Architecture and the Pan-American Exposition
Part II - "The Architectural Scheme"

Contents

The Plan
The "Progress of Man"
A Definitive Style
Architecture and Color

The Plan

John Carrère, Chairman of the Board of Architects of the Pan-American Exposition, saw the exposition's layout as an "artistic composition." Formal symmetry governed the plan and uniformity of scale was one of the most important harmonizing factors. Since the architects also had the advantage of grounds that lay adjacent to the Frederick Law Olmstead designed Delaware Park, "it was apparent that the Exposition must be strongly influenced by its proximity to the Park; but, as it was out of the question to alter the Park, even to the extent of removing any great number of its beautiful trees, and it was therefore impossible to extend the Exposition into the Park, it was decided to extend the Park into the Exposition, ... and thus to make them part of each other."¹

The Exposition view from the Casino and in Delaware Park. Proximity to Delaware park was advantageous to planners. The New York State Building is on the left of the "Bridge of the Three Americas." To the right is the roof of the Horticulture building.

A shaded walk near the Triumphal Bridge

The overall "block plan" was based in simple lines, with the main axis running north and south, surrounded by the secondary axes. Carrère referred to the main axis as the "Axis of the Esplanade," which took the visitor from the Triumphal Bridge to the Electric Tower. The major buildings were grouped on the secondary axes, with symmetry and balance maintained by placing buildings of different character and purpose, but similar size and structure directly opposite one another across the main axis.

Joann Thompson points out that "[t]he intention behind this arrangement was to achieve a unified effect, which did not necessarily imply an identical, neatly symmetrical image, but instead, a dialog of similar masses. So, in spite of the formality of the plan, an element of flexibility was not only desirable, but was actually incorporated into the designing of the whole."³ Thus while the buildings opposite each other across the main axis differed in design and ornamentation, they, in essence, were of similar size and shape. The maps below illustrate this "symmetry of scale." [Click on each to view larger versions.]

The canal, one of the more popular features of the exposition, may have served an entertainment function by affording visitors an opportunity to tour the Exposition by boat. To Carrère, however, the waterway had a more functional purpose in serving as the boundary of the Exposition's main architectural group. Beyond the canal lay the secondary buildings, restaurants and of course, the Midway. Carrère describes this:

In approaching the Exposition, ideally, the visitor was to enter the grounds via the Lincoln Parkway Gateway. "From this setting, the full beauty of the Exposition unfolded as a meticulously designed asthetic experience."⁶ Indeed, Carrère's intention was to lead the visitor along the principal approach, through the park, "so that the spectator, as he approaches the Exposition, will see it develop gradually until he reaches the Bridge, when the entire picture will appear before him and almost burst upon him."⁷ It is unfortunate that this experience was missed by the majority of visitors, who, instead of walking into the Exposition through the main gate, arrived by rail and thus entered the grounds through the north gate (behind the Electric Tower.)⁸

Above: Approaching the Triumphal Bridge from the south. Left: The approach looking south. Right: Outside the Lincoln Gate looking north..

Return to top

The "Progress of Man"

In addition to serving as components of Carrère's "artistic composition," the buildings of the Pan-American Exposition were designed and positioned to illustrate a more symbolic ideal which appealed to the Exposition planners. In the approach to and travel through the grounds, visitors would experience—through the sculpture, architecture and color—the "intellectual progress of man."

The concept originated with Karl Bitter, the Director of sculpture, who planned symbolic meaning to the exhibit of sculpture throughout the grounds.

In his sculpture plan, Karl Bitter described the meaning behind the placement of the principal buildings.

Bitter's vision of the Exposition as symbolic of the "Progress of Man"

The Electric Tower base-symbolic of Buffalo and the "Great Waters"

In the Exposition plan, the Electric Tower was the focal point of the composition. It represented "...the culmination of the comingling of Man and Nature, symbolically suggesting man's intellectual and physical achievement in subduing Nature and harnessing electrical power."¹¹ Bitter also saw the Tower basin and display of cascades and fountains as representative of Buffalo and the Great Lakes. "Buffalo's importance, growth and prosperity are chiefly due to the Great Lakes System and the waterways on which it is located. Its commerce and wealth are a direct offspring of the 'Great Waters,' as the Indians called them."¹² Even the coloring of the Electric Tower suggested "water," specifically the water of Niagara Falls. C.Y. Turner spoke of "the beautiful emerald green hue of the water as it curls over the crest of Niagara Falls. ... In the tower I have given it marked emphasis... ."¹³

