She tigMatttl gjctr
HILLABOBO GH. OHIO.
THURSDAY,
MAY 18, 1876.
THE CENTENNIAL
The Great Anniversary Exhibition in
Philadelphia.
Views of the Exhibition Buildings and
Full Descriptions of the Various
Departments.
Arrangements for the Centennial.
The act of Congress which provided
for " celebrating the one hundredth an
niversary of American inde nendence, by
holding an International Exhibition of
arts, manufactures, and products of the
soil and mine," authorized the creation
of the United States Centennial Com
mission, and intrusted to it the manage
ment of the Exhibition. This body is
composed of two commissioners from
each State and Territory, nominated by
the respective governors, and commis
sioned by the President of the United
States. The enterprise, therefore, is dis
tinctly a national one, and not, as has
sometimes been stated, the work of a
private corporation.
The Exhibition was opened on
May 10, 1S76, and remains open until
November 10. There will be a fixed
price of fifty cents for admission to all
the buildings and grounds. '
The centennial grounds are situated on
tne western bank of the Schuylkill
river, and within Fairmount Park, the
largest public park in proximity to a
great city in me worm, and one of the
most Deautuul in the country. The
park contains 3,160 acres, 450 of which
have been inclosed for the Exhibition.
.besides this tract, there will be large
yarns near Dy lortneexnibition of stock,
and a farm of fortv-two acres has alrenriv
been suitably planted for the tests of
plows, mowers, reapers and other ag-
uuiuiurai macninery.
The Exhibition buildings are approach
ed by eight linesof street cars, which con
nect with all the other lines in the city,
and by the Pennsylvania and Reading
railroads, over the tracks of which trains
will also run from the North Pennsyl
Tania and Philadelphia, Wilmington,
and Baltimore railroads. Thus the
Exhibition is in immediate connection
with the entire railroad system of the
. Country, and any one within ninety miles
of Philadelphia can visit it at no greater
cost than that.of carriage hire at the
Paris or Vienna exhibition.
An important special exhibition will
be made by the United States govern
ment, and has been prepared under the
supervision of a board of officers repre
senting the several executive depart
ments of the government. A fine build
ing of four and a half acres is provided
for the purpose, space in which will be
occupied by the war, treasury, navy, in-
tenor, post-office, and agricultural de
partments, and Smithsonian Institution.
The Women's Centennial executive
committee have raised $ 30,000 for the
erection of a pavilion in which to ex
hibit every kind of women's work. To
this collection women in all nations are
expected to contribute.
The list of special buildings will
be from two hundred to two hundred
and fifty. Most of the important foreign
nations England, Germany, Austria,
France, - Sweden, Egypt, Japan," and
others have put up one or more struc
tures each, for exhibiting purposes, or
for the use of the commissioners, exhibit
ors and visitors. Offices and headquar
ters of this kind, usually of considerable
architectural beauty, are provided by
the States of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New
York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, Missouri, Kansas, Virginia,
West Virginia, Nevada, Wisconsin,
central art gallery, opposite the principal
entrance.
The art exhibition includes, in addi
tion to the worksof contemporary artists,
representative productions of the
century of American art those, for
stance, of Stuart, Copley, Trumbull,
West, Alston, Sully, Neagie, Elliot,
Cole. These, as well as the works
offered by living artists, have been passed
upon by the committee of selection, who
visited, for the purpose, New York, Bos
ton, Chicago, and other leading cities,
order to prevent the needless transpor
tation to Philadelphia of works of
not up to the standard of admission.
A large number of orders and frater
nities have signified their intention
hold gatherings at Philadelphia during
the period of the Exhibition. Among
fhose which may now be enumerated,
the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, Inde
pendent Order of Odd Fellows:
Grand Encampment, Independent Order
CARPENTERS' HALL.
of Odd Fellsws; Grand Lodge, United
States, Independent Order oi Odd Fel
lows; Grand Commanderv ' Knio-hta
Templar ; Grand Army f the Republish
rcuyerian cynoa ; wiieaoni Ulns:
Portland Mechanic Blues; Welsh Na
tional Eostefodd; Patriotic Order Sons
America; California Zouaves of San
Francisco; an international Regatta!
ic .unc iurumuic companies ; national
Board of Underwriters ; State Agricul-
tural Society; Second Infantry, N. G.
oi taiiiornia ; rmiade.'pnia Conference,
Methodist Episcopal Church ; Cincinnati
Society; California Pioneer Society;
American Dental Convention ; Catholic
Total Abstinence Union of America ; In
dependent Order of B'nai Berith ; Na
tional Alumni Association; Salesmen's
Association; Fifth Maryland Regiment;
Seventh New York Regiment; Ameri
can Pomological Society ; Malster's
Association of the United States;
Army of the Cumberland ; Humboldt
Monument Association, Christopher Co
lumbus Monument Association; Board
of Trade Convention; International
Typographical Congress; Rifle Associa
tion of the United States; Centennial
liegion; Philadelphia County Medical
society; International Medical Con
gress; Old Volunteer Fire Department
of Philadelphia; German Rifle Club;
Army or the Potomac, etc., etc.
Main Building.
