Home -> Paul Elder - > The Architecture and Landscape Gardening of the Exposition -> Court of Flowers - The Friendly Lion at the Portal | |||
Court of Flowers
The Friendly Lion at the Portal |
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With all its loveliness of detail and witchery of color, the prevailing charm of the Court of Flowers, true to its name, lies in the effective planting of flowers and shrubs. The main path through the Court is bordered on either side by spreading lophantha trees, trimmed four feet from the ground and branching to a diameter of five feet in delicate, lacy foliage. Masses of flowers in the pervading luxuriant color-tone carpet the whole court with gold, while banks of green fill the corners and outline the borders. The six "Friendly Lions" with their conventionalized garlands, by Albert Laessle of Philadelphia, guard the three entrances, one on either side. "Beauty and the Beast," the central fountain which dominates the Court, is by Edgar Walters of San Francisco. The basin is upheld by four alternating fauns and satyrs and about the base of the fountain is a procession of beasts in low relief. The statue of "The Pioneer" by Solon Borglum, which stands at the entrance of the Court, while it bears no relation to the symbolism of the Court itself, is a companion to "The End of the Trail" which occupies the same position before the Court of Palms. | |||