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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (April 25, 1909)
THE SUADAY OKEGQMAN, PORTLAND. AIMtll S3. TD PHR1 u HE FRANK P. ALLEN, director of work for the Alaska-Yukon-Paclflc Ex position, the man behind the ham mer, reported on April 20 to the ex ecutive committee of the board of di rectors that on that clay the exposition wa 38 per cent complete. He reported further, and lie produced the figures upon which lie based his estimate, that, at the then present rate of progress the exposition would he complete on May 20 complete down to the most remote detail. Heretofore Mr. Allen has been chary of statements of that character. He did not lack optimism, but he was con servative to a degree. Wherefore Se attle -has accepted his estimates as the word an-1 the law, and by letter and various other channels it is going out to the world at large that the Alaeka-Tukon-Paclflc Exposition will be ready and walling June 1, the day fixed first In tho bond. This means that on April 1 Seattle's fair was as ready for business aa was Jamestown on its first day. It means that oil May 1 it was nearer to being a complied product than was St. Louis on the day the gates went open. On the same date it was two months ahead of Buffalo, In construction, and. It will be remembered by those who attended the greatest exposition of them all, that at Chicago construction continued through the first two months. In this respect Seattle may boast, without vainglory, that It has made good and to its everlasting credit it can be said that it has made good upon that other boast which it has flung cross country and abroad, for It has produced "the most beautiful ex position ever held." Go up and down the world by what devtoua paths you may; seek out the beauty spota made by the Almighty or by man. and it is the one best bet that nowhere will the place be found where nature and art have mingled so inti mately with such glorious results. There will be. under the roofs, some gi Rantlc things In Industry; there will he wonders of Northwestern agriculture which will hold the world agape and, ftr tha good, ambitious American fashion, there will be the "biggest' of a hundred things, but, if you will stand for the double superlative, the "very blg gfwt" thing at the A-Y-P will be the picture. A score of year from now it will not be the peach of the Yakima, neither the apple of Oregon, that the mind will hark back to; it will be to Rainier, the Magni ficent, a tumble of broken hill and gem like lake, and a city beautiful in the for est. Considering that, geographically. Ta coma has first right to Kalnler; Belllng lmm to Mount Baker, and that Mount .Constance and Two Brothers, the beau tie of the Olympics, are still open to civic preemption, It Is a more or leas cheeky thing that the A-Y-P has dona to number them among its chiefest ex hibits, but it excuses itself with the re flection that the Alaska-Yukon-Paclr'ie imposition Is a Northwest, not a Seattle institution. first view of the exposition. In the en semble, does not carry with it an impres sion of bigness. This, for the reason that the buildings have been more compa:t!y placed than at any other world fair. The long distances have been given over to and are broken up by the elabo rate landscaping features and by formal gardens and Informal tangles of native growths and planted blooms. The ground plan is a series of subordinate circles sur rounding closely a central circle, which makes the "Court of Honor." Upon the Court of Honor rest the more important features of the Exposition; the Govern ment group of buildings, which Includes the central structure, the Alaska, Hawaii, and Philippines buildings, la at the head or the court, the . main structure sur mounted by a dome, marking the- exact center, ixxid the main axis oi tne whole exposition, which is made to bear direct ly upon Mount Kalnler, and along which, on a fatr day, an uninterrupted view of the towering mountain is had. Relow the Uovernment buildings and maintaining the circle, are the Euro pean and Oriental exhibit palaces, and below them the splendid structures in modern French renaissance, which will house the manufactures and agricultural exhibits. Down the center of the court, from the base of the Alaska shaft, which liscs in h plaza In front of the central Government building. the cascades plunge, broken by night into a gorge ous rainbow by means of submerged lights In the prime colors. At the foot of the. cascades is geyser basin, and be yond that the gardens, the lawns, the lake and the mountain. , Around the lesser circles are grouped the buildings of other nations, of such states as are participating, and of the counties of Washington. On Nome Cir cle, a short remove from the central court, are the buildings of Oregon, the first state building finished, and Wash ington, one of the permanent structures which will revert to the state university. Across the circle from the two is the Fnrrnry building, one 'of the notable structures of the exposition. A short distance from this group, on the way to Nome Circle, is the Califor nia building, and around the circle the buildings of Spokane. Yakima. Vtah and Idaho. The last two named will be the last buildings completed. May 15 having been set as the time. Near by is the building for Chehalis County, already complete and unique both In architec ture and in exterior decoration.