The largest scene of all is of Canada as it was and as it is. The foreground represents the North, when the Indian and the game had it to themselves. In the background the visitor looks for miles down a broad Canadian valley filled with wheat fields and pleasant farms. Canada's wild life is represented in the foreground by splendid stuffed specimens, from the bear and the moose and the musk-ox to the marten and the muskrat, and from the great gray honker to the hummingbird. On the right, in a forest scene, is a beaver pond with dam and house, where the real beavers splash in the water. On the left of the scene, where a cascade tumbles into it, is a pool of Canadian trout, maintained in the wonted chill of their native waters by an ice-making plant under the scenery. Canada hopes to draw wealthy sportsmen and vacationists, who will then see for themselves the opportunities for investment. Some of her largest enterprises have begun thus.
The Canadian Pavilion makes no provision for social functions, but it is
an attractive place, where everyone is welcomed. By common consent
Canada has made the most effective exhibit of its kind at the
Exposition.
Central America.—Guatemala, Honduras and Panama have each erected pavilions characteristic of Central American architecture. The Guatemalan Pavilion houses a display of the products of the forests, fields, and mines of the country, with coffee as its most notable exhibit. A native marimba band playing Guatemalan airs makes complete the Central American spirit of this pavilion. The Pavilion of Honduras, which might have been brought entire from Central America by a genie, contains a display of laces, woven hats, tropic ferns and flowers.
China.—The Imperial Audience Hall of the Forbidden City at Peking is reproduced in miniature in the three government buildings of the Chinese compound at the Exposition. The central pavilion is modeled after the great hall where for three centuries the Manchu emperors gave audiences. The two flanking structures, both alike, are copies of the buildings where court officials and the delegations awaited the coming of the Son of Heaven to the throne room. The pagoda and the tower at the left and right of the entrance are likewise copies of structures in the Forbidden City. All the buildings were constructed by native artisans, brought over from China for the purpose. The flag of the Republic floats from the tower, its colors from top to bottom standing in order for Manchuria, South China, Tibet, and Mongolia. The ancient dragon is absent, banished by the spirit of New China.
Within the three government pavilions are magnificent carvings, vases and lacquered furniture, old prints and paintings on silk. The priceless collection of the latter, shown here and in the Chinese section of the Fine Arts Palace, is the finest in the world, the property of a Chinese collector. Its pictures are a complete representation of Chinese painting for more than a thousand years. China is represented by exhibits in all the Exposition palaces, the most extensive participation by any foreign country.
Cuba.—The Cuban Pavilion, designed by Francisco Centurion, is a good example of Spanish-American architecture. It is distinguished by a square tower at one corner, a wide portico, roof of Spanish tile, and a central patio, designed for receptions. On the second floor is a great ballroom approached by a splendid stairway in the old Spanish style. Cuba's most striking exhibit at the Exposition is the display of tropical plants and flowers in the Palace of Horticulture.
Denmark.—Denmark, like the two other Scandinavian countries, has made her pavilion characteristic of her own national architecture. Though not in any sense a reproduction, the building finds its motive in Hamlet's Castle of Kronberg at Elsinore. The architect has softened the grimness and bulk of the ancient fortress into a pleasing building, that has the spirit of the gray land by the German Ocean, and the solid character of the Danes. The dim past appears in the great gravestones on the grounds, copies of monuments on ancient Danish barrows.
In the entrance is a tiled lobby, with the information bureau. Beyond is the "Garden Room," so styled because of its exquisite furnishings and abundance of cut flowers. To the left is a reception room, done in massive Danish decoration, with Danish woods and Danish furniture. A handsome cabinet of mahogany and hammered silver is its most striking piece. Other rooms also contain wonderful antique furniture. An assembly room with a raised dais, and mural decorations suggestive of Danish industry and commerce, is in the northeast corner. The building contains a number of paintings by Danish masters that are of great interest and value.
Funds for this pavilion were contributed by Danish residents of California. The Danish Government supplied the furnishings. No commercial displays are in the building.
France.—The Pavilion of France is a replica of the eighteenth-century home of the Prince de Salm, at Paris, now and for more than a century the Palace of the Legion of Honor. (p. 157.) The original building, in the soberer mode of the French Renaissance, was of Caen stone, the effect of which has been reproduced in the present construction. The erection of this pavilion marks a record in work of such magnitude. On the outbreak of the war, all thought of participating in the Exposition was dropped; but later the American ambassador, Mr. Herrick, succeeded in persuading the French Government to reconsider its decision. The plans were cabled from Paris, at a cost of $10,000, and the structure was completed in sixty days.