and that it did not require from twenty to thirty years to rebuild it.
The City was not only rebuilt in less than ten years, but, in addition
thereto, an International Exposition, surpassing all previous
Expositions, was built by its people.

San Francisco wisely selected for the location of this International
Exposition what seemed to many to be an impossible site, for it was
disorderly and uninteresting to look at. But the site was appropriately
situated on the shores of San Francisco Bay--beautiful in its
surroundings and most convenient alike to its citizens and visitors. It
consisted of a pond and a strip of waste land and marsh land, apparently
destined to remain unfilled and unorderly for years to come. The People
of Energy, Determination and Desire have also made this strip of waste
land permanently available.

The arrangement of this Exposition is distinctive because of its Court
Plan. Eight Palaces seemingly constitute a single structure, containing
five distinct courts or places for large public gatherings, which are
open to the sky.

This colossal group of buildings, consisting of the Palaces of
Education, Food Products, Agriculture, Liberal Arts, Manufactures,
Transportation, Mines, and Varied Industries, is terminated east and
west by Machinery Hall and the Palace of Fine Arts. To the south of this
group, and on the lateral axis of the two end courts, are the Palace of
Horticulture and Festival Hall. This group of eight buildings, with its
Tower of Jewels, and the separate buildings, Festival Hall, the Palace
of Horticulture, the Palace of Fine Arts and Machinery Hall, constitute
the main structures.