The Wasp — 1893 — page 146: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page satirizes rejected architectural designs submitted for San Francisco's Midwinter Fair. The top panels mock specific architects' proposals: Frank Lloyd Wright's design using a giant redwood, Fakir's haystack concept, and Coynell's Eiffel Tower replica. The central panel shows the eventual "business managers' design"—a crowded, chaotic structure labeled with various exhibits (Russian, Turkish, French pavilions) and commercial ventures, suggesting organizers prioritized profit over aesthetic merit. The bottom panels feature satirical individual designs: Gould's "Cheerfully" concept (depicting comically exaggerated figures) and what appears to be a family building proposal. The satire criticizes both failed architectural ambition and the compromise of artistic vision for commercial interests at the fair.