The fair visitor recognized the California Building at first glance,
as they came upon it, south of the Illinois Building and almost n the center
of the rounds, to the west of the roup of large exhibit palaces. It was
a replica of the old
Franciscan Mission of La Rabida, at Santa Barbara,
about 100 by 140 feet, it showed the arcaded cloisters that characterized
mission architecture. The features of the building were the assembly hall,
with it movable platform, and the exhibition hall. Above the assembly hall
was a room garden, with plants from California. Great beams and lamp chains
carried out the effect of old mission construction. Solid oak furniture
and fittings of native Californian woods embellished the interior, and there
were portraits of Californians and other paintings on the walls. Coolness
and comfort made the building a popular resort, and refreshments were freely
dispensed. California, the second state in the Union in size, at that time,
runts through many degrees of latitude, and her products and resources were
correspondingly varied. These were well displayed at the Fair, notably in
the Palace of Agriculture and the Palace
of Mines and Metallurgy, and here exhibit in the
Horticulture building was one of the best.
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