.Ed and Emma's Grand Adventure II

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Vermont Building
Buel's Heroes of the Dark Continent
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..........We were glad to leave the stifling heat of the Fine Arts building to seek out the surrounding state buildings which offered a respite from the heat and the constant shuffling from exhibit to exhibit. Especially welcome were the many inviting shady porches and cool reception halls. In the Vermont Pavilion a book display behind the reproduction of Pompeii caught my attention. Author and African explorer, J.W. Buel was taking orders for his profusely illustrated book, Heroes of the Dark Continent. I hastily signed up for it as I was sure that father would pay for it out of my Academy book allowance. It has even more illustrations of Africa with its savage tribes and wild beasts than the last book I bought: Stanley's In Darkest Africa. Again, the girls had to drag me away. Buel's tales of The Dark Continent are some of the most adventurous tales I've ever heard.

Massachusetts

Pennsylvania

Louisiana

Standouts in the state pavilion displays include Massachusetts' reproduction of John Hancock's house and a display of copies of charters signed by King Charles, alongside a book brought over on the Mayflower. Even more intriguing are Pennsylvania's Liberty Bell and Pocohontas' necklace, Louisiana's Creole restaurant and entertainment, and Virginia's of Mt. Vernon. But it was California's Spanish-style stuccoed mansion with its 127 year-old palm, fountain of red wine, and statue of a medieval knight made entirely of prunes, that left a lasting impact. I fell in love with the building's architecture at first sight. In fact, I suggested to Emma that we buy a house like it in California after we are married. Her response didn't offer much encouragement. She laughed and said she didn't see how I could ever afford a mansion like this on on a soldier's salary.

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California Building

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Japanese Tea House on Wooded Island

The Wooded Island We walked south from the state and foreign buildings and crossed a bridge to the Wooded Island, seeking a few moments of peace and quiet -- and a chance to nibble on a bit of the lunch that we picked up along the way. The island is criss-crossed with trails and dotted with park benches, providing a shady escape from the roar of the crowd and the constant invitation to view more exhibits. The Horticultural Department maintain most of the island, covering it with a jungle of trees and bushes and hundreds of thousands of colorful flowers. 

There are only two exhibit buildings on the island. The first, Davy Crockett-Daniel Boone Hunter's Cabin was a bit of a let down. But following the winding forest trail we soon plunged into another world.

Japanese Village from the lagoon

Samurai warrior

Japanese Village

The Japanese Ho-O-Den compound contains an actual miniature Asian village. We arrived in time to witness a martial arts exhibition by Samurai warriors, who are members of Japan's feudal military aristocracy.  They were fully-decked out in traditional costume with helmets, armor, swords and spears. Surrounded by Japanese in their splendid gowns I felt like some Chicago southside mucker in my rather ordinary garb. I find the Japanese architecture, furniture and language strangely appealing. Asia seems so full of mysteries -- like some exotic civilization on another planet. After the demonstration we joined the crowd in an exodus over the other bridge from the island.

Women's Building

Women's Building

Both girls were anxious to visit the Woman's Building near the entrance to the Midway Plaisance. This Italian Renaissance-style building is a repository for special exhibits of women's work. Some of the more interesting displays are a manuscript of Jane Eyre in Bronte's handwriting, costumes from around the world, the latest in fashions, and murals by Mary Cassatt. I didn't consider a building full of woman things to be of the day's highlights, so I convinced the girls to hurry through the displays -- promising them that we would return tomorrow. We were about to leave when Jessie ran into two of her school pals at the hat display in the Women's fashion exhibit and insisted that I take their photograph as a souvenir of the Fair.

Jessie and Friends
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Illinois Building from  the verandah of the Women's Building.
Horticulture Building
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Leaving the Women's Building we found ourselves at the ornate entrance to the Horticultural Building. The building's eight greenhouses and 180-foot dome house recreations of environments such as a Mexican desert and a Japanese garden, as well as countless varieties of vegetation including 16,000 varieties of orchids and a 35-foot tower of oranges contributed by Southern California.

The California lemons and oranges exhibit

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Transportation Building

Golden Doorway of the Transportation Building

The Transportation Building is a gigantic structure designed by architect Louis Sullivan and his young Oak Park draftsman, Frank Lloyd Wright. We entered through the "golden doorway," a grand gilded and arched entrance. Inside we discovered displays of almost every mode of transportation known to man -- railroad relics, "John Bull," the first American locomotive, models of English warships, a full-scale reproduction of an ocean liner, all the latest models of bicycles, a chariot from the Etruscan museum in Florence -- the displays are endless. All that is missing are flying vehicles -- ah, but we can dream  . . . it may not be in my lifetime, but I believe that someday man will fly like the birds and soar across the great void to other planets.

Vehicles in the transportation building

On Display: First Train Ever To Run in New York City, Aug 9, 1831

I suggested to Emma that one of the newly designed bicycles would be an excellent way for us to travel around the grounds.  She was quick to remind me, however, that neither she nor Jessie had yet mastered the art of riding these two-wheeled vehicles. She also reminded me of the various misfortunes and tumbles I had experienced with my own bike over the years on Warren Avenue's experimental stretch of asphalt pavement. I don't need anyone to remind me as I still have the scars and occasional headaches to remind me of these mishaps.

Mines and Mining Building We couldn't take time to explore the Mines and Mining Building with its unusual displays, such as a model of the Statue of Liberty made entirely of salt. I didn't want to be late for my meeting with Father and Coleman, who were preparing the electric horseless carriage at our American Battery display in the Electricity building. They were expecting me to drive the machine around the grounds shortly after supper. We stepped up our pace as we still had to visit the Anthropological building and find a restaurant for supper. 

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Anthropology Building The Anthropology Building presents a record of man's progress and achievement, from prehistoric eras to the modern times of our 19th century. Beginning with the stone age, we saw portions of human skeletons and specimens of handiwork unearthed from geologic strata, from mounds and shell heaps, from caves and burial places, and from the ruins of ancient cities. Some of the exhibits are arranged in geographical groupings which include the models of cliff dwellings from Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, and of the sculptured ruins of Copan. 

Cliff Dwellers

One fascinating exhibit displays skulls, charts, diagrams, and models gathered from many nations, all comparing the past and present types of the human race. There are skulls of the ancient Greek, Italian, German, and Helvetian; alongside the skulls of savages and apes; there are also casts of faces typical of tribes and nationalities; and there are diagrams showing the comparative stature and anatomical measurements of men and women in various countries. All of this is accompanied by photographs, statues, and other appliances for a thorough study of this important new branch of science.

Joseph Jastrow
Sir Francis Galton

A major part of the anthropological exhibit is the one put together by Joseph Jastrow of the American Psychological Association.  He has created a replica of Sir Francis Galton's Anthropometric Laboratory, which has been doing research into heredity and in the promoting of his theory of eugenics. There is a constant line of visitors to the display -- anxious to have their heads measured by a team of anthropologists led by Jastrow and his assistant, Franz Boas. They claim that these measurements can determine where the subject ranks on the scale of human evolution. Of special interest is Galton's new book, Finger Prints, which presents a revolutionary means of identifying people -- by the prints made by the ridges and furrows of skin on their fingers. 

Finger Prints

Helen Keller

Jastrow Optical Illusion

I noticed also that Professor Jastrow was using a Galton invention called a "questionnaire" to gather scientific information on each of the "subjects" who stopped at his exhibit. While we were there he was doing extensive tests and recorded observations on a young blind and deaf girl named Helen Keller. 

Professor Jastrow also employs the use of photography in psychological experiments of perception and behavior. His displays of images are meant to play with the perception of two-dimensional images that look much different when observed with a stereograph viewer. The girls viewed my excitement over these photographic experiments with some amusement, but the experience made me even more determined to master this new hobby and to add to my collection of stereoview cards.
 

Stereoscope

The building also contains displays of primitive religions, folk-lore, and games. Man's achievements as contained in written or printed page are thoroughly documented. Other presentations include illustrated special epochs and events, with portraits and busts of those of whose lives and achievements make up our history.

I think the most amazing exhibit, though, is the hide of an African elephant -- the largest in the world. Its green weight was 800 pounds but even after a two year tanning process it still weighs 500 pounds. Its size is 20 feet by 16 feet and three inches thick! I feel a great curiosity and respect for these magnificent beasts.

Elephant Hide

Mastodon

There are numerous native exhibits outside the building and around the grounds. More and more I am coming to realize that I will never be really happy until I have travelled to far-off exotic lands. There are so many wonders in this world. I can only hope that my occupation as a soldier will help me realize this dream.

Electricity Building

Hemicycle Entrance

Since we were all tired, hot and hungry, we started to look around for a restaurant. Then I remembered the small dining area in the Electricity Building, not far from the American Battery display. This fitted in nicely with our plans, since the ABC exhibit was going to be the last stop on our day's tour. 

The sprawling Electricity Building covers six acres and is the most popular exhibit hall at the Exposition. This is to be expected as the new phenomenon of electricity has become the main theme of the Exposition. Many believe that electricity will be the basis for America's technological and commercial advances into the twentieth century, and the Fair celebrates it to the fullest throughout the grounds. Fascination with this near-magical invention at the Exposition is in evidence everywhere, including all the interior illuminations of the buildings, illumination of the grounds, electric search lights, the intramural railway, the Reynolds-Corliss engine, phonographs, the teleautograph. moveable sidewalk, electric launches. . .  a multitude of devices too numerous to list.

Edison's Tower of Light Exhibits in the Electricity Building, however, promise even more wonders to come: a telephone is set up to conduct the sound of an orchestra playing in New York all the way to the Electricity Building, in which a great horn throws out the melody for visitors. Also featured is a complete villa fitted with all the new household electrical appliances: electric lamps, gramophones, elevators, fans, sewing machines, burglar alarms, stoves, laundry machines and irons. Other displays feature the world's first telegraph message and the first seismograph, Edison's kinetoscope with its individual motion picture viewing stations, and Edison's 82 foot Tower of Light, displaying over 18,000 bulbs.
 

Illumination

On our way to the Gallery Cafe I stopped by the ABC exhibit to see how work on the electric carriage was progressing. Unfortunately the right rear wheel of the heavy vehicle had been damaged during the unloading from the wagon. The repairs wouldn't be complete in time for the evening's planned exhibition drive.

During supper the girls decided to stay on to view the spectacular after-dark events, and father agreed to stop in at the Hulberts to explain why they wouldn't be returning at the designated time. Revitalized by the evening meal, we strolled among the pavilions and marveled as the illuminations on each building were turned on. 

The nightly illuminations make for an unforgettable experience. The buildings and grounds are festooned with thousands of dazzling electric lights and the night skies are alive with dancing, probing beams of brilliant light from powerful spotlights. The breath-taking climax, however, comes with the explosions and blinding starbursts of the fireworks display -- a fitting conclusion to our day's adventure.

Great Fireworks

After the last rocket burst we wearily made our way to one of the elevated electric railway terminals and rode the coach to the terminal gate where Coleman was waiting with the ABC team and buggy. Both Emma and I are looking forward to returning tomorrow and sharing the excitement of the section of the Fair that I have come to know so well over the last month as a Cadet -- The Midway Plaisance.

The Midway Plaisance

Colour images used in this feature courtesy of
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www.chicagology.com