskets, and suggestions
of horticultural forms - all very well done - so very much better done
than so many of the cheap period imitations so common to our
residence districts. It is so decidedly joyous in character that people
looking for Festival Hall wander over to the Horticultural Palace,
attracted by the very joyousness of its scheme.
Good rococo ornamentation is rare abroad and even rarer in this
country, which is essentially opposed in its tendencies and in its
civilization to those luxurious days of the French kings who created the
conditions under which this very delightful style could flourish.
The Horticultural Palace is a great success as an interpretation of a style
which rarely finds a sympathetic expression in this country. I do not
feel at all that it ought, but in a case of this kind where a temporary
purpose existed, it was happily chosen.
Of all isolated units, none causes greater admiration than the Fine Arts
Palace. It presents the astounding spectacle of a building which violates
the architectural conventions on more than one occasion, and in spite of
it, or possibly for that very reason, it has a note of originality that is
most conspicuous. Everybody admits that it is most beautiful, and very

few seem to know just how this was accomplished. Many of the "small
fry" of the architectural profession enjoy themselves in picking out its
faults, which are really, as suggested above, the reason for its supreme
beauty. Save for Mullgardt's court, it is the only building that seems to
be based on the realization of a dream of a true artistic conception.
With many other of the buildings one feels the process of their creation
in the time-honored, pedantic way. They are paper-designed by the
mechanical application of the "T" square and the triangle. They do not
show the advantage of having been experienced as a vision.
With Bernard Maybeck's Palace of Fine Arts, one has the feeling that
this great temple is a realized dream; that it was imagined irrespective
of time, cost, or demand. Like all of Maybeck's buildings, it is
thoroughly original. Of course the setting contributes much to the
picturesque effect, but aside from that, the colonnades and the
octagonal dome in the center of the semicircular embracing form of the
main building present many interesting features There is a very fine
development of vistas, which are so provided as to present different
parts of the building in many ever-changing aspects. On entering the
outer colonnade one forgets the proximity of everyday things; one is
immediately in an atmosphere of religious devotion, which finds its
noblest expression in that delicate shrine of worship, by Ralph
Stackpole, beneath the dome. This spiritual quality puts the visitor into
the proper frame of mind for the enjoyment of the other offerings of art
within the building. Mr. Maybeck has demonstrated once again that his
talent is equal to any task in the field of architectural art. I wish we had
more of his rare kind and more people to do justice to his genius.
Not far from the Palace of