鍍金時代：一九一五年巴拿馬太平洋國際博覽會
 

鍍金時代是一個巨大的財富，奢侈，和腐敗的時期。南北戰(zhàn)爭的后果就是孕育了“浪費(fèi)，揮霍，投機(jī)和移植”（貝利513）。存在著不法股市的操控，有太多的法官和立法者將他們的權(quán)利出租（貝利14）。今年是十九世紀(jì)的最后一個季度，由于技術(shù)的發(fā)展被稱作發(fā)明的時代，這種大規(guī)模的生產(chǎn)也導(dǎo)致了經(jīng)濟(jì)以驚人的速度增長。在鍍金時代的峰值迎來了博覽會，一九一五年巴拿馬太平洋國際博覽會的奢侈也顯示了鍍金時代給美國人民生活帶來的巨大影響。
 

博覽會開始的時間段表現(xiàn)出來奢侈的常態(tài)，為了向巴拿馬運(yùn)河表示敬意，舊金山于1915年至1916年舉辦了世界博覽會。并花了大量的資金為展會做準(zhǔn)備，在一九一零年的群眾大會，由參與者向博覽會進(jìn)行了四百萬美元的認(rèn)捐（切尼和易塞爾167）。

 

The Gilded Age: Panama Pacific International Exposition of 1915 

 

The Gilded Age was a time of great wealth, extravagance, and corruption. The Civil War and its aftermath bred "waste, extravagance, speculation, and graft." (Bailey 513) There were unscrupulous stock-market manipulators, and too many judges and legislators put their power up for hire (Bailey 14).  This last quarter of the 19th century is often called the age of invention because of the technological advances made. This led to mass production, which caused the economy to grow at a tremendous rate . The Exposition came at the peak of the Gilded Age, and the extravagance of the Panama Pacific International Exposition of 1915 showed the tremendous effects of the Gilded Age in the lives of the American people. 

 

The beginning of the Exposition exhibited the normality of extravagance of the time period. San Francisco hosted the Exposition in 1915-1916 in honor of the completion of the Panama Canal (Rydell 230), and large amounts of money were spent on preparations for the Exposition. At a mass meeting in 1910, "four million dollars were pledged by the participants towards the Exposition." (Cherney and Issel 167). Two more mass meetings and door-to-door solicitation brought the total amount to over six million dollars, andproduced a resolution from the city to endorse five million dollars (Cherney and Issel 167). The buildings and exhibitions of the Exposition cost an enormous amount of money and space. "A city hall, a library, an opera house, an auditorium, and a state house were built for the Exposition." (Cherney and Issel 171). Fifty million dollars were spent on the construction of the different buildings, and fifty million more in the exhibitions (Panama-Pacific International Exposition: San Francisco, 1915). The palaces spanned over six hundred and twenty-five acres, with sixty-five acres of amusement concessions (Panama-Pacific International Exposition: San Francisco, 1915). On the opening day of the Exposition, everyone was invited to walk down Van Ness Avenue to the Exposition grounds, led by the mayor (Cherney and Issel 169). The Catholic bishop, a leading rabbi, and the Episcopalian bishop all offered prayer, and Governor Johnson, Mayor Wolf, and various other people made short speeches (Cherney and Issel 169). President Woodrow Wilson in Washington used a wireless to activate the machinery of the Exposition grounds, and the Exposition officially opened (Cherney and Issel 169). #p#分頁標(biāo)題#e#

 

The invitations and actions to the other nations revealed the excessiveness of the Exposition. President Taft issued the written invitations to the different nations on February 2, 1912 (Rydell 230), and a Commission was formed to visit the European capitals to give a personal touch to the invitation and the Exposition (Todd I 216). The Commission visited Berlin, St. Petersburg, Vienna, Budapest, Rome, Paris, Brussels, Lisbon, Madrid, Berne, Stockholm, Christiana, Copenhagen, and the Hague (Todd I 218), a total of 25,000 miles in three months (Todd I 216). It attended forty-five official banquets (Todd I 216), and everywhere the Commission went it was welcomed and entertained (Todd I 217). It presented to each ruler a bound portfolio of sketches, and an album of photographs of San Francisco (Todd I 217). The Commission addressed itself "to the importance of the Panama Canal, to the desire of the United States to celebrate its completion with all the nations, and to the demonstration of the progress of civilization each country had made in the last decade." (Todd I 218). The Commission also gave explanations and assurances to each country, such as the minimal fire hazards, the financial basis of the Exposition, and the protection of copyright (Todd I 219). The Commission avoided future problems with countries; for example, the Commission assured Sweden full copyright protection, therefore confirming Sweden's commitment to the Exposition. This Commission was a frivolity characteristic of the Exposition, as a group of people actually traveled around the world to gather support for the Exposition. 

 

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). #p#分頁標(biāo)題#e#

 

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). 

 

The Court of Abundance was the second largest court, and it portrayed the intricacy of the Exposition with its towers and fountains. The Court itself was "festive and elegant, almost too rich." (Todd 2 290). It was one of the most popular parts, and bands played there daily (Todd 2 292). At one end was the Altar Tower, which stood 219 feet tall (Todd 2 290). Successive altars in the Tower showed the history of man from the "primitive savage to the modern spirit." (Todd 2 290). The two columns on the sides of the Altar Tower symbolized Earth and Air, and eight paintings exhibited the elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water (Todd 2 290). The Fire painting held a Greek warrior defending himself from the "fiery breath of a vicious reptile", and the Water art had Father Neptune blowing out air, accompanied by dolphins (Nevhavs 34). At the center of the Court of Abundance stood the Fountain of the Earth (Todd 2 291). A half-emerged globe sat in the center of the fountain, circled by statues of monsters, reptiles, and men (Todd 2 291). The pedestal above it had ten figures on it, suggesting the "dawn of life, and the fullness and end of existence." (Todd 2 291). Just below the pedestal was a figure of a drowning man, which represented Destiny giving life and taking it away interchangeably (Todd 2 291). At night, the illumination gave the court "a witch-like beauty", and it became "a savage place, as holy and enchanted as e'er beneath a waning moon was haunted, by woman wailing for her demon lover." (Todd 2 292). #p#分頁標(biāo)題#e#

 

The Tower of Jewels was one of the most prominent, fancy, and loved parts of the Exposition, with its glittering jewels and structure. The Tower of Jewels was the most distinctive memory of the Exposition (Panama-Pacific International Exposition: San Francisco, 1915). It stood 435 feet high, and was surrounded by heroic structures (Todd 2 305). The Tower's lofty arch and suggestion of hidden things behind it encouraged a spirit of investigation (Nevhavs 32). Every design and object sparkled and shone from the ruby, emerald, sapphire, and aqua marine jewels (Todd 2 305), and great eagles perched on the top, which symbolized power and dominion (Todd 2 305). Two winged colonnades jutted east and west from the Tower's base (Todd 2 305). Each held a small court and a fine mural fountain (Todd 2 305), and "One is suddenly attracted by pleasing sounds of fountains when entering the Tower." (Nevhavs 32). Small spaces on these courts held inscriptions, which formed the history of Panama, the canal, and California (Todd 2 305). 

 

The Palace of Fine Arts was another lasting memory and example of lavish decoration of the Exposition, with its intricate murals and designs. "When entering, one has the feeling that this great temple is a realized dream; that it was imagined irrespective of time, cost, or demand." (Nevhavs 17). The theme is of a Roman ruin, and is Greek in decorative treatment (Palace of Fine Arts History). It held an exhibition hall to house the work of living artists, a colonnade, and a rotunda (Palace of Fine Arts History). "One forgets the proximity of everyday things when entering the colonnade" (Rydell 17), as one is immediately in a religious atmosphere, with a "delicate shrine of worship" right beneath the dome (Rydell 17). The spiritual quality puts the visitors into "the proper frame of mind for the enjoyment of the art in the building." (Rydell 17). There were two main murals in the Palace of Fine Arts; one of the birth of European art, with the sacred fire being stolen by an earthly messenger, and the birth of Oriental art, with the "forces of earth wresting inspiration from the air." (Nevhavs 58). By the closing of the Exposition, a movement to preserve the palace was already underway (Palace of Fine Arts History), and it still stands in San Francisco today. 

 

Not everything was as neat and beautiful as the courts and the buildings; as characteristic of the Gilded Age, the present laws weren't of great importance to the management of the Exposition. "Had all the laws been what they were the Exposition would've been impossible." (Todd 1 263). In the beginning, the board of developers tried to keep corruption out and the laws the same; most people were hired on merit, not "pull", and experts wereobtained throughout the country for the construction of the Exposition (Cherney and Issel 169). But those standards soon deteriorated. First, the management had to ask the Federal Government to protect patents and copyrights of foreign exhibitors, or they wouldn't come (Todd 1 263). A special dispensation from the immigration and contract labor laws was needed to allow foreign workmen to complete their country's exhibit (Todd 1 263). The Alien Land Bill was "forgotten", as it was offensive to the Japanese government (Todd 1 269). The California Constitution had to be amended for six different items, regarding new commissions to watch over the Exposition, #p#分頁標(biāo)題#e#

money, and possession of private and public property (Todd 1 268). Taxes were levied to enable participants to make adequate displays of their products and resources (Todd 1 270). A law department was formed to draft laws and ordinances, with three attorneys, a clerk, and three stenographers. California representative Julius Kahn introduced new bills in the House of Representatives and saw them through, and his standing in Washington helped secure a lot of beneficial legislation. The Gilded Age was known for its massive corruption and disregard of laws, and the Exposition followed true to suit with its own large discounting of laws. 

 

The Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915 shows the tremendous effects of the Gilded Age in the lives of the American people, as seen through the extravagance of the courts, Towers, Palaces, official invitations, and the lack of respect for laws. The legacy of the Exposition has never ended; many of its mission revival buildings have been designed as permanent halls alongside Balboa Park, and the Palace of Fine Arts still stands today (Rydell 232). The Exposition will always be in the hearts and minds of the people of San Francisco as a legend passed down through generations, and it will always be a constant reminder to us of the Gilded Age.