PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS
Page 50 – THE HORTICULTURE BUILDING
THE HORTICULTURE BUILDING.—It is doubtful if among all the views taken upon the World’s Fair grounds one has been secured which in beauty and general interest surpasses that given here. It is from the top of the Government Building looking west over the Wooded Island and commanding the whole splendid frontage of the Horticulture Building, a view which, from the nature of things, could not be gained elsewhere or at a less altitude. The Horticulture Building appears here to a justified advantage. The frontage of this remarkable structure was just one thousand feet and its extreme width two hundred and fifty feet. The plan was that of a central pavilion and two end pavilions, each connected with the center by front and rear curtains forming two interior courts. The magnificent crystal dome roofing the central pavilion was one hundred and eighty-seven feet in diameter and one hundred and thirteen feet high. The cost of the structure was about $300,000. The style of architecture followed is designated as the Venetian Renaissance. A sculptural frieze and six single figures are the principal exterior decorations, the frieze with its cupids and garlands and the appropriateness of the statuary completing an effect which scarcely needed such assistance. On the left of the Horticulture Building appears Choral Hall, where were held many famous gatherings, and on the right the White Star Steamer Line Building and beyond it the “Puck” Pagoda. In the distance, outside the grounds, may be seen tall buildings looming up here and there, the World’s Fair hotels about which so much has been said and written.
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