288 DAYSSan Francisco · 1915
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West Virginia Building

A colonial mansion with a Tuscan portico facing the Marina, famed for its nine-foot open fireplace.

West Virginia Building, postcard
West Virginia Building, postcardUnknown publisher, 1915, public domain

West Virginia's building, by H. Russell Warne of Charleston, recalled the old colonial mansions of the South. It was two stories among gardens, and from its Tuscan portico visitors had a grand view of the bay and mountains. The Official Guide singles out a nine-foot open fireplace in the reception room. A film theater showed 48 of the state's 55 counties.

Its commission was chaired by Col. Fred Paul Grosscup, with G. A. Bolden as resident secretary. The site had been dedicated November 29, 1912. On West Virginia Day, July 21, 1915, a sycamore was planted. Its ceremonial tree was one of 33 planted at State and foreign buildings during the fair and moved to Golden Gate Park early in 1916 as the Exposition Grove (Todd III, ch. LXXXVI).

At a glance

  • Appropriation $75,000.
  • Dedicated March 4, 1915.
  • Designed by H. Russell Warne of Charleston.
  • West Virginia Day, July 21, 1915.

Afterward

Not recorded; presumably auctioned and wrecked.

Sources