This is a parallelogram, runnimr pjint
and west 1,876 feet long and north and
south 4G4 feet wide. The larger por
tion is one story hieh. the interior
height being seventy feeli and the cor
nice on the outside forty-eight feet from
the ground. At the centers of the longer
sides are projections 416 feet in length,
and on the ends of the building projec
tions 216 feet in length. In these which
are in the center of the four sides, are
located the main entrances, which are
provided with arcades upon the ground
lioor, and central facades 90 feet high.
The east entrance will form the principal
approach for carriages, visitors alighting
at the doors of the building under cover
of the arcade. The south entrance will
be the principal approach from railway
cars. The west entranceopens upon the
main passageway to two principal build
iugs, the machinery and agricultural
halls, and the north entrance to Memo
rial Hall (art gallery). Towers 75 feet
ia height rise at each corner of the build
ing. In order to obtain a central feature,
the roof for 184 feet square at, the center
has been raised above the surrounding
past
in
in
"art
to
are
the
of
has led us to secure the accompanying
illustrations and the latest information
relative to its progress. Notwithstand
ing the inertness of American exhibitor?,
the position of the Exhibition on
tenth of May is far in advance of that
any formor International Exhibition
the same time.
The following description will give
complete iua oi ine extent or
grounds and the size of the buildings :
The Exhibition buildings are located
in Fairmount Park, which adjoins
builtrup portions of Philadelphia on
north-western border. This is a beauti
ful park of 2,740 acres, upon which
city nas already spent over ?ti,000,000,
and is now annually expending a large
sum in auornments and improvements.
Through it runs the Schuylkill river,
bordered by high banks and ravines,
and its treat natural beauty baslntii
by art. The building are located
on some of the most beautiful gxts
the banks of this river, grovf s of stately
trees surrounding them, spendid views
of river and landscape being alluded.
The buildings stand from 112 feet
1 20 feetabove the highest tide-water level
in the Delaware river, and fully that
heightabove the Schuylkill. Philadel
phia is a city of 800,000 inhabitants,
containing 133,000 dwelling houses,
large proportion of which are owned
their occupants, and this number is be
ing increased at the rate of 6,000 a year.
Girard avenue, oneof the chief streets
Philadelphia,leadsdirectly from the heart
of the city to the entrance of the main
Exhibition building. This is a
highway one hundred feet in width.
crossing the Schuylkill river upon the
magnificent iron bridge seen in the
background of the frontispiece, and
which was erected at a cost of f 1.500,000
expressly to furnish good facilities
access to the Exhibition grounds. This
avenue passes through the park in
westerly direction, and is a very fine
drive. Bordering it on the right hand
are the Exhibition grounds. These
coverabout 236 acres, which are inclosed
for the buildings, in addition to which
there are other inclosures for the dis
pis
Vi
inc
plays of horses and cattle. At the
lenna Exhibition of 1875, the inclosure.
including that for the horses and cattle.
which was ol considerable size, covered
260 acres. The buildings at Vienna
gave about 2,000,000 square feet
ground floor surface for exhibitors, and
covered forty-two acres. There were
originally provided at Philadelphia
fifty acres of buildings, giving 2,107,000
square feet of surface, but applications
for space are so numerous as to render
enlargment necessary.
The articles exhibited have been
classified in seven departments, which,
for the most part, are located in ap
propriate buildings, whose several acres
are as follows :
1. Mining and metallurgy ; 2, manufac
tures; 3, education and science, main
building, 21.47; 4. Art, art gallery, 15;
5. Machinery, machinery buildin?, 14
6. Agriculture, agricultural building,
10 ; 7. horticultural, building, 1.5. Total,
48.47.
The first of them which one reaches in
coming lrom the city is the main
exhibition' building; but the only
point from which a comprehensive
view may be taken of "them all is
from the summit of Georee's hill, on
the western margin of the Exhibition
MEMORIAL HALL.
Iowa, and Delaware; and others lave
followed the example,
A number of trade and industrial asso
ciations, which require large amountsjof
space, are provided for in special
buildings. Among these are the pho
tographers, the carriage builders, the glass
makers, the cracker bakers, the boot
and shoe manufacturers, besides quite
a number of individual exhibitors.
The great demand for space ren
ders this course necessary to a con
siderable extent, especially for exhibit
ors who have been tardy in making their
applications. - In the main exhibition
building, for example, 333,300 square
feet of space bad been applied for by the
beginning of October by American ex
hibitors only; whereas, the aggregate
space which it has been possible to re
serve for the United States department
is only 160,000 square feet About one
third is consumed by passage ways.
The machinery building, like the
others, is fully covered by appli
cations. There are about 1,000 Ameri
can exhibitors in this department, 150
English, and 150 from other European
countries which is about 250 more than
entered the Vienna machinery exhibi-J
tion. Extra Provision 'W Been made!
for annexes to accommodate the hydraulic
machinery, the steam hammers, forges,
hoisting engines, boilers, plumbers, car
penters, etc
Tower in the machinery hall will be
chiefly supplied by a pair of monster
Corliss engines. Each cylinder is forty
inches in diameter, with a stroke of ten
feet ; the fly-wheel is thirty-one feet in
diameter, and weighs fifty-five tons; the
horse-power is 1,4U0, and the number of
boilers is twenty. This engine drives
about a mile of shafting.
