PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS
Page 62 – THE GRAND BASIN FROM THE ADMINISTRATION GALLERY
THE GRAND BASIN FROM THE ADMINISTRATION GALLERY.—Very striking was the effect produced by the body of water known as the Grand Basin, forming a symmetrical marble-framed lake in the center of the Court of Honor. Here, during the day, were reflected the hosts of white fronts uprearing on every side; here, at night, were flashed back the blaze of light from all directions, and here the launches and gondolas flitted about by scores, carrying the hosts of people who chose to view the illuminations from the water. Never before was a lake of such dimensions upon which was a passenger traffic so constant and so great. Never before was a sheet of water so wonderfully illuminated, and, assuredly, never one so gloriously surrounded. The view given is from the west, in front of the Administration Building. In the foreground is the Columbian Fountain; then, on the left, one of the electric fountains, the bridge over the entrance to the lagoons, the large Manufactures Building, the Music Hall, the Statue of the Republic and the Peristyle to the far east. Continuing around, are the Casino, then the long front of the Agriculture Building, the bridge and the electric fountain. The light walls of the basin with the green lawns adjacent, and, then, the higher walls with their decorations of leafy plants in great vases, but added to the beauty of the setting of this water gem. Never was the element so used before to produce such effect on so grand a scale, an effect possible only by the presence of the inland sea showing dimly in the distance between the columns of the Peristyle.
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