EXPOSITION, TRANS-MISSISSIPPI AND INTERNATIONAL. 



251 



Buildings. The conversion of the accepted lo- 

 cality into a convenient building site was begun 

 early in 1897, and on April 22 Arbor Day the 

 rorner stone that marked the inauguration of the 

 building was laid on the site of the prospective 

 Arch of States with full Masonic ceremonial, after 

 which a series of short appropriate addresses were 

 delivered, including one by Hon. J. Sterling Morton, 

 former Secretary of Agriculture, who said : 



" A truth and a tree outlive generations of men. 

 That this admirably planned Trans-Mississippi Ex- 

 position may plant truths as to the economic and 

 material resources of its vast and opulent empire in 

 the minds of the tens of thousands of intelligent 

 visitors and sojourners who may attend it, with as 

 cheerful a certainty and as serene a satisfaction as 

 we experience in planting these trees on the never- 

 deceiving, never-disappointing soil of the fertile 

 Nebraska, is my sincere and intense desire." 



A month later architects met in Omaha to con- 

 sider the preliminary plans for the larger buildings, 

 and during the following sixty days the plans were 

 completed and the contracts let. By midsummer 

 the construction was in progress all round the 

 main court, and the bulk of the grading had been 

 completed. The general scheme of the architecture 

 was the concept of Messrs. Walker and Kimball. of 

 Boston and Omaha, who were chosen to be the 

 supervising architects of the Exposition. The main 

 buildings were ranged along either side of the la- 

 goon. At the west end stood the Government 

 Building, flanked by imposing colonnades, which 

 converged toward the west. The Arch of States, 

 the main entrance, was on the south line at Twen- 

 tieth Street. After passing through this arch the 

 visitor arrived at the Court of the Grand Canal. 

 To the west was the Pine Arts Building, while to 

 the east was the Liberal Arts Building, followed by 

 the Mines and Mining Building. Opposite was the 

 Administration Arch, with the Palace of Agricul- 

 ture on the west, and the Manufactures Building, 

 followed by the Machinery and Electricity Building, 

 on the east. The Grand Canal was spanned by a pic- 

 turesque bridge, built with little arches, to permit 

 the passage of gondolas and various small boats. Its 

 ends terminated respectively at the Government 

 Building on the west and at the viaduct on the east. 

 Vine-shaded promenades of columns treated in the 

 Pompeiian manner extended between all the build- 

 ings, and provided visitors with nearly a mile of 

 continuous shade all round the lagoon. As the 

 eastern end was approached the ground rose in ter- 

 races and was adorned with shrubbery and flowers 

 mingled with pieces of statuary, ending in a great 

 hemicycle stairway crowned by a kiosk or minaret 

 on the viaduct. On either side of the esplanade 

 beyond were fanciful structures with irregular 

 spires. The buildings were covered with white 

 staff. Intricate carving and classic statuary was 

 imitated to a nicety, and the artistic effect produced 

 by the finished buildings was such as has seldom 

 been seen in this country. Statuary of heroic size 

 surmounted some of the main buildings, and all 

 these were done in staff. The imposing columns of 

 the long colonnades and of the beautiful porticoes 

 facing the main court were constructed of the same 

 material. The landscape gardening was designed 

 and executed by Rudolf Ulrich, of New York, under 

 whose direction over 700,000 feet of ground was 

 seeded and 14,500 square yards of sod laid and 

 sprouted. More than 3,000 trees and nearly 9,000 

 shrubs, chiefly of varieties native to Nebraska, to- 

 gether with over 100,000 plants and flowers, were 

 used in beautifying the " Magic City." 



Considering the buildings more in detail, and en- 

 tering the grounds at the main entrance, the first 

 structure to greet the visitor was the 



Arch of States, which was designed by Walker 

 & Kimball, and was 50 feet wide, 25 feet deep, 

 and 68 feet to the top of the parapet. It was in 

 the form of a triumphal arch, the opening being 

 20 feet wide and 35 feet high to the keystone. The 

 arch was flanked on either side by exedras, which 

 advanced in semicircles, partially embracing the 

 plaza in front of it. In these exedras were the 

 main ticket offices. It was originally intended that 

 the Arch of States should be built o'f granite gath- 

 ered from the various Trans-Mississippi States and 

 Territories, and should remain a permanent memo- 

 rial of the Exposition, but it was finally decided 

 that the cost would be out of proportion to its util- 

 ity, and the plan was abandoned. This arch, one 

 of the most noticeable in the group of structures, 

 was decorated with a frieze composed of the arms 

 in colors of the different States, the whole being 

 surmounted by sculptured figures bearing the shield 

 of the United States. 



Fine Arts Building. This structure, designed 

 by Eames & Young, of St. Louis, Mo., was 246 

 feet long and 130 feet wide, and had its longer side 

 parallel to the Grand Canal. It consisted of two 

 separate, symmetrical, domed buildings connected 

 by a peristyle, or open court, surmounted by colon- 

 nades. The building rested on a balustraded ter- 

 race, and was approached from the plaza by flights 

 of steps, and also from the avenue bordering the 

 lagoon between it and the building. Entrance was 

 had through the portico and vestibule to the central 

 dome for each building, and it was lighted from 

 the top, forming a suitable place for the exhibition 

 of statuary. Surrounding this central feature were 

 the galleries, all lighted by skylights, and so ar- 

 ranged as to afford the greatest degree of wall sur- 

 face for the display of pictures, and to allow for 

 the proper circulation of visiting crowds. Two 

 separate buildings offered a better opportunity for 

 the classification of material, and at the same time 

 brought the scale of the architecture to its proper 

 relation with its surroundings, and in accord with 

 the general scheme of the Exposition grounds. The 

 colonnade connecting the two parts formed an ef- 

 fective architectural feature conspicuous from the 

 canal and opposite avenue, and afforded a place for 

 the installment of architectural fragments and 

 models, which could not be so effectively arranged 

 inside the wall. A touch of landscape art added 

 special interest to the treatment of the court. In 

 the exterior design a somewhat free rendering of 

 classic motif was adopted, the usual severe sim- 

 plicity of outline being modified sufficiently to 

 bring it into accord with the purpose of the build- 

 ing. The basis of the design was the Corinthian 

 order, which was applied in two dimensions the 

 larger emphasizing the entrance porticoes and re- 

 peated on the galleries fronting the lagoon and 

 opposite side : the smaller was adjusted to the 

 height of the flanking walls and connecting peri- 

 style, and served as a tie to bind the separate ele- 

 ments into one composition. Mr. Armond H. 

 Griffith, of Detroit, Mich., was in charge of the ex- 

 hibit, and to him credit is also due for the collec- 

 tion and installation of the exhibition. 



The Government Building. In the place of 

 honor, at the extreme west end of the grounds, 

 stood the building erected by the United States 

 Government, designed under the direction of the 

 supervising architect of the Treasury Department 

 in Washington. The style of architecture followed 

 was classic, the Ionic order being used. The build- 

 ing was arranged in three sections, that at the cen- 

 ter having a frontage on the lake of 208 feet and a 

 height to the top of the balustrade over a cornice of 

 58 feet, with a depth of 50 feet. The main entrance 

 facing the center of the lagoon was reached by a 