Return to top

A Definitive Style

Although Director of Architecture, John Carrère, intended to base the formal "scheme" of the Exposition on an identifiable architectural style, common throughout the plan, there was some question as to what that style would be. In its promotional publication, The Pan-American Exposition … Its Purpose and Plan, the Exposition Company explained the ambitions of the Board of Directors, with regard to architecture and theme:

At the turn of the 20th Century, however, there was still controversy as to what could be defined as a uniquely American architectural style. John Milburn, President of the Exposition Board of Directors, wrote of the Exposition's "grand idea—the bringing closer together the peoples of this hemisphere in their social, political and commercial relations."¹⁵ Thus, a style indigenous to both North and South America was certainly a logical consideration.

The United States Government Building Modeled after a Spanish Cathedral

The Spanish-American mission style was the initial choice, although as Julian Hawthorne wrote of the Exposition's style in 1901, "[t]echnically, it is a liberal rendering of the Spanish Renaissance … it symbolizes our welcome to the genius of the Latins to mingle their strain with the genius of the Anglo-Saxon."¹⁶ The term "Spanish-Renaissance" appears to be used most often to describe the Exposition, both by contemporary and modern critics, although there is nearly universal agreement that the style was hardly "pure" in form and that there were conspicuous deviations.

" … of all the buildings created, some speak of old mission architecture and some do not. But, still, happily, although their work ran the whole gamut of architectural orders, combinations and modifications, yet it came together in harmony. Much of it is Renaissance of the freest sort; but the Spanish-American idea is dominant there, and makes itself felt throughout."17

That the architects were allowed the freedom to deviate from Carrère's formal plan was due in part to the temporary nature of exposition architecture. Most of the buildings were constructed of staff—a mixture of plaster, gypsum and hemp usually reserved for decorative sculpture—applied over lath and iron frameworks. Since the buildings were only intended to last a season, architects could experiment with imaginative decorative effects that would not have been possible on permanent structures.

Details of a wall of the Temple of Music

Applying staff to the Temple of Music's wood frame

Carrère encouraged experimentation—within reasonable bounds—and the transient nature of the buildings afforded architects the freedom to try new ideas. Thus, The Pan-American Exposition was comprised of buildings incorporating decorative styles from numerous schools. One can see a drastic difference in the number and intricacy of decorative features when comparing staff-covered temporary buildings like the Temple of Music and Horticulture Building, to one designed to be permanent, the New York State Building, which was of the conservative Doric style and built with marble.

The New York State Building

The Temple of Music

The Horticulture Building

Return to top

Architecture and Color

In keeping with the notion of a "unified scheme" in the architectural planning of the Exposition, Director of Color, C.Y. Turner was invited to become a member of the Board of Architects.

Turner, best known as a painter of murals, based his color scheme for the Exposition on Bitter's "Progress of Man" allegory. He wrote:

Mark Bennett described Turner's process: "To produce the exquisite color effects of the Exposition, Mr. Turner procured from the architects small sketches of all buildings, from which models were made on the scale of one-sixteenth of an inch to the foot. These were grouped upon a platform 12 by 16 feet, according to the plan prepared by John M. Carrère, to whom was entrusted the arrangement of the ground plan of the Exposition. Each model was colored according to the general scheme and its relationship to surrounding buildings was studied. Even the color of the sky, the grass and flowers, the pools and fountains, was taken into consideration. Many of the models were painted several times before the proper color note was hit upon to complete the harmony."²⁰

C.Y. Turner's Studio - Watercolor drawings served as guides for painting the Exposition Buildings.

Grouping the Models of the Exposition Buildings - C.Y. Turner sits at the far left.

