Existing comment:
Ready-Mixed Grandeur:
All of the Exposition main places were finished and ornamented by a special material called "staff," a mixture of lime plaster and cement, containing glycerin and dextrose. Workers added shredded Manila hemp fiber, the main ingredient in rope, to form a pliable bond. Poured into molds to mass-produce sculptural effects, when hardened the staff material could be sawed, hammered, cut, and even whittled like wood to produce unique artistic designs for the building facades.
The firms of Smith & Eastman, along with James Alexander, produced the staff on site in two workshops located near railroad tracks paralleling Lindell Boulevard. The company Barth & Stock was responsible for making all of the molds. These surviving staff fragments recall the shape and ornamental beauty of the fairgrounds. |