The Volcano of Kilauea cyclorama was part of the Midway Plaisance at the Columbian Exposition in 1893. Placed between the Ferris Wheel and the Chinese Theatre, the polygonal-shaped building was 140 feet in diameter by 60 feet high. Exterior signs advertised “Hawaii, Palace of Pele, Burning Lakes of Kilauea” and “Greatest Volcano on Earth in Action.” Other advertisements promised visitors a painted that depicted a crater “9 Miles Around. 1000 Feet Deep.” At the entrance to the attraction was a statue of “Pele Goddess of Fire.”
There are various legends that tell of how Pele came to live in the volcano of Kiluaea on the big island of Hawai’i. Many western versions describe the goddess as fiery-tempered, passionate and jealous. She is presented as a disobedient daughter, angry sister, or spurned lover. The story of Pele at the Columbian Exposition described her hurling fire-brands into the sea, aiming at a native prince who wronged her and was hiding in the ocean.
I share another story of Pele; one that I read on a text panel at a Lahaina visitor’s center museum in Maui. It is told that Pele journeyed across the ocean from a distant place called Kahiki. She traveled across with other members from her family. As with Pele, each embodied a force of nature. Pele employed her diving rod, Pa’oa, to survey each island’s capacity to provide her with a home. She dug up great craters and shaped each island into its present form with fire and lava. Pele ended her epic journey on Hawai’i, the largest and southernmost island of the Hawaiian Archipelago. There she still dwells in the fire pit of Kilauea.
Walter Burridge’s cyclorama for the Columbian Exposition was reported as 412 feet long and 54 feet high. It presented a view of Pele’s fiery palace from the center of the crater. The actual crater was a huge depression that measured about three miles by two miles. Halemaumau Crater at the summit of Kilauea Volcano is also referred to as the Navel of the World – Ka Piko o ka Honua. There, many believe that the gods began creation.
Visitors to this Midway attraction were positioned in the center of the crater and gazed around at “bubbling and seething pools and lakes of fire.” The “Handbook of the World’s Columbian Exposition” (Rand McNally & Co., 1893) describes the scene as “seething pools and lakes and fire; tall jagged crags; toppling masses of rocks; outpourings of lava – some flowing along in hissing, smoking streams, and some cooled in every fantastic shape imaginable.”
Sound effects accompanied the painted exhibit. Dull rumblings, distant thunder, and a sudden roar echoed throughout the display. The floor also moved to simulate the volcanic activity as the earth shook and labored near the crater. In addition to the sound and movement, pyrotechnic displays and colored lights added a reality to the setting. In the background of the cyclorama were the snowcapped peaks of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea at their lofty elevation of 15,000 feet high. Opposite was the vast expanse, was the Pacific ocean and moonlit waves.
Three-dimensional foregrounds were carefully blended into the two-dimensional paintings, making an almost imperceptible transition to provide a vast depth to the scenic illusion. Fragments of rocky outcrops transitioned into painted cliffs. Painted figures and scale “dummies” were placed throughout the landscape. A live actor added an additional element of realism to the scenic illusion; climbing the cliffs that rimmed the scene, he chanted an invocation to the volcano goddess Pele. The attraction successfully marketed Lorrin A. Thurston’s homeland and his recent acquisition of the Volcano House on the northeastern side of the crater.
To be continued…
