0 n March 12th we arrived at the real goal of our American journey, Chicago, staying as Mr BENDIX's guests in the POTTER PALMER House, that then belonged to him. Now commenced the unpacking of the lamaist collections from China that MONTELL had procured, and that were to constitute the fittings and furnishings of the temple-copy. They caused a justified sensation, with their beauty, magnificence and extraordinarily solid quality. For the time being they were arranged as an exhibition in the spacious art gallery of the house, where they were admired by Mr BENDIX'S many guests and by specially invited experts. The success of this exhibition was incontestable, and it proved the decisive factor in a very important matter: the fate of the temple itself. True, the temple had arrived from China, but no-one was prepared to pay for its erection.
MOUNTING OF THE TEMPLE
The Golden Pavilion in Chicago was made in China. Only the stone terraces, the roof-covering, some beams, and the columns are American material. The transportation of these heavy items was deemed a needless expenditure. All sculpture and paintings, as for instance the ceiling, friezes, brackets, windows and doors etc., were finished by experienced artists and carpenters in Peking. The material for the temple, more than 28,000 pieces in all, was packed in 173 crates and cases and shipped to Chicago in the spring of 1931.
The original plan had been that Mr BENDIX should erect the temple in Lincoln Park. When I came to Chicago, however, a new project was brought up, i. e. to exhibit the temple at the World's Fair »A Century of Progress ». By special agreement between Mr BENDIX and the officials of the Exposition it was decided, after a month and a half spent on negotiations, that the temple should be erected on the Fair grounds, at the expense of the administration, reverting after the closing of the Fair to Mr BENDIX, or rather, the Archaeological Trust of Chicago.
IIIF Color HighRes
