Indian Arts Building
(now House of Charm)
Indian Arts Building
(now House of Charm)
Cabrillo Bridge
Home Economy Building
Construction begins in Balboa Park
Bertram Goodhue designed the California Building. Carleton Winslow designed the Administration, Indian Arts, and Kansas Buildings; the Spanish-Renaissance style Science and Education Building; the Spanish-Plateresque style Home Economy Building; the hybrid Persian-functional style Botanical Building; the Mexican-Churrigueresque style Varied Industries and Food Products Building and Southern California Counties Building; the Baroque-style corner entrances to arcades.
Frank P. Allen, Jr. designed the Roman-aqueduct style Cabrillo Bridge. Work on the bridge commenced in September 1912. Allen used 7,700 cubic yards of concrete and 450 tons of steel to construct the bridge. It was held up by steel T-frames and reinforced concrete piers. The Cabrillo bridge was 40-ft. wide, 450 ft. long, and 120 ft. high at its highest point. It cost $225,154.89, which was $75,154 over Allen’s estimate of $150,000.00 and $52,154.89 over the lowest bid of $173,000.00 received for Goodhue’s bridge.
Brown and De Cew Construction Company of San Diego built the Fine Arts Building, on the south side of the California Quadrangle, after Goodhue’s designs. It cost the City of San Diego $104,243.95.
Allen’s original estimate for constructing the Botanical Building was $30,000.00. Final costs came to $53,386.23 or an overrun of $22,386.23.
After construction was under way, onlookers were allowed to enter the grounds and watch building progress on payment of a 25-cent admission.
All buildings were ready one month before the opening. Allen’s estimate for their erection had been $2,000,000. In November 1914, he reported his total outlay as $1,800,000. In addition, he estimated the value of his free services outside the Work Department at $350,000.
An audit of pre-Exposition operations, concluded by Palethorpe, McBride and Probert of Los Angeles, March 29, 1915, gave the total charges for construction of the Division of Works as $1,937,445.03.
Many more Groundbreaking Ceremonies postcards:
