WEST SHORE.
938
AN ODE TO SPOKANE.
I bave watched at summer's twilight
The soft rainbow spaa the sky;
I have heard the merry wild birds
Fill the woods with melody ;
I have liftened, soul-enraptured,
To the tempest's angry roar,
Telling tales of wild disasters
As it lashed the rugged shore.
I bave watched alone at ev'ning
The bright stars in heaven arise,
Oft beheld the roseate beams that gild
The Olympian paradise;
I bave seen Sierra's lofty peaks,
Where the eagle dare not build, '
Whose majestic coronals of snow
O'ertop the clouds distilled.
Oft in solitude I've wandered,
Often knelt at Fancy's shrine,
And have drawn an inspiration
From fair Nature's works divine;
Cut of all the scenes that thrilled me
Reach as far as mem'ry can
None have moved me more with rapture
Than thy lovely falls, Spokane.
There is music in their waters
As they play above the falls,
Murm'ring gently to the ev'ning star '
Their sweetest madrigals ;
There is story in your eddies,
Where the moonbeam's wav'ring glance
Weaves among the quiet shadows
All the beauties of romance.
Can the painter on his canvas
Touch with life this lovely scene?
Can he paint yon lovely Iris
As becomes the varied queen?
Can he paint the roar of ocean,
Or with colors charm the ear? 1
No ; for art is only human
Let us worship Nature here.
W. II. f-MILKY.
THE NORTHWESTERN INDUSTRIAL EXPOSITION.
The Northwestern InduBtriul Exposition, which will be held
in Spokane Falls during the month of October, will be in all
reBpecta a most interesting and important one. In its general
features it will be the peer of any enterprise of a similar char
acter ever undertaken west of Chicago. In its details it will
have many novel and startling attractions such as have never
been seen or attempted in the northwest. The displays of ag
ricultural products will be enlivened with the most interesting
and handsome exhibits of the arts and minerals, and their
grouping will be so arranged that they will be pleasing to the
eye as well as artistic and elaborate.
The exterior and the interior of the exposition building will
be most admirably suited to the demands upon it. Trie struc
ture will have an exhibit space of over 150,000 square feet, an
area equaled by few buildings of its kind in the world. The
plans were prepared by architect, C. B. Seaton, and were se
lected from a large number of excellent drawings submitted by
local architect. The edifice covers an area of 200x300 feet,
leaving 100 feet of space for driveways. The basement is six
teen feet high and contains nearly 60,000 square feet of exhibit
space. Three entrances are provided for the admission of the
public one on Sprague street, one on Riverside avenue and
one on the east eide of the building. Each entrance is forty
three feet wide, and surmounting each is a balcony for the
orchestra.
A corridor, forty-three feet wide, is provided on the Sprague
street side, in the center of which is the ticket office which can
be reached from two corridors on each side. In the center of
the first floor a large mutic stand is erected and a beautiful
fountain is placed on each side. A seating capacity for 1,200
' persons is provided around this space, giving the visitors an
opportunity to listen to the sweet strains of music and enjoy
.the refreshing influences of the sparkling fountain.
isTlw exposition space occupies an area of 60,000 feet and is
di Adei with corridors sixteen feet wide. These corridors sur
round the entire space, and each corner of the floor is flanked
by stairways leading to the second floor and basement. The
former opens to the roof and contains the same amount of
exhibit space as the first floor. It is provided with a grand
promenade balcony forty feet wide, and has an art gallery and
all important accessories. By removing the portable platforms
and railings for exhibit spaces, a grand hall, 110x200 feet, is
obtained, adapted for public gatherings. It will have a seating
capacity of 8,000, with abundant light and commodious stair
ways and exits. The balcony extends half way around the
building, and at the corners convenient toilet rooms are located.
The height from the first floor to the highest point of the
roof is 120 feet. A central lantern provides the light for the
auditorium and admits the light from the second floor to the.
center of the building. The entire structure is surmounted by
an octagonal dome, thirty feet in diameter, on a circular roof
arifing forty feet above the main roof. The carrying capacity
of the building is one of its main features. The floor of the
machinery department is so constructed that it will sustain a
weight of 300 pounds to the square foot, while the auditorium
floor will support 200 pounds to the square foot. Thus perfect
safety is insured.
The variety and extent of the products and resources of the
northwest make it possible to occupy the entire Bpace with
exhibits of the most interesting and important character.
Special pride and care will be taken to show to the best advan
tage the excellent qualities of grain and other agricultural prod"
ucts, of which this young and prosperous section can boast.
The farmers will be strongly represented, and no efforts will be
spared to convince the visitors of the fertility of the soil and
the abundance of the crops, of which the adjacent country U
the fortunate possessor. Instructions have been forwarded to
the different county commissioners relative to the cutting and
preparation of the grain and the preservation of the fruit. The
exhibits will be tastefully grouped by counties, and the neces
sary da'a will accompany each display, showing the yiell per
acre and such other information, aa may be of benefit to the
visitor or intending settler.
The mining industry will be accorded an important place in
the expcition, and a practical illustration of the working and
development of a mine will be one of the main features of the
expoMtion. Those who have never had an opportunity to visit
a mine and become acquainted with the modm operandi will be
in tiated in the secrets of the process by which the precious
niHial is taken from the earth and prepared for the smelter. A
miniature mine will be in full operation. It wilt be lighted by
electricity, blasting will be done by electricity, the signaling
will be by electricity, and, in fact, a mine will be transpose
from one of the mountain gulches to the exposition building.