Education and Social Economy anchored the southwest corner of the eight-palace block. Its showpiece was on the west wall, facing the Avenue of Administration and the lagoon: the Half Dome of Philosophy, a 113-ft coffered apse that served as the main entrance. Its radial coffers were painted in the exposition's colors, and Weinert's Maiden with a Scroll stood eight times in its niches. Its twin, the Half Dome of Physical Vigor, opened in the Palace of Food Products to the north.
The building housed two departments: Education, and Social Economy, which covered the study and improvement of social conditions, from public health and labor to charities, housing and municipal government. The departments were too big for it, and part of Social Economy spilled over into the Palace of Mines. The Guide notes that duplication among states was avoided: New York showed centralized control, Wisconsin its teaching films, California its University Extension, Oregon its rural schools. The federal Children's Bureau and Department of Labor had the southeast corner. Argentina, China, Cuba, France and Japan had national displays.
Education was built early. Once the Machinery Palace was under way at the east end, the builders made "a second start at the other end and work eastwardly toward the center," and the palace was one of the first four declared ready for exhibits, on May 15, 1914. Todd noted one humane detail: the booth floors were level with the aisles instead of four or five inches higher, which made the exhibits easier to reach and "reduced the risk of Potts's fractures."
Its main entrance is from the west, through the great Half Dome of Philosophy, which is 113 feet in height.
Official Guide of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915)