For the art exhibition, the most
eminent American artists have been
at work, and it may be confidently
stated that, especially in the department
of landscape painting, the United States
will present a finer display than the pub
lic has been led to expect. Quite aside
from the contributions of American ar
tists, applications from abroad call for
more than four times the exhibiting
epac afforded by the great memorial
hall. Provision for the surplus has been
made in temporary fire-proof buildings,
though all exhibiting nations will be
represented in the central art gallery.
The secretary of the navy arranged
that a United States vessel should call at
convenient European porta, to collect
and transport hither to the Exhibition
the works of American artists resident
in Europe. Among the ports des
ignated, are Southampton for Eng
land, Havre for France, Bremen for Ger
many, and Leghorn for Italy.
Mr. Bell, the eminent English sculp
tor, who designed the groups for the
plinth for the great Albert memorial in
Hyde Park, London, has repro
ducad in terra cotta, at the cele
brated works in Lambeth, the
one which symbolizes America.
The figures in this group 'are colossal,
covering a ground space of fifteen feet
square. It is placed in the great
ierea lor the protection of the Greek
portion, and four towers 48 feet square
and rising to 120 feet high, are intro
duced into the corners of this elevated
roof. This gives ventilation as well as
ornament. The main building gives
936,008 square feet of surface or nearly
21 acres. Its ground plan shows a cen
tral avenue 120 feet in width, and 1,832
feet in length which is the longest avenue
of that width ever introduced into an
exhibition building. On either side of
this is another avenue of equal length,
and 100 feet wide. Between the central
and side avenues are aisles 4S feet wide,
and on ihe outer sides of the building
smaller aisles of 24 feet in width. To
break the great length of the roof-lines
three transepts have been introduced, of
the same widths and in the same relative
positions to each other as the longitudi
nal avenues. These cross the building
and are 416 feet in length. The intersec
tions of these various avenues make at
the center of the building nine spaces,
free from supports, which are from 100
feet to 120 feet square, and which aggre
gate 416 feet square. The general eleva
tion of the roof of all these avenues
varies from 45 to 70 feet
US Pn lnf 8""
bKen thoroughly grade!
The building rests upon the ground,
and prepared. The foundation consists of
piers ot masonry, the superstructure be
ing composed of wrought iron columns,
placed twenty-four Jeet apart, which
support iron roof trusses. There are six
hundred and seventy-two of these col
umns in the entire structure, the shortest
being twenty-three feet and the longest
one hundred and twenty-five feet long.
Their aggregate weight is 2,200,000
pounds. The roof trusses and girders
weigh 5,000,000 pounds. The sides of the
building, to seven feet above the ground,
are finished with brickwork in panels
between the columns. Above this there
are glazed sashes. The roof covering is of
tin, that being the best roofing known in
this climate to resist leakage. The floor
ing is of plank, upon sills resting upon
the ground, with no open space beneath.
Turret surmount the building at all the
corners and angles, and the national
standard, with appropriate emblems, is
placed over each of the main entrances.
In the vestibules variegated brick and
tile are introduced. Louvre ventilators
surmount all the avenues, and skylights
the central aisles. Light, of which there
will be ample supply, comes from the
north and south sides almost entirely.
There underlie the building two miles of
drainage pipe, the water supply and
drainage system being complete. Officers
for the foreign commissions are placed
along the sides of the building, in clo.
proximity to the products exhibited.
Officers for the administration are at the
ends. The design of the building is such
that all exhibitors will have an equally
fair opportunity of exhibiting their goods
to advantage. There is comparatively
little choice of location, as the light is
uniformly distributed, and each of the
(pace devoted to products is located upon
one ot the main thoroughfares.
Our International Exhibition.
girl,
The great interest felt by our readers
in the success of this national enterprise
t Centennial Board of Finance, whose unex-
grounds, the point of view taken in the
frontispiece ; and here the spectator will
find the machinery and agricultural
halts in the foreground, and the main
building and art gallery in the distance.
Looking at them from this point, it will
be seen that the northern faces of the
main and machinery buildings are in a
line; that they are divided by an av
enue, but connected by a covered way,
and that the length from the extreme of
one building to the extreme of the other
is" very great more than two-thirds of a
mile. Running along the northern
length of these buildings is a boulevard
one hundred feet in width, which is
traversed by a double line of narrow
gauge cars, for the accommodation of
visitors. Three hundred feet back of
the main building, their centers being in
a line, stands the art gallery. Next
northward, and on the further side of
Landsdowne valley, which is crossed by
a bridge, is the horticultural building
back still f it, northernmost of the prin
cipal structures, is the agricultural
building, and midway between this and
the machinery hall is the site of the
building for the exhibition to be made
by the United States government
Machinery Building.
