The Artist 
site was created by Mr. Olmsted ; in dis- 
posing it he determined the grouping of 
the chief buildings ; and the result of his 
and our architects 7 skill is a Fair which is 
not only comparable to the great Parisian 
one of 1889, and not only equal to it, but 
greatly superior. 
Its excellence, moreover, has not been 
achieved by the imitation or even the adap- 
tation of any precedent, but upon entirely 
new and original lines. Man had here to 
conquer Nature in one of her most recalci- 
trant moods — to undo her work, controvert 
her intentions, and produce something for 
which, in an artistic sense, she had not pre- 
pared. But, having conquered her, the 
result is more admirable as well as more 
individual than has been any analogous re- 
sult won by a less desperate struggle. It 
seems a miracle that an architectural pano- 
rama of such size and splendor can have 
sprung into life in the short space of two 
years, and it is impossible to think that 
another spectacle of equal beauty will be 
created in our lifetime; for in no other 
city will the designers of an exhibition 
355 
