The City of Domes | Page 6

bay, close to the Golden Gate, facing one of the most beautiful harbors in the world, looking across to Mount Tamalpias and backed by the highest San Francisco hills. Of all the proposed sites, it was the most convenient for landing material by water, for arranging the buildings and for maintaining sanitary conditions.
After a somewhat bitter public controversy the Exposition directors, in July, 1911, announced a decision. It caused general surprise. There should be three sites: Harbor View and a strip of the adjoining Presidio, Golden Gate Park and Lincoln Park, connected by a boulevard, specially constructed to skirt the bay from the ferry to the ocean.
That plan proved to be somewhat romantic. The boulevard alone, it was estimated, would cost eighteen million dollars.
Harris D. H. Connick, the assistant city engineer was called on as a representative of the Board of Public Works, and asked to make a preliminary survey of Harbor View. He showed that, of the proposed sites, Harbor View would be the most economical. The cost of transporting lumber would be greatly reduced by having it all come through the Golden Gate and deposited on the Harbor View docks. The expense of filling in the small ponds there would be slight in comparison with the expense of leveling the ground at the park.
A few weeks later Harbor View and the Presidia was definitely decided on as the site, and the only site.
For months agents had been at work securing options on leases of property in Harbor View, covering a little more than three hundred acres, the leases to run into December 1915. Reasonable terms were offered and in one instance only was there resort to condemnation. The suit that followed forced the property owner, who had refused fifteen hundred dollars, to take nine hundred dollars. President Moore was tempted to pay the fifteen hundred dollars, but he decided that this course would only encourage other property owners to be extortionate. Some trouble was experienced with the Vanderbilt properties, part of which happened to be under water. After considerable negotiating and appeals to the public spirit of the owners, it was adjusted. About seven hundred thousand dollars was paid for leases and about three hundred thousand dollars for property bought outright.

The Director of Works

While President Moore was looking for the man he wanted to appoint as head of the board of construction, Harris D. H. Connick called to suggest and to recommend another man. Later the president offered Connick the position as director of works.
Connick had exactly the qualifications needed: experience, youth, energy, skill and executive ability. He hesitated for the reason that he happened to be engaged in public work that he wished to finish. But he was made to see that the new work was more important. He removed all the buildings at Harbor View, about 150, and he filled in the ponds, using two million cubic yards of mud and sand, and building an elaborate system of sewers. The filling in took about six months. On the last day mules were at work on the new land. And within a year the ground work and the underground work was finished.

The Architects

Meanwhile, President Moore asked for a meeting of the San Francisco
Chapter of
the American Institute of Architects, with more than 250 members. He explained that his purpose was to have them, select twelve representatives from whom he should himself appoint five to act as an architectural board. When the board was formed with Willis Polk at its head, it included John Galen Howard, Albert Pissis, William Curlett, and Clarence R. Ward. This board was dissolved and an executive council composed of Polk, Ward and W. B. Faville was put in charge. Later it gave way to a commission consisting of W. B. Faville, Arthur Brown, George W. Kelham, Louis Christian Mullgardt, and Clarence R. Ward, of San Francisco; Robert Farquhar, of Los Angeles; Carrere & Hastings, McKim, Mead & White, and Henry Bacon, of New York, When it had completed the preliminary plans the board discontinued its meetings and G. W. Kelham was appointed Chief of Architecture.

The Block Plan

At the first meeting President Moore explained that, at the St. Louis Exposition, according to wide-expressed opinions, the buildings had been too far apart. He favored maximum of space with minimum of distance. The architects first considered the conditions they had to meet, climate and physical surroundings. They were mainly influenced by wind, cold and rain.
The result was that for the Protection of visitors, they agreed to follow what was later to be generally known, as the block plan, the buildings arranged in, four blocks, joined by covered corridors and surrounded by a wall, with three central courts and two half-courts in the south wall. It had been developed in many talks among the architects. Valuable suggestions came