This structure is located about five
hundred and fifty feet west of the main
exhibition building, and it is prac
tically a continuation of that edifice, the
two together presenting a frontage of
three thousand eight hundred and
twenty-four feet from their eastern to
their western ends, upon the principal
avenue within the grounds. This build
ing consists of a main hall, one thous
and four hundred and two feet long and
three hundred and sixty feet wide, with
an annex on the southern side two hun
dred and eight feet by two hundred and
ten feet The entire area covered is
five hundred and fifty-eight thousand
four hundred and forty-four square feet,
or nearly thirteen acres, and the floor
space afforded is fourteen acres. The
chief portion of the building is one story
in height, the main cornice upon the
outside being forty feet from the ground,
and the interior height to the top of the
ventilators in the avenues seventy feet,
and the aisles forty feet. To break the
long lines of the exterior, projections
have been introduced upon the four
sides, and the main entrance is finished
with facades extending to seventy-eicht
feet in height. The eastern entrance
will be the principal approach from
railways and from the main exhibition
building. Along the southern side are
placed the boiler houses, and such other
buildings or special kinds of machinery
as may be required.
The plan of the machinery building
shows two main avenues ninety feet wide,
with a central aisle between and an aisle
on either side, these being sixty feet in
width. These avenues and aisles together
have three hundred and sixty feet
width, and each of them is one thousand
three hundred and sixty feet long. At
the center of the building there is a
transept ninety feet in width, which at
the south end is prolonged beyond the
building. This extended transept, be-
return to Indiana except as a viator.
the
of
at
a
the
the
the
the
en
hanced on
to
a
by
of
Memorial Hall or Art Gallery.
BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF THE GROUNDS.
of
a
of
ginning at thirty-six leet trom tne
building and extending to two hundred
and eight feet, is flanked on either side
by aisles sixty feet wide, and forms an
annex for hydraulic machines. The
promenades are : In the avenue fifteen
feet wide, in the aisles ten feet, and in
transept twenty-five feet. The walks
extending across the building are all ten
feet wide, and lead at either end to exit
doors. The foundation of this building
are piers of masonry, the superstructure
consisting of solid timber columns sup
porting roof trusses, constructed of
straight wooden principal beams and
wrought iron ties and struts. The
columns are placed in longitudinal lines,
and in these rows stand sixteen feet
apart. The columns are forty feet high,
and support respectively the ninety-feet
roof-spans over the avenues at a height
ery, with an average floor space of 303
square feet. '
Horticultural Building.
The city of Philadelphia made a liberal
grant of money to provide for the horti
cultural department of the Exhibition
an extrenielyHrnate and commodious
building, which is designed to remain in
permanence as an -ornament of Fair
mount Park. This structure is located
on a terrace bordering the Schuylkill
river, a short distance north of Memorial
Hall, and has a commanding view of the
Schuylkill river valley and the north
western portions of Philadelphia. Ro
mantic ravines running down to the
river are on either side, separating it on
the south from Memerial Hall and on the
north from agricultural building. These
ravines are being spanned by ornamental
looking from transept to transept, the
vista is extremely imposing. A
portion of this building is supplied
with steam power for the use of agricul
tural machinery. The four courts in
closed by the nave and transepts, and
also the four spaces at the corners of the
building, having the nave and end tran
septs for two of their sides, are
roofed, and form valuable spaces for
exhibits. The ground plan of the build
ing is parallellogram 510 feet by 820 feet,
covering about ten and one-quarter
acres. Sixteen foreign nations reserve
space in this building, and in the 147,572
square feet which remain, more than
1,000 American exhibitors are to be
accommodated. This necessitates special
buildings for the collective exhibits of
their natural reseurces provided by the
different States.
SIDNEY LANIER'S SUBSTANTIAL CANTATA
Ti e following is the cantata written by Mr. Sid
ney tamer, and set to music by Mr. liu'lley Buck,
which was sung at the opening oi the tVuteuniai
Exhibition.
SIDNEY LANIER'S SUBSTANTIAL CANTATA The Centennial Meditation of Columbia.
I.
From this hunilred-terrncetl Hirht
Stglit more large with nobler llklit
Ranges down von towering years ;
11 nuibler smiles und lord lit r team
Shine and fall, shine and fall.
While old voices rise and call
Yonder where the to-and-uro
Weltering of my tang Afio
Moves alKiut the mo?elet4 base
Fur below my resting place.
n.
Mayllower, Mayflower, slowly hither flying,
Trembling Westward o'er yon talking sea.
Hearts within Fareuell drnr England sighing
Winds without Hut Uir in vain leplvinu,
Ciray-lipp'd wavesaiw.ut the shomed, crying
io Jt shall not br !
III.
Jamestown, out of thee
IMyinouth, thee thee, Albany
Winter erics, irfrctzs: Amtyt
Fever cr ies, if biun: A way !
H linger cries, Yr xatre; Atrait f
Vengeance cries, 1 owr ijiares xhall stay !
IV.
Then old Shapes and Masks of Thing.,
Framed like Faiths or clothed like kings
(ihosts of (iocds once fleshrd and lair,
tirown foul Bads in alien air
War, and his most noisy lords,
Tongued with lithe and poisoned swords
lirror. Terror, Kageaud Crime,
All in a windy night of time
Cried to me from land and sea,
So! Thou shalt twt tr !
Hark!
Huguenots whispering ;ea in the dark.
Puritans answering ymin the dark!
i. like an arrow snot true to bis mark,
larta through the tyrannous heart of I'eriial. .
1'atience and Labor and solemn-souled Trial,
Foiled, still beginning,
Boiled, but not sinning.
Toil through the stertorous death of the Night,
Toil, when wild brother-wars new-dark the Light,
Toil, and forgive, and kiss o'er, and replight.
