JAPANESE BUILDING. mined to be in time; long before the hour for the opening of the gates, the broad Belmont and Elm avenues were swarming with thousands of eager waiters, and many were upon George's and Belmont Hills and in every part of West Park, excepting only that part where they were all anxious to be; and still they came, more and more, in passenger horse-railway cars, in steamrailroad cars, in steamboats, in the Transfer Company's carriages, in private carriages, on horseback and afoot, until, for a mile or more in every direction, the entire space was literally covered by a vast, innumerable concourse of human beings. At last it is 9 o'clock, and the gates are opened, and the crowds pour into the Grounds as rapidly as they can pay their currency and click the turnstile. Soon, there are many thousands inside, and yet the number outside appears no less. But we must not dwell upon the preliminaries and concomitant incidents, nor need we give lists of the distinguished Americans and Foreigners congregated to open the Exhibition. Suffice it to say, that the President and his Cabinet, the ChiefJustice and Justices of the | United States Supreme Court, large majority of the memers of the United States Senate and of the House of Representatives, the Ministers Plenipotentiary, Secretaries of Legation, etc., of all the cour tries of the world, the heroes of our Army and Navy, and many other representative men of our own and other land, were present. The wives of many of our distinguished guests accompanied them. At about II o'clock the ceremonies commenced. The prelude by the orchestra of one hundred and fifty piece, was very fine, but it was not as effective as it deserved, because, being composed large'y of string instruments, the vo lume of sound was not suffcient for an out-of-door ceremony in the midst of so vast a concourse. The Centennial Inauguration March, by Richard Wagner, though played by the same orchestra, was better heard, in consequence of its opesing bars being played forte, thus securing a more quiet 8-11ence at its commencement. It was most favorably received, the multitude cheering with a will, and competent juges pronounce the March worthy of the occasion, and express SPANISH BUILDING. GRAND AMERICAN RESTAURANT. when it rang out in prolonged cheers. Mr. General Joseph R. Hawley, the Preside of the United States Centennial Commes sion, responded briefly: "The President of the United States Centennial Commis sion accepts the trust from the President of the Centennial Board of Finance, and ex presses the obligations of the Commiar for the great services rendered by the Board of Finance." Thomas's singers now sang a fine Cartata composed for the occasion, the wird by Sidney Lanier, of Georgia, and the music by Dudley Buck, of Connectical. The singers were supported by the orches tra and grand organ, and the effect was positively sublime; a most marvelously effective part was the singing of a base sala by Mr. Myron H. Whitney, of Bostonevery note was distinctly heard, even to the lowest with which the solo terminated, 20 which called forth such a burst of applause as probably the performer had never heard before. The chorus was resumed, but the people were not satisfied, and the applause was continued until, after bowing his ar knowledgments again and again, he con sented to repeat the part. General Joseph R. Hawley then made the presentation to the President of the United States, to which President Grant replied in an appropriate speech, which, as above promised, we shall give next month. The President closed with this sentence: "I declare the International Exhibition now open." At the conclusion of the President's re marks, which was at exactly 12 o'clock, a a given signal the American flag was run up on the staff at the highest peak of the Main Exhibition Building. At the conclusion of this ceremony, which was accompanied by a salute of artillery of one hundred guns on George's Hill, the assemblage commenced to disperse, some towards one building and some another, in Individual Enterprise. In no one respect is the Grand Exhibition more remarkable, however, than in the striking illustrations it affords of private enterprise upon the part of private citizens and firms. We see within the Grounds numerous imposing, beautiful, nay, palatial edifices erected by individuals or by bu siness firms, which are alike creditable to the respective projectors, architects and builders, and to the Great Exhibition itself. Among these, conspicuous are the extensive and marvelously attractive structure and grounds attached, designated the Grand American Restaurant. The buildings are among the handsomest within the enclosure, and are admirably designed for the purposes of a first-class dining establishment, with every convenience of a complete restaurant second to none in the world, while the grounds are laid out in the most beautiful and charming style, with garden, superb fountain, terraces, and an elegant and substantial iron bridge connecting them with the incomparably beautiful grounds of the Horticultural Department of the Exhibition; the effect is to convey the impression of one VIEW OF THE ATLAS HOTEL, WITH MACHINERY HALL, THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD DEPOT, ETC. Showing the vast extent of the Hotel and the convenience of its location. vast palace-garden-the Re The grand Newspaper Exh bition of Messrs. Rowell & Co. under the special favor of the United States Centennial Con mission, has proved one of the most marked successes of the Exhibition-indeed, no one acquainted with the enterprise, skill, ability, resources and is cilities of the house could have doubted that the exhibition managed by them must neces sarily be successful. Their building is neat, and adapted to its important purposes in every particular. The mammoth Exhalation Hall and Printing Establishment of the Campbell Printing Press and Manufacturing Company is one of the features of the Centennial Exposition. Its site is one of the finest, and the building one of the largest, if not the largest, and best planned of all the buildings erected by private enterprise The Company is too well known to require even the remark |