94 



THE OOLOGIST 



1, was formally opened for a six 

 months' festival. 



The completed exposition is a dis- 

 tinct triumph for every one concerned 

 in the mammoth enterprise. It may be 

 said to the credit of Buffalo that her 

 citizens have furnished the money for 

 it, receiving no Government aid. The 

 entire amount appropriated by the Fed- 

 eral Government for the Exposition 

 nas been expended under the direction 

 of the Government Board of Federal 

 exhibits exclusively. The New York 

 State appropriation has also been ex- 

 pended under the same conditions. 

 The total cost of the Exposition, includ- 

 ing the Government and State appro- 

 priations, the cost of the Midway and 

 other buildings, is conservatively esti- 

 mated at $10,000,000. The Exposition 

 was first proposed by a number of citi- 

 zens at the Cotton States Exposition at 

 Atlanta, in 1895. Its oflBcial history, 

 however, began in June, 1897, when a 

 company for its development was or- 

 ganized by several prominent citizens 

 and received the approval of the City, 

 State and National governments. It 

 was at first intended to hold the Expo- 

 sition in 1899, but the Spanish-Ameri- 

 can War caused its postponement to 

 the present year. The preliminary or- 

 ganization was superseded by a larger 

 one with ample capital for the Exposi- 

 tion, and from the time of the reorgan- 

 ization the work has moved forward 

 rapidly. This organization consisted 

 of 25 directors, with the Hon. John G. 

 Milburn as president, Edward Fleming 

 secretary, George L. Williams, treasur- 

 er, and John N. Scateherd as chairman 

 of the Executive Committee. 



The Hon. William I. Buchanan, at 

 that time United States Minister to the 

 Argentine Republic, was unanimously 

 elected director-general, November 1, 

 1899. He had previously been the di- 

 rector of Agriculture, Live Stock and 

 Forestry at the World's Columbian Ex- 

 position at Chicago. His ability as au 

 organizer and director of a great enter- 

 prise was at once manifest, as the work 

 of the Exposition has gone forward 

 without apparent friction or delay. 

 The original plan called for some twen- 

 ty large exhibit buildings and to these 

 many more have been added. The Ex- 

 position plot consists of 350 acres 

 in the northern part of the city, 

 accessible from every direction by 

 electric cars, and having as favorable a 

 steam railway service as could possibly 

 have been chosen. The general archi- 



tecture of the Exposition follows the 

 Spanish Renaissance. The plan was 

 worked out by a board of eight leading 

 architects, representing several of the 

 leading cities of the country. 



The most comprehensive view of the 

 Exposition is, perhaps, obtained from 

 tne Esplanade from a point a few rods 

 north of the Triumphal Causeway. 

 Here the visitor, with one sweep of the 

 eye, may see nearly all of the principal 

 buildings of the Exposition. The Tri- 

 umphal Causeway, behind him, is a 

 magnificent structure, designed by 

 John M. Carrere, chairman of the 

 Boatd of Architects. Four tall pylons 

 are connected by swinging cables. The 

 pylons are surmounted by four stand- 

 ard bearers, designed by Karl Bitter, 

 the director of sculpture. The bridge^ 

 as a whole, is intended to express the 

 pride of the American people in their 

 achievements. The standard bearer 

 represents a muscular youth upon a 

 rearing horse. Below him are the 

 trophies indicative of feudalism, slav- 

 ery and tyrranical power, the whole 

 expressing the triumphal struggle of 

 the people of the Americas to free 

 themselves from the institutions of des- 

 potic ages and governments. Termin- 

 ating the buttresses of the piers are 

 four groups of trophies typifying Peace 

 and Power, modeled by Augustus Luke- 

 man. In the niches on the side of the 

 bridge are statues symbolical of Hospi- 

 tality, Love of Truth, Patriotism, etc. 

 On each side of the bridge are fountains 

 of rearing horses and figures clustered 

 about tall poles which carry huge silk- 

 en flags. The fountain on the east typ- 

 ifies the Atlantic Ocean and that on 

 the west the Pacific Ocean, with one 

 base uniting the two. The sculptor of 

 these is Philip Martiny. Beneath the 

 bridge are subterranean grottos mod- 

 eled after the famous Buttes de Chau- 

 mont. 



Turning now to the eastern wing of 

 the Esplanade the observer will note 

 th« group of three great government 

 buildings, the open space being embel- 

 liabed with sunken gardens, fountains 

 and statuary. At the left, marking the 

 western boundary of the Esplanade, 

 are the Horticulture, Mines and Graph- 

 ic Arts buildings, this court being, also, 

 decorated with statuary, fountains and 

 flowers Looking due north, the ma- 

 jestic Electric Tower rises to a height 

 of 400 feet. This tower stands at the 

 north end of the Court of Fountains 

 and constitutes a very beautiful center- 