VI.
Now Praise to God's oft-granted grace,
Now Praise to Man's undauuted face,
Despite the land, despite the sea,
I was ; I am ; and 1 shall be
How long. Good Angel, oh, how long ?
Sing me from Heaven a man's own song !
" Long as thine Art shall love true love, ,
Long as thy Science truth shall know, j
Long as thine Eagle barms no Dove, '
Long as thy Law by law shall grow, s
Long as thy tied is God almve,
Thy brother every man below,
80 long, dear Land of all my love,
Thy name shall shine, thy fame shall glow 1"
VIII.
Oh, Music, from this height of time my Word un
fold, In thy large signals all men's hearts Man's Heart
behold ;
Mid-heaven unroll the chords as friendly flags un
furled. And wave the world's best lover's welcome to the
world.
I
MACHINERY HALL.
of forty feet, and the sixty feet roof-
spans over the aisles at a height of
twenty feet. The outer walls are built
of masonry to a height of five feet, and
above that are composed of glazed sash
between the columns. Portions of these
sashes are movable for ventilation, and
Louvre ventilators are introduced in
continuous lengths over both the ave
nues and the aisles. The building is
entirely lighted by side lights from the
north and south. Space in machinery
hall has been allotted as follows :
;
Square feet.
35,725
. 1,098
11,219
9,379
4,000
1,SS6
- 8,lfifi
4,300
2,448
1,500
585
408
300
Great Britain!
Germany..Hm France.
Belgium
Brazil
A ustna.
Sweden. ...mm....
Canada...
Spain.
Russia......
Ienraark H..
Chili
Norway..............
bridges 590 feet long and sixty feet wide,
for convenience of access. Carriage roads,
a railway, and foot-walks will pass over
them. The horticultural building is de
signed in the Moresque style of archi
tecture of the twelfth century, the chief
materials externally being iron and glass,
supported by fine marble and brick work.
The building is 383 feet long, 193 feat
wide, and 72 feet high to the top of the
lantern. The main floor is occupied by
the central conservatory, 230 feet by 80
feet, and 55 feet high, surmouuted by a
lantern 170 feet long, 20 feet wide, and
14 feet high. Running entirely around
this conservatory, at a height of twenty
feet from the floor, is a gallery five feet
wide.
On the north and south sides of this
principal room are four forcing houses for
the propagation of young plants, each of
them 100 feet by thirty feet, and covered
by curved roofs of iron and glass, which,
appearing upon the exterior of the build
ing, a flue feature. A vestibule
In addition to the grounds within the
inclosure, an eligibly-located stockyard,
22 acres in extent, has been provided for
the display of live stock, which will be
exhibited in a series of shows during
the months of September, October, and
November. Two farms, moreover, ot
about 50 acres each, have been suitably
planted for the trials of agricultural
machinery.
Independence Hall.
The hall of independence, on Chestnut
street, between Fifth and Sixth, was
commenced in 1729, and completed in
1734, having been designed for the use of
the Provincial Assemblies ; and the long
hall formerly in the upper story was
often used for grand official banquets
given to governors, distinguished strang
ers and generals, and to the members of
the First Congress when they arrived in
1774. It was orijrinally decorated with a
stately steeple, 'which was taken down in
1774 on account of decay ; only a small
The Building Flags.
1
Buildings on the Centennial grounds
carry over each entrance a numbered
banner surmounted by a small flag. The
color of the flag corresponds with the
border of the Danner, and indicates
the class to which the building belongs,
viz :
Blue Buildings erected by the Cen
tennial commission.
Red United States and State build
ings. White Foreign buildings.
Yellow Restaurants, places of enter
tainment, etc.
Green Miscellaneous buildings.
For convenient reference, a separate
set of numbers has been adopted to each
of the following four subdivision of the
grounds inclosed for Exhibition pur
poses :
1. Buldings located south of the Ave
nue of the Republic carry en banners
hln numbers htween one and fifty. v" ' .
fi t -i i : 1 . .1 l. r t r:'
very
30 feet effaaret separates the two
forcing houses on each side, and there
are similar vestibules at the center of
the east and west ends, on either
side of which-are apartments for restau
rants, reception rooms, offices, etc. Orna
mental stairways lead from these ves
tibules to the internal galleries of the
conservatory, as well as four external
galleries, each 100 feet long and 10 feet
wide, which surmount the roofs of the
forcing houses. These external galleries
are connected with a grand promenade,
formed by the roofs of the rooms on the
floor, giving a superficial area of about
17,000 square feet
I he east and west entrances to the
horticultural building are approached by
flights of blue marble steps, from terraces
eighty feet by twenty feet, in the center
of each of which stands an open kiosque
twenty feet in diameter. Each entrance
is beautified by ornamental tile and
maiblenork, and the angles of the main
conservatory are to be adorned with
eight attractive fountains. The corridors
connecting the conservatory with the
surrounding apartments fine vistas
The United States will probably oc
cupy 300,000 square feet.
This machinery building has very
superior facilities for shafting, and
double lines will be introduced into each
avenue and aisle at a height of about
twenty feet A Corliss steam engine of
1,400 horse power will drive the main
shafting. There will also be counter
lines of shafting in the aisles and special
steam power furnished where necessary.