- Behind the California building, on a site over looking Lake Washington, is the New York State building, now practically complete. Next it is the handsome bun galow home of the Hoo Hoo. and still farther along, the Dairy building and the Good Roads structure. The King County building, also on the completed list. Is just south of the Ore Ron building and directly across rrom the Good Roads building and Machinery hail. Machinery ball Is another of the struc tures which will go to the university, by which it will be used as the school of ALASKA PACIFIC EXPOSITION 98 PERCENT COMPLETE LAST week: scenic 4 BEAUTY THE FAIR. l ' -z, i . i 4 y ? -jLf ?f --w- v: H- s 1 1 jf f:l ifst- 1 I j - II NnM' - ws ' h ( -. , " , j vH: ?:; , 1 II ifPfA - - - r'-v Xv , ( L ? ,-v, x ; - -v. i-. .. a vf i U fltCvi . ,v ? - ,- ,v 55 1 -I' 1 v . , : , - - . , - v - - r. - -V"-r.;i Ti ft f J B '' " -iV fm f V V - ' .,!--(' X. ' - - . . MiiiM.l .i -' 01 " v- . - J ? - - V v ' ' lWr ( P buildings were ready for their cx- fli . . f C 4. . ; tW.. ' . - llhil nt complete, and the stock sheds for lili . i V ' "i. f -uV Ifl II the 1,veB,OLk 'How, which are In a re- I . .'h " t fl II ,note sectlo of grounds and altogcth- I . ' - ,. i . , llll II " outsld picture, were Well under if..;- . .111 II way- engineering. ' It crete and brick. is of reinforced con- Still swinging around a wide circle and encroaching closely upon Rainier Vista, the main axis, is the .huge structure erected by Canada, and next it an ornate structure builded by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad. Across the vista is tho building of Japan, and a little father on tl Mines building. -one of the expo YUKON- OF sition structures proper, which will be turned over by the contractors on May L Passing the entrance to the Pay Streak, the way lead north on the circle to the Fine Arts building, still another legacy for tlie university. From a standpoint of ?onstruction it is the finest buildmg on the grounds. It is wholly flreprorf, handsome In design, and is so located that, when the temporary structures arc finally torn down, it will complete one "wteteu . ' 1 nun ' 1 --. j- -I mm mm I -rirS-a. ' .7 v- , , . - ...... . ' M II I x ill II & , ? s ' ;u 1 v 111 1L s. ; V r 411 Hi Jao :fcr z : VSxn . . MX side of a quadrangle in which the new university buildings will stand. Farther along and completing the "quad" is the Auditorium, the last of the permanent structures. It is an Imposing pile, pre senting a Greek colonnade upon the front, and it overlooks Puget Plaza, the main entrance, from an eminence. Getting out of the buildings and back to April 20. the only essential construc tion, under way . on that date was In tho way of finishing, except In the cases of the Idaho and Utah buildings. The Cana dian and Japanese -structures needed only their decorations of staff and their In terior woodwork. The Forestry building was receiving, the last of its glass and was sadly In need of a sweeping out. The Yakima building was ready for the out side staff and plaster, and the central government building was in the hands of the staff. artists and tho interior Xinisa- On the Pay Streak nothing was fin ished, save possibly the Turkish vil lage, but everything else was well along and the last bit of plaster staff on the last of the structures will be in place by May 15. The contracts under which the Pay Streak Is going up re quire full staff finish in every case, so that the dangerous cloth and balloon construction which has made of other amusement ways a constant Are men ace will be altogether absent. The Pay Streak makes from a point near the main entrance to Lake Union, nearly a half mile distant. It spreads out both ways upon tho lake shore, which has been boulevarded, and on the lake In front of tho plaza thus made, nearly all of the aquatic events of the exposition will take place. The A.-Y.-P. found more trouble in building up Its Pay Streak than any other division. It demanded moro of prospective concessionaires than thev had ever been loaded up with before and on top of that announced a "dry" exposition. It was a pretty sight to set before a show man. but In the end concessions were made both ways and the result Is an amusement way of re markable quality. Veteran concessionaires declare that there will be more "class" on the Pav Streak than there wan on tho Midway at Chicago, the Pike at St. Louis or the War Path at Jamestown. Leaving aside tho "veteran concessionaires." tho fact remains that there is an un usual number of attractions of much educational value and many very hlgli class straight amusement . features. There is not a "cheap" show on the list and there is none that offers even a suggestion of uncleanllness. NEW SHELL FOR BALLOONS Knglaiul U Experiment Wit It Air-.-hip-Deslroj Inj; Ic fee on. 'LONDON. April 24. (Special.) Im portant experiments are to be carried out on Salisbury Plains next month to test the effects of the new IS-poumler shell against captive balloons. Cap tive balloons and man Kites provide special facilities for observation and the rapid communication of Informa tion of the enemy's position and of the movements of any considerable bodies of troops. They ore also useful In the directing of artillery tire. Good ob servation of. artillery fire can usually be made at distances of 7000 yards, or farther In case of heavy artillery. The introduction into the German army of special shell for balloon, warfare, manufactured at the Krupn works. Is. no doubt, the reason for the experiments as well as the desire to test tho power of modern artillery in resisting an ::crial invasion of tha country. No fewer thin 150 shells art to b used in connection with the cxpcrl. mentSt
