The Cascades
 | |
| Location | Main Picture |
|---|---|
| Construction | |
| Construction Cost | $220,000 ($6.64 million in 2021) |
The Grand Basin and Cascades were a focus point of the Main Picture. The cascades tumbled sixty feet from Festival Hall into the grand basin.
Description[edit | edit source]
The three Cascades were lined with an massive amount of sculptures from the the top of the hill to the basin. Along the edges of the Cascades, powerful vertical and horizontal jets of water shot from artistic sculptures and fell into the Cascade basin.
Pumps pushed 45,000 gallons of water a minute through man-made falls into the Grand Basin. The centerpiece of the Fair, the East and West Cascades represented the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and symbolized man’s control over nature. The Cascades were three in number, the largest of the three is the central Cascade. The water gushed forth from a fountain 24 feet above the level of the terrace, and spread out into a stream 45 feet wide and 14 inches deep, falling down the long slope of ledges or steps, spreading to a width of 150 feet as it took its final plunge into the Grand Basin.
At night, thousands of lights had been placed on the Hall's exterior and along the Cascades as a celebration of electricity and combining the classical artistry of beauty with modernization and invention.