Steam power is to be furnished free to
exhibitors. In the annex for hydraulic
machines there is a tank sixty by one
hundred and sixty feet, with ten feet
depth of water. It is intended to ex
hibit all sorts of hydraulic machinery
in full operation, and at the southern
end of the tank there will be a water
fall thirty-five feet high by forty feet
in every direction, and the beauties of
the surrounding park, with the river
flowing in front ana more than one hun
dred feet beneath the building, add to
the attractions. Extensive heating ar
rangements are provided in the Dase
ment, which is of fireproof construction,
and the restaurant kitchens are also
located there.
Surrounding this building there are
thirty-five acres of ground, which will be
devoted to horticultural purposes, and
have been suitably planted. In this plot
there is an extensive series of sunken
gardens.
The Agricultural Building
stands north of the horticultural build
ing, being separated from it by a ro
belfry wai left to cover the bell until the
year of 1828, when the present steeple
was erected as nearly like the ancient one
as circumstances would permit The
ancient bell, formerly used for the clock,
is remarkable for its prophetic inscrip
tion. Originally imported from England
in 1752, but cracked in its first ringing,
it was recast in Philadelphia, and the in
scription, " Proclaim liberty through
out the land, and to all the people there
of, " was placed upon it. This was more
than twenty years before the independ
ence of the colonies was dreamed of ; yet
when the Declaration was signed this
very bell was the first, by its merry peal,
to "proclaim liberty throughout the
land." It now occupies a place in the
south vestibule of the building. The
' Declaration of Independence was signed
Avenue of the Republic and west ef
Belmont
avenue, carry on banners red
numbers
dred.
between fifty and one hun-
3. Buildings located east of Belmont
avenue and south of Fountain avenue,
carry on banners white numbers be
tween one hundred and fifty and two
hundred
Liberty Bell.
The famous Liberty Bell was originally
cast in England, in 1751. It contains
the following inscription :
"By order of the Assembly of the
Province of Pennsylvania, 1752." Also :
"Proclaim liberty throughout all the
land, and unto all the inhabitants
thereof."
. Before the bell was properly hung, it
;
j
wide, supplied from the tank by the
pumps on exhibition. There will prob
ably be a larger exhibition at Philadel
phia of processes of manufacture than
at any previous exhibition. The appli
cations for space have been so numerous
as to require the addition of three an
nexes, covering two and one-half acres,
while numerous private exhibitors will
put up buildings for their own use. The
machinery hall proper will contain above
1,200 American exhibitors, having an
average space of 270 square feet ench
a more compact arrangement than has
been accomplished previously, since at
Vienna there 959 exhibitors of machin-
' ana a pull aitogetner.
mantic ravine, and has a commanding
view of the Schuykill river and the
northwestern suburbs of Philadelphia
beyond. This building illustrates a
novel combination of materials, mainly
wood and glass, and consists of a long
nave crossed by three transepts, each
being composed of truss-arches of Gothic
forms. The nave is 820 feet lone
by 125 feet in width, with a height of 75
feet from the floor to the point of the
arch. The central transept is 100
feet wide and 75 feet high, and the two
end transepts. 80 feet wide and 70 feet
high. Its interior appearance re
sembles that of a great cathedral, and in
cnestra.
in the chamber on the left of the princi
pal entrance. Sjiuc years since the
antique architectural decorations and
furniture of this room were removed,
and their places supplied with new furni
ture and tapestry in modern style. This
error has since been repaired, as far as
possible, by restoring the hall to its
ancient appearance. The portraits of
nearly every one of the signers now adorn
the walls. Open daily.
The original Declaration of Indepen
dence will be on exhibition in the
National Museum in Independence Hall
during the entire timeof the Exposition.
wagons .' vanowry jyetcs.
was cracked by. a strike of the clapper,
and was recast in this country. It was
finished and hung in June,' 1753. In
1777, at the time the American forces
were compelled to evacuate Philadelphia,
this bell, together with Christ church
chinifs, was removed to Allentown, to
prevent them lieiug melted into cannon
by the Pnglish ; at the close of the war
it was returned to Philadelphia and con
tinued in constant use until 1S28, when
it was replaced by the prtsent bell. The
old Iwlf now h.-tngs ia the old State
lloue ill Philadelphia.
A FINE display is that of the School
of Design, of Cincinnati.
3337c
THE CENTENNIAL.
Opening Day— Decorations—Large
Attendance—Celebrities Present
—Inaugural Ceremonies—illuminations
and Bouquets.
[From our Special Correspondent.]
The opening day was preceded and
ushered in by a severe rainntorm, but,
before eight o'clock, sunlight broke
through the clouds, and, till four p. m.,
a more auspicious day could not have
been desired. The dust was laid, and
tree and shrub and lawn were clad in the
liveliest green. And not till hours after
speech and song and the chimes of bells
were ended, and a large portion of the
visitors had retired lrom the grounds',
did the windows of heaven again open
and give us a Noahic shower. But it
cleared off again before sunset, to enable
LIBERTY BELL.
Philadelphia to exhibit herself in a
street promenade.
