This eBook was prepared by David Schwan <davidsch@earthlink.net>.
Palaces and Courts of the Exposition
A Handbook of the Architecture Sculpture and Mural Paintings with
Special Reference to the Symbolism
By
Juliet James
"The trail is lost, the path is hid and windsthat blow from out the ages sweep me on tothat chill borderland where time's spentsands engulf lost peoples and lost trails."
Marian Manville Pope
A Foreword
The Pastel City by the Sea
There is a hill-crowned city by a silver sea, near a Golden Gate. Forages the water has washed from an almost land-locked bay against thishill-crowned city, and on its northern side has created of the shore anamphitheatre stretching for some three miles to the western headlands.
Behind this amphitheatre rises, in terraces, the steep hills of thiswater-lashed city, and in part, a forest of pines stretches to the west.Man has flanked this reach of shore by two lowering forts, and in front,across the sapphire sea, one looks onto the long undulations of hills,climaxed by grand old Tamalpais.
Just three years ago and one saw in this same low-lying shore only amarshy stretch, with lagoons working their way far into the land - thehome of the seagull.
There came a time when, had you looked closely, you would have seencoming thru the Golden Gate a phantom flotilla of caravels, freightedwith clever ideas.
On the vessels came; at the prows were several noble figures: Energy,
Enterprise, Youth, the Spirit of the East, the Spirit of the West,
Success, and in the last caravel, the stalwart Mother of Tomorrow.
They had dug and delved with mighty Hercules and had created that greatgap that has severed two continents. Then, leaving their work to befinished, they had sailed on to celebrate their triumph in the Land ofEl Dorado, the region of their desires.
In a shallop in front of these floating winged vessels, riding on thewaves, came Venus, rowed by the fairies - in her hand the golden ball ofopportunity.
The mermaids, the dolphins, the little sea-horses sported in the wake ofthese vessels, leaving a long line of foam and silver as they sped on.
Over the waves they came to the Golden Land of the Pacific. They mooredtheir vessels by the fort-flanked shores, and stepping out upon thehaunt of the seagull, they moved boldly across this unsightly stretch ofwave-washed land.
Enterprise and Energy pushed ahead: the Fairy ever flitting near. At asignal from Enterprise the Fairy turned her wheel, Venus threw hergolden ball of opportunity, and lo! out of the foam of the sea rose aVenus city with the round sea bubbles resting on the roofs.
One day a man appeared on the hilltop o'erlooking this wondrous city andby his magic power, being filled with music, with color-music, he cast aspell and behold a pastel city by the sea - such an one as only thosewho dream could think of; a city glowing with warmth of color, with asoftness and mystical charm such as only the brain of Jules Guerin couldproduce.
He is the conductor of this wondrous symphony, this beautiful Mozartfantasia, and if you listen, you can hear the strains of the greatbeautiful melodies wafted now east, now west, now north, now south,rising to great climaxes, falling back to great chords of harmony, or,in an allegro movement, causing you almost to