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Show Immortalizing Chicago's Midway The Midway transformed or tho metamorphosis of the freak avenue of World's Fair year into tho most artistic formal boulevard in tho wor'd Is a chango which a great many persons aro destined to sco, provided they wero democratic enough to visit vis-it tho plalsanco during Chicago's great exposition of 1893, and provided provid-ed also, that they llvo long enough to see Lorado Taffs plan for beautifying beauti-fying tho Midway carried to completion. comple-tion. Itnpld strides havo been mado in the work slnco tho plan received odlclal sanction two years ago. Dut it Is a plan so hugo that years jet will bo required to carry it out. At present the Midway Is a grass? strip a mllo in length and about 1000 feet wldo, connecting Washington Washing-ton and Jackson parks. It has always been tho intention of South Park authorities to extend tho depression of tho Mldwny from tho lagoons of Jackson Park to tho small lakes of Washington Park, thus forming n waterway from park to park. Mr Toft's plan presupposes this straight and formal canal which Is to occupy tho present depressions at a lower level than tho street. Tho Midway Plalsance was thus christened at tho time of tho World's Fair. On cither sido It was flanked by tho booths of the fakers. It was tho favorite promenado of slghtscors. It now adjoins tho campus of tho University of Chicago, and tho proposed pro-posed scheme wl'l he an npproprlato setting for this seat of learning, which possesses somo of tho most beautiful buildings in America The canal bisecting tho Midway will fill tho present central doprcs--tuT n will be about 100 feet wldo. Ii will bo spanned by tlfreo bridges of inonumcntai) design to bo dedicated dedicat-ed to tho thrco great ideals of tho race nnd to bo called Tho Bridge of Sciences, Tho Dridgo of Arts, and Tho nrldgo of Religions, an adaptation adapta-tion of tho Pont dos Arts in Paris. Along tho higher strip of land, some, dlstanco back of tho canal and on cither fcido wit stand tho statues ot tho world's greatest Idealists. Then' at the two ends of tho Midway will bo tho great fountains thnt of Tlmo being nt the west end and that of. Crentlon at tho east end. Tho Fountain of Tlmo, for tho west end was suggested to Mr. Taft by Austin Dobson'a lines: 'Tlmo goes, you say? Ah, no. Alas, tlmo stays; wo go." It will show tho human procession' passing in rcvlow beforo the great! Immovnblo figure of Tlmo. Father Timo will bo represented by n rug- god, cragllko figure, roviowlng a throng of hurrying peop'o; the long processional group will bIiow these peoplo indistinct, but all hurrying and crowding toward n goal thoy cannot see. A warrior on horseback, horse-back, flanked by banners and dancing danc-ing figures will form tho center of the composition which will fado olT at tho ends into creeping infnncy or tho bent nnd withered figures of ago. Tho procession will seem to rlso from a great Jet of water on ono side nnd sink from sight at tho other, oth-er, Tlmo mcanwhllo Btnndlng firm nnd immovable. Thero is a suggestion sugges-tion of Joyous onward movement in this procession and of tho splendor and pageantry which llfo has ach'ov-cd ach'ov-cd slnco that first day of creation; which tho other fountain Creation, planned for tho opposite end of tbo Midway will celebrate . Tho Fountain of Creation, win re-eclvo re-eclvo tho waters of tho canal at a point Just west of Jackson Park. It is founded on the myth of Deucalion. Deucalion, .tho Noah of Greek leg-endry, leg-endry, nnd his wife, Pyrrha, beln? tho only mortals saved by Zeus after the nine days flood, stepped out from their frail boat to tho top of Mount Parnassus and consulted- a convenient conveni-ent oracle as to tho best way of restoring re-storing tho human race. Tho goddess god-dess told them to cover their heads and throw tho bones of their mother behind them, nnd Pyrrha divined that these bones wero the stones of Mother Earth. Mr. Taft will show us tho moment when these stones, cast by tho titan's hand, arc changing chang-ing into men and women, rising out of tho clod and flood and fog into, life and light. Tho composition will begin be-gin with creatures half formed, vague, va-gue, prostrate blindly emerging from tho shapeless rock; continuing at a higher lovel with figures fully developed devel-oped and almost erect, but still groping grop-ing in darkness, struggling, wondering; wonder-ing; and will rqach its climax with a statuo group, ot tho summit, of beings be-ings comploto and glorious, saluting tho dawn. Popular Mechanics. |