renewal and hope to San Francisco. As part of his economic strategy for the city’s recovery, he pushed to have the new building completed in time for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. In 1912 he selected Arthur Brown, Jr. of Bakewell & Brown as the principal architect for the project. Like many architects of his era, Brown studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, one of the most influential art schools specializing in classical architecture, painting, sculpture, and decorative arts. This training would greatly influence many of his future civic designs. Brown was also deeply influenced by the City Beautiful movement. The City Beautiful movement, which emerged during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, advocated for the use of classical architectural elements in urban planning and design. Incorporating the aesthetics of classical architecture would not only provide grandeur, beauty, and order to urban design, it would also position America as rightful inheritors of Greco- Roman culture. Both the World Columbian Exhibition in Chicago in 1983 and San Francisco’s Panama- Pacific International Exposition in 1915 were important events for promoting these ideas. However, while elevating the importance of
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