"Mr. Turner, in mapping out his color scheme, adhered to Mr. Bitter's idea of the evolution of man, and one who takes his first glimpse from the south will notice that the coloring upon the buildings at that point begins with the cruder colors, the strong reds, yellows, greens, and blues which the barbarian selects, and it gradually melts into orange reds, gray blues, buffs, and violets, until it culminates at the Electric Tower in ivory yellow, with a setting of the delicate green which repeats the chromatic note of Niagara Falls." —Ernest Knaufft. 21

The colors as applied to the principal buildings were described as follows: ²²

• Horticulture—orange with details in brilliant blue, green, rose and yellow.
• Government—yellow, with details in primitive colors.
• Temple of Music—red.
• Machinery—greenish gray.
• Restaurant group—ivory, accented with green and gold.
• Electric Tower—ivory, yellow, gold and green.
• The roofs are generally of red tile, though prominent towers and pinnacles are in many cases decorated with green, blue green or gold.
• All buildings have a play of color about their entrances, balconies, pinnacles and towers.
  

The Pan-American Exposition was not the first exposition to use color in its architecture, but “it was the first attempt to completely unite a color scheme with the structures in an overall visual impression of meshed coloring.”²³ The vibrant color scheme led to the Exposition being labeled as "The Rainbow City." Although most visitors seemingly approved of the vibrant coloring, it provoked from contemporary critics reactions "ranging from cautious approval to hoots of derision. ... The polychrome experiment looked unsettling and raucous to contemporary eyes blinded by the dazzling purity of the "White City" [1894 Chicago World's Fair.] In the light of expectations generated by the earlier fair, the planners of the Pan-American were courageous to adopt such a novel color scheme."²⁴

This same color scheme, the subject of controversy and conflicting opinions among critics, was viewed quite differently as a component of the Expositions nighttime illumination. In fact the illumination itself and the embellishing effects of the color scheme were almost universally applauded by critics:

Move on to "Part III: The Buildings"

References

1. John M. Carrère, "The Architectural Scheme," Art Hand-Book, Official Handbook of Architecture and Sculpture and Art Catalogue to the Pan-American Exposition. Ed. David Gray. Buffalo, N.Y.: David Gray, 1901, p. 10. [Click to view the Art Handbook]. See also Joann M. Thompson. The Art and Architecture of the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo, New York, 1901. Unpublished dissertation. Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey, 1980, p. 31 and Kerry S. Grant, The Rainbow City: Celebrating Light, Color and Architecture at the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo, 1901. Buffalo, N. Y.: Canisius College Press, 2001, p. 10.
2. Carrère, p. 15-16.
3. Christian Brinton, "Art at the Pan-American Exposition," The Critic, v. 38 (June 1901) p. 512 and Walter Cook, "The Exhibition at Buffalo: Some of the Ideas Which Have Determined its Artistic Character — the Buildings and Grounds," Scribner's Magazine, v. 29 (June 1901) p. 765; in Thompson, p. 31.
4. Thompson, p. 31. The "City Beautiful Movement" was a reaction to the increasingly grimy and industrial nature of 19th century cities. City Beautiful proponants called for a harmonious environment characterized by a paradigmatic arrangement of buildings, open garden spaces and controlled traffic paths. John Brisben Walker wrote of the Pan-American Exposition as a model for the city of the future. See Walker's "The City of the Future—A Prophecy," The Cosmopolitan, v. 31, no. 5 (September, 1901) pp. 473-475. For an informative look at the "City Beautiful Movement" and Washington, D.C.'s example, see Julie K. Rose's City Beautiful: the 1901 Plan for Washington D.C. , URL: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/citybeautiful/dchome.html.
5. Carrère, p. 15-16.
6. Grant, p. 19.
7. Carrère, p. 15.
8. Thompson, p. 32; Grant, p. 19.
9. Grant, p. 12.
10. Karl Bitter, "The Sculpture Plan," Art Handbook, 1901, pp. 49-50.
11. Thompson, p. 35.
12. Bitter, p. 50.
13. C.Y. Turner, "The Color Scheme," Art Handbook, p. 20; Grant, p. 13.
14. Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo May 1 to November 1, 1901. Its Purpose and Plan. [Buffalo, N. Y. : The Pan-American Exposition Company], 1901, p. 28.
15. John G. Milburn, "The Purposes of the Exposition," Art Handbook, p. 7.
16. Julian Hawthorne, "Some Novelties at the Buffalo Fair," The Cosmopolitan, v. 31, no. 5, (September, 1901) p. 485.
17. Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo May 1 to November 1, 1901. Its Purpose and Plan. p. 30; Joanna Wood refers to the style as "American Renaissance" in "My Personal View," The Criterion, May 19, 1901, p. 12. In "The Pan-American on Dedication Day," The American Monthly Review of Reviews, v. 23, no. 137 (June 1901), William Hotchkiss describes the architecture as "romantic and picturesque" using the term "Free Renaissance" to describe the buildings' bracketed eves, airy pinnacles, grilled windows, open loggias, square towers, fantastic pilasters and tile roofs. C.Y. Turner, Director of Color, wrote, “… the Spanish Renaissance was in the minds of most of [the Board of Architects] the most suitable style. At a later period, this was changed to Free Renaissance, which, of course, permitted the introduction of Italian, German and French Renaissance,” in “Organization as Applied to Art,” The Cosmopolitan, v.31 no.5 (September 1901) p.493; Also using this term is Kerry S. Grant, who offers detailed descriptions of the style and coloring of individual buildings in The Rainbow City: Celebrating Light, Color and Architecture at the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo, 1901. Buffalo, N. Y.: Canisius College Press, 2001. Finally, see Joann Thompson's dissertation, The Art and Architecture of the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo, New York, 1901, (Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey, 1980) where the terms used to describe the architecture at the Pan-American Exposition include"quasi Spanish style," "free-form Spanish-oriented structures" and "fantasy buildings of a freely interpreted Spanish style."
18. Carrère, p. 12.
19. Turner, p. 20.
20. The Pan-American Exposition and How to See It : A Complete Art Souvenir, ed. Mark Bennett, Buffalo, NY : Goff Company, 1901, [pp. 9-10.]
21. Ernest Knaufft. "Artistic Effects of the Pan-American Exposition." The American Monthly Review of Reviews, v.23, no.137 (June 1901) p. 689. In a lecture by Barbara Seals Nevergold and Peggy Brooks-Bertram, founders of the Uncrowned Queens Project, it was suggested that Turner's color scheme may have also been analogous to prevalent attitudes regarding race and the relationship of "white" America to its African- and Native-American populations as well as its "darker" and "subordinate" Central and South American neighbors. Darker, cruder colors (or skin) were viewed as savage, primitive and, as Knaufft states, "barbarian" whereas with progress, evolution and civilization, man grew to be represented by colors that were lighter, pastel-like and more subtle—in essence, "whiter." While there is no direct evidence to show that the use of color to convey this attitude was a conscious decision of Turner or the Exposition planners, the larger societal tendency to equate dark to "primitive" and light to "civilized," must not be discounted. From a lecture presented on"The Role and Representation of African Americans and Persons of Color in the Pan-American Exposition. Presented at the University Archives, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, July 12, 2001. More information on this topic may be found in the history section of the Uncrowned Queens web site, URL: http://wings.buffalo.edu/uncrownedqueens/files/history.htm .
22. Bennett, [p. 10.]
23. Thompson, p. 86.
24. Ibid., pp. 79, 85. Also see Grant, pp. 113-116 and Thomas Leary and Elisabeth Sholes, Buffalo's Pan-American Exposition, Charleston, SC : Arcadia Publishing, 1998, pp. 27-46. Katherine V. McHenry wrote in the June 1901 issue of Brush and Pencil, "Whatever be the popular verdict, whether the consensus of opinion be in favor of a monochrome scheme, such as was employed at Chicago in 1893, or of a varied, symbolic scheme, such as prevails in the Pan-American, it is to the credit of the promoters of this latter exposition that they had the hardihood to undertake what former exposition managers feared to attempt, and the ability to carry it out to a successful issue," (p.156).
25. Mary Bronson Harrt, "How to See the Pan-American Exposition," Everybody's Magazine, v.5, no.26 (October 1901.) The full text of Harrt's article is available on Sue Eck's "Doing the Pan..." web site at URL: http://panam1901.bfn.org/documents/howtosee.htm
26. Knaufft, p. 687.
27. Ellen Arnold, in a letter to her sister Hannah Allen of Putnam, Conn., September 12, 1901. Private collection. Courtesy of Brenda Battleson.

Return to top
Return to The Architecture