THE DECORATIONS
throughout the city were profuse be
yond all precedent. The streets were
ablaze with the flags of all nations. Pub
lic buildings, stores and private resi
dences were covered with them. The
Ledger Building alone had one hundred
and eighty. The State House, on Inde
pendence Square, was literally enfolded
by them and with paintings of the coats
of arms of the thirteen original States.
Go where you would, houses, cars, car
riages, carts, horses everything that
could hold a flag-staff, big or little
streamed with them. Nothing like it
ever has been seen, and probably never
will be again, except the Fourth of next
July.
THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE
present in the Grounds and Buildings,
on opening day, was variously estimated
at from 200,000 to 300,000, but cannot be
accurately known, as no record was kept,
except of those who paid their entrance
fee. But it was very large and could only
be reckoned by the acre and the square
mile. They everflowed the buildings, the
grounds, the streets, the hotels, the cars,
and every available space. Tbero must
have been hundreds of thousands present
within the grounds, besides a great mul
titude of outsiders too impecunious or
too parsimonious to pay an admission
he. And when the rain came pouring
down, and when after five o'clock the
visitors were required to vacate the Ex
hibition Buildings, they thronged the
streets, filled all the hotels, restaurants
and shanties adjacent, levied upon all
street cars, cabs, express wagons, ice
carts, beer and grocery wagons, and every
other available vehicle to shelter them
from the storm, or carry them into the
city; and yet not more than one-fourth
of them could be accommodated, and the
rest had to trudge homeward afoot
through the most adhesive and inter
minable mud. The occasion demon
strated the utter inadequacy of street
and rail cars, and public and private con
veyances to transport visitors to and
from the Exposition, on a gala day like
this. On all ordinary occasions they
would be amply sufficient
THB CELEBRITIES PRESENT
at the opening were numerous and dis
tinguished. The most conspicuous were
President Grant and his cabinet, Doin
Pedro, Emperor of Brazil, and the Em-
jPress, the Judges of the United States
Portugal at the Centennial.
All of the articles from Portugal for
exhibition at the Centennial Exposition
are placed in their various departments.
Portugal, in this Exhibition, has paid
special attention to agriculture and in
dustry. In the former department there
are 2,304 exhibitors, of which number
over one thousand exhibit wines and
cork. Portugal has already in America
a very extensive market for cork, and a
medium one for the black woolen cloths
manufactured in the province of Aleua
tejo. There is also an extensive collec
tion of soaps, oils, etc., in order to dis
play in the most satisfactory manner to
the United States the different resources
of Portugal, by means of which the com
mercial relations between the two coun
tries may be developed.
Ten Million Visitors.
Of the grand tot-il of the crowds of
visitors Who will visit the Centennial
grounds during the summer, an exchange
says, the lowest estimate is lO.OOO.OuO,
and this is 200,000 behind the visitors at
Paris, but nearly 3,000.000 more than
the visitors at Vienna. The exhibitors
at Philadelphia will exceed 860,000.
As compared with other International
Expositions, that of Philadelphia is in
many points, superior to all that have
preceded it It lacks the compact
arrangement and general brilliancy of
Paris, and is, of course, inferior in mat
ter of fine arts and in Oriental pro
ductions to that of Vienna. In the
display of machinery it is incomparably
ahead of anything the world has ever
seen, and the Department of General
Manufacturing has never been equaled.
As an exhibition of what the Western
World has done, in all branches of human
pursuit, and a means of comparing their
progress with the East, it is, of cou rse,
unapproached, and that is unquestiona
bly its chief excellence. The repre
sentation of the nations of the world Is
complete with the exception of Greece
and a few of the South American Repub
lics. The space covered by the Exposi
tion exceeds that of any previous one;
two hundred and thirty-six acres is the
total.
Major Alexandek S. Macomb died
suddenly in his chair in the Union Club
House, New York, a few days since.
He was the son of Major-General Ma
comb, U. S. A. He graduated at West
Point in 1835, and served until 1841,
being on frontier duty at Leavenworth,
Kansas, for two years or more, in 1840
becoming a Captain in the Second
Dragoons and an Aid-de-Camp on his
father's staff. He then resigned from
the army, and married a sister of General
Phil. Kearney, and had two daughters,
one of whom is the wife of Mr. D'Haute
ville, of New York city, and the other is
a Mrs. Fane, a member of the family of
the Earl of Westmoreland. The large
possessions of the Macombs, far up town
in New York, once included Macomb's
dam. Mr. Macomb's death was caused
by the bursting of the aorta. His age
was sixty-two years.
The inventor of the Baltimore air
ship has offered to use his machine to
illuminate Philadelphia on the night of
July 4th next for the paltry sum of 1750.
He will provide his air-ship with ten
first-class silver-plated reflectors, ten feet
in diameter, which will be suspended
from the car at a height of five hundred
feet. Each of these reflectors will have
a brilliant calcium light, and the inven
tor declares that with his apparatus he
can illuminate an area of four miles, and
make it as light as day. If the project
succeeds it will open the way for provid
ing cities with simpler and cheaper
means of illumination than they now
possess, and abolish forever the feeble and
flickering gaslampa that are such a
nuisance.
Easton (Pa.) Free Pros : He didn't
look like a depraved young man ; he had
more the appearance of one of those in
satiable youth that invariably give the
keepers of cheap hash houses a cold
chill as they pass by. We greeted him
cordially as we stepped forward with our
cash-in-advance smile to learn his wants;
but when he mildly asked : " Don't you
want a correspondent te go down to ttt
HORICULTURAL BUILDING.
Supreme Court, Generals Sherman and
Sheridan, and representatives of the army
and navy. The central figure the one
regarded with most interest, and the one
most enthusiastically cheered, was JJom
Pedro, in plain citizen's dress without
decoration of any kind, a manly-looking
personage ot large physique and brain,
who wastes no time on ceremony, and is
resolved to learn what is worth knowing
of the people and institutions of this
country. Congress and the diplomatic
corps of all nations, and the great office
holding mob of the country were there
in full force. Mrs. Grant with her
matronly ways, and the ladies of the
Cabinet Ministers, the wives of foreign
Ministers, Mrs. Gillespie, head of the
Women's Department, and many others
of local fame graced the platform.
THE INAUGURAL CEREMONIES
wereojiened by a salvo of artillery, and
the national airs of all nations, by
Thomas' orchestra. Then followed prayer
by the Right Rev. Bishop Simpson, the
singing of Whittier's hymn, a presenta
tion address by John Welsh, President
of the Board of Finance ; a cantata by
the chorus of a thousand voices, with
orchestral accompaniment, and a mag
nificent bass solo by Myron W. Whitney,
of Boston, encored and repeated to the
unbounded delight of the immense mul
titude. His deep.clear voice rose above
the noite and confusion of the vast con
course like the song of the angels over
Bethlehem's plains, and every murmur
was hushed and every heart thrilled.
Then came the address of Joseph R.
Hawley, President of the United States
Centennial Commission, in clear, ringing
toDes that all could hear, in presentation
of the Exhibition to President Grant
The President's respome was delivered
in so low a tone as to be inaudible, ex
cept to those near the stand. The press
has generally reproduced the essential
features of the proceedings. My impres
sions), f the whole affair can be given in
few words. The former proceedings were
all prearranged and circumscribed by
fixed limits, and save the concourse of
people, Whitney's solo, and perhaps
Hawley's speech, there was nothing
spontaneous or inspirational about them.
So far as -the display of the world's in
dustries and the concourse of visitors are
concerned the inaugural was a grand
EUCCIS4.
CLOSING SCENES.
The day was closed by illuminations
and banquets, distinguished and wealthy
citizens feasting the more illustrous
guests. The chief line of attraction was
Chestnut street, and the central object
Independence Square. Several calcium
lights illuminated Independence Hall
with its patriotic drapery, and crowds of
people surged back and forth, welled in
and out of the Hall, and rolled upChest-
nut, westward, and filled the north and
south streets for indefinite spaces, till a
late hour of the night This morning
there fluttered at the rising sun niore
than a million national flngs in the City
S. M. BOOTH.
Centennial and properly represent your
influential sheet f we just said: "Please
remove your hat till we gaze upon that
noble brow." Then we grabbed out our
branding iron and numbered him 18,231.
It is estimated that up to the time of
the closing of the Exposition on the first
evening over two hundred and fifty
thousand people had passed in at the
gates. No exact count can be made, as
the registering arrangements were not
complete, and thousands entered with
out any registry. In the city the ex
citement and jollification were kept up
nearly all night, and Philadelphia wore
such an aspect of liveliness and gayety
as has heretofore sceemed impossible.
" My son," said a Boston parent, as
his eighteen-year-old ot&pring stood,
carpet-bag in hand, upon the threshold,
"you are going to the Centennial.
Promise me that, during your absence,
you will shun bad company and keep
your feet from the doors of ale-houses
and billiard faloons." "Father," re
plied the young nun, with the memory
of the last caucus floating through his
mind, " I cannot I go uitinstructcd and
unpledged."
The Centennial commissioners report
that the hotels and boarding houses in
Philadelphia, are capable of accommo
dating 98,000 visitors, and that private
accommodations can be secured tor 20,-
000 more. Board can be had, it is said ,
from f 1.50 to 5 per day.
A bound bottomed boat ud by Dr.
Kane during his last Arctic voyage is in
the Government building.
Every Philadelphia girl with a spark
of ambition in her Mature expects to
catch a lord during the Centennial.
A New York firm furnishes a pair of
booti for the Centennial made from the
skin of a human being.
A glass ca-e of electric eels from the
Senegal and the Nile are in the Egyptian
department
In France eggs are not sold as they
an Here, so mucu lor a auzen, wueiuer
big or little, those of the large Brahma
or Creve Cienr counting the same as the
little Bretons or Bantatns. The eggs
Drought to market are verified by agents
appoint' d by the administration, who
are called " mireurs compteurs," and
the eggs are submitted to three opera
tions first, counting to.verify the num
ber of eggs in the panniers; passing them
through riugs to test their size and value;
and final inspection to separate the clean
and fresh from those state or addled.
Small eggs in the market! of Paris are
thoee which will pass through a ring of
four centimeters. Hence, French egg
merchants have riugs of ditlerent sizes to
try the eggs.
A careless Dubuque (Iowa) boy
swallowed a revolver cartridge one day
last week, and his mother doesn't dare to
" wollop " him, for fear he'll go off.