Monuments: Union Station (Part 2 of 3)

Our tour of Union Station continues.

The Great Hall (Main Waiting Room)

The Great Hall serves as the main waiting room and was modeled after the ancient Baths of Diocletian with a large open expanse and high barrel vaulted ceiling.  The waiting room is very large; it measures 96 feet high, 220 feet long and 120 feet wide.  

Union Station:  The Great Hall in 1915

Union Station:  The Great Hall in 2018 

Panorama of the Great Hall

Around the room, along the top of the wall, 36 Roman centurions stand guard.  The statues (one is pictured below) were designed by Louis Saint-Gaudens.  "Originally these statues were designed to be nude, but shields and clothing were added to the final design." 

The clock in the Main Waiting Room, flanked by two of the centurions.  (Note that four o'clock is marked "IIII" instead of "IV".  

The East Hall

Next to the waiting room is a smaller room, the East Hall.  Originally, the East Hall was a public dining room that was decorated in the style of the 1st Century A.D. Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. 

Union Station:  The East Hall

Union Station:  Wall decoration in the East Hall

The Main Concourse

Next to the Great Hall is the Main Concourse, a large open space where train passengers originally walked to and from their trains.  The concourse was reputed to be one of the largest rooms when constructed, measuring 760 feet long. 

Union Station:  The Main Concourse in 1915

Today, the Main Concourse is a large shopping mall with ticket kiosks.

Union Station:  The Main Concourse in 2018.  A second floor was added for additional retail space. 

Our tour of Union Station is almost finished.  

Next Up:  Federal Express.

Monuments: Union Station (Part 1 of 3)

Union Station, the main railway station in Washington, D.C., opened in 1907.

The station was named Union Station because it replaced two existing stations near the Mall, uniting them into one enormous station. The architect was Daniel Burnham, who also designed the monumental post office next door.  Burnham once said, “Make no little plans.  They have no magic to stir men’s blood . . .”  Union Station was designed with that mantra in mind.  "Once the largest train station in the world, Union Station was originally commissioned by Teddy Roosevelt as part of a large-scale urban redevelopment project in 1903.  The building was meant to be a 'great vestibule to the city of Washington'."

The building is one of the largest granite buildings in the world and was built by stone masons from Italy. 

The architectural style is Beaux-Arts with a strong neoclassical theme.  Some of the classical elements are the Arch of Constantine (in the center of the facade photo above) and the Baths of Diocletian emulated in the expansive vaulted waiting room (photos in Part 2).  

We searched unsuccessfully for a free guided walking tour.  Thanks to our friends at FreeToursByFoot.com, we managed to find an on-line itinerary for a self-guided tour.  So, let's take the tour together.  

The Columbus Fountain

In front of Union Station is a very large traffic circle, which happens to be called Columbus Circle (not to be confused with its twin in NYC).  In the center of the circle sits a monumental fountain, the Columbus Fountain (pictured below).  The fountain was designed by American sculptor Lorado Taft in 1912.  The three "flag poles located in the circle (between the fountain and station) represent the three ships of Columbus’ fleet; the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria."

The "Columbus Fountain symbolizes the spirit of exploration during Columbus’s epochal 1492 expedition to the New World.  Christopher Columbus sits at the center on a ship’s prow, with a globe of the Western World atop a pedestal behind him. The crouched figure on the north [right] side of the statue represents the Old World, while the Native American figure on the south [left] side represents the New World."

The Freedom Bell

Behind the fountain sits the Freedom Bell (pictured below).  If the bell looks familiar, there is a good reason why it does.  "This large cast iron bell was presented by the American Legion to Congress in celebration of the 1976 bicentennial of United States Independence. The Freedom Bell is a scale replica of the Liberty Bell."  "The Freedom Bell was cast by the Whitechapel Foundry in Great Britain, the same foundry that cast the original Liberty Bell in 1752."

The Façade of Union Station

The entrance to Union Station is through the three large arches that resemble the ancient Arch of Constantine located next to the Colosseum in Rome.  .

Above the arches is The Progress of Railroading, a collection of six granite sculptures.  The sculptures by American sculptor Louis Saint-Gaudens are 18 feet tall and depict Greek figures representing the invention and triumph of the railroad industry.  

The Greek figures, modeled on sculptures on the Arch of Constantine, are (left to right):

• Prometheus with a torch, a Greek god known for giving fire to humanity 
• Thales, the Greek philosopher believed to be the first to study electricity
• Themis, the goddess of law and justice
• Apollo, the god of imagination and inspiration
• Ceres, the goddess of agriculture
• Archimedes, the Greek engineer and inventor known for mechanics

Let's walk through the arch and tour the interior.  

Next Up:  Inside Union Station.

Museums: National Postal Museum #2

Washington, D.C. has gone crazy for the musical Hamilton.  The Broadway blockbuster play has arrived for a three month run at the Kennedy Center.  Ticket prices are very high for D.C.  Nevertheless, the run is nearly sold out.

In connection with Hamilton's arrival, the National Postal Museum is capitalizing on Hamilton-mania by hosting an exhibit about Alexander Hamilton.

The exhibit features some Hamilton artifacts, including some letters from Alexander Hamilton and a copy of a 1794 bust of Hamilton (at age 39).  

The centerpiece of the exhibit are two dueling pistols.  The pistols are believed to be the ones used by Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton in their 1804 duel.  The story of the duel is recounted below.

 

If Burr had been honorable like Hamilton and intentionally wasted his shot, perhaps U.S. history would have been different and perhaps the Kennedy Center would hosting the Broadway hit musical Burr.

Monuments: U.S. Capitol Building (Part 2 of 2)

Our behind-the-scenes tour of the U.S. Capitol Building continues.

The very best part of the tour was visiting the private Speaker's Balcony on the West Front of the Capitol.  The Speaker of the House has a large suite of offices that includes a large balcony with a great view of Washington.  Check out the view.

  

Random hottie and dude pose on the Speaker's Balcony

Our guide pointed out another cool thing in the Capitol Visitor's Center, a statue of astronautJack Swigert from Apollo who was later elected to Congress from Colorado.  The statue is cool because it is painted and because of the reflection in the helmet's gold visor. 

The statue is positioned under a sky light through which you can see the dome of the Capitol.  

The gold visor reflects the image of the dome. 

The grounds around the Capitol are lovely, with flowers and mature trees everywhere.  Here are a couple of lovely scenes.

Thanks for visiting the U.S. Capitol Building with us.  

Monuments: U.S. Capitol Building (Part 1 of 2)

We've been enjoying touring the many sights in D.C.  Susan especially loves behind-the-scenes tours.

So, when Susan had the chance to tour the U.S. Capitol with a Senate staff member, she seized the opportunity.  The chance arose when Susan told