The heart of the
Exposition was the Court of the Universe. The Court of
the Universe was the most artistically delicate and complicated
area of the
Exposition, and is a major example of the rich extravagance of
the
Exposition. The Court of the Universe was the largest of the five
courts
(Panama-Pacific International Exposition: San Francisco, 1915),
and had an
ellipse shape of 712 feet long and 520 feet and the widest part
(Todd 2 300).
All the great significances of the ideas of modern life were focused
there,
and it was compared to the Roman Colosseum and considered worthy
"to rank as
one of the wonders of the world." (Todd 2 299). The Court
held the meeting of
the two hemispheres, and on the right and left were two Triumphal
Aches
(Panama-Pacific International Exposition: San Francisco, 1915).
The Arch of
the Rising Sun led to the Court of Abundance, which held the "Nations
of the
East" Panama-Pacific International Exposition: San Francisco,
1915). Atop the
Arch were statues of the orders of men, from prince to slave (Todd
2 302).
The figure of a slave was 13 and a half feet, which shows the
size of the
Arch (Rydell 36). The Spirit of the East "rode an elephant,
while the other
figures rode horses, on a seemingly endless march." (Todd
2 302). The
inscriptions on the Arch came from poets from China, India, and
Japan (Todd 2
303), and this Arch symbolized the Eastern hemisphere. The Arch
of the
Setting Sun led to the Court of the Four Seasons, with the "Nations
of the
West" (Panama-Pacific International Exposition: San Francisco,
1915). The
statues on the Arch were "real and tough, hopeful and progressive."
(Todd 2
302). The statue of the Mother of Tomorrow sat on a wagon tongue,
and the
Spirit of Enterprise on a wagon sheet (Todd 2 302), and the inscriptions
came
from England, Spain, and America, the western hemisphere countries
(Todd 2
303).
On shifts of glass, which became pillars of fire at night, stood
Adolf
Weinman's figures of the "Rising Sun" and "Descending
Night" (Todd 2 301).
The "Rising Sun" was a male figure, with "wings
outstretched, face upturned,
and every muscle in his body tensed and ready for flight."
(Todd 2 301). This
figure had all the "buoyancy of an energetic youth, ready
for its tasks."
(Rydell 35) The "Descending Night" statue was a female
figure whose flight
was over, with sleep descending on every part (Todd 2 302). "A
fine
relaxation ran through the whole figure" (Rydell 35), and
on the last day of
the Exposition the last beam of light was turned onto this statue,
to "leave
all with a lasting memory." (Todd 2 302). The Forecourt of
Stars was at the
north end of the Court of the Universe (Todd 2 300). It held a
statue of a
draped figure, with seven jeweled rays coming from her head and
encircled by
her arms (Todd 2 300). From the walking area around the forecourt,
flights of
five stairs descended to a brick road that ran just within it
(Todd 2 301).
The sunken gardens were fourteen more steps below, with flowers,
pools, and
fountains, with fighting sea centaur statues shooting water (Todd
2 301).
Heroic, colossal figures were everywhere, doing every possible
thing
imaginable, such as reclining, marching, standing, and sitting
(Todd 2 301).
