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)
At a glance
- Cost: $304,263 (Official Guide; Condensed Facts); Todd says about $300,000.
- General contractor: Lange & Bergstrom (Todd vol. 2).
- Declared ready for installation of exhibits May 15, 1914, with Machinery, Manufactures and Food Products (Todd vol. 2).
- The Official Guide credits Mahonri Young with relief panels on the south facade; Todd places Young's 'Useful Arts' panels over the main south portals of Varied Industries and Liberal Arts.
- Tall eucalypti that were already growing on the site lined its Administration Avenue front (Todd vol. 2, ch. LXII).
- Barry's 1915 handbook describes the central west portal as Spanish Renaissance with twisted Byzantine columns, topped by a globe symbolizing universal education.
Afterward
Emptied of exhibits by March 1916 and wrecked by the exposition's own forces from spring 1916 (Todd vol. 5). The site is now residential Marina District.
Where it stood
Palace of Education and Social Economy stood at about 37.80209 N, 122.44607 W on today's map. The whole fairground over the city →
Sources
- Official Guide of the PPIE (1915), The Palace of Education; sculpture list
- Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. 4, chs. VI–X (Education and Social Economy)
- Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. 2, chs. IV–V, LXI
- Condensed Facts concerning the PPIE (1915), Area and cost table
- Barry, The City of Domes (1915), Features that Ought to be Noted by Day