, second
vice-president; Mr. Charles M. Rosenthal, executive commissioner; Mr.
Johann Peterka, commercial director; Mr. Adolph Taussig, commercial
representative and assistant commissioner.

One of the most interesting and, as far as the interior scheme of
decoration is concerned, the most artistic of the various foreign
buildings in the World's Fair grounds, was that of the Austrian Empire.
It was most prominently situated at the western end of Administration
avenue, immediately opposite the Administration Building of the World's
Fair. The garden at the west end of the pavilion, though small,
attracted a great deal of attention on account of its artistic beauty.
Morning-glory and other vines had been planted around the building, and
before the close of the fair had covered the walls and added much to the
beauty of the structure.

The Austrian Government Building was of impressionistic architecture. It
was 60 meters long, 35 meters wide, and built in the form of a T. From
the transepts a middle aisle, 24 meters broad, extended to the building
line. On either side of the aisle exits led to the loggias and to the
lawns. The pavilion was built of wood and all the rooms had skylights.
The style of architecture and decoration was modern, with a classical
toning. The exterior of the building was faced with a grayish,
yellow-colored gypsum, shaded with gold, dark blue, and light green. Two
groups of figures, above life size, adorned the main porch of the
central building. The imperial coat of arms, with a crown surrounded by
a large wreath, was raised above the center of the pavilion, and to the
right and left two sphinxes crowned the gables. The center building
(garden front) was finished with two enormous square pylons, with
festoons and masks and decorated with all the coats of arms of the
Austrian crown lands. Four stela-bearing gilded busts were symmetrically
placed along the front of the flower beds, in which monumental fountains
had been erected. The interior of the building was divided into fifteen
rooms. To the left and right of the entrance hall, which was adorned
with a marble bust of the Emperor, were the official apartments, one of
which was meant as a library and reading room and the other as a
reception room. Beyond the entrance hall was the technical exhibition of
the ministry of railways, which likewise occupied the room on the
left-hand side for an exhibition, "Sceneries and People of Austria." The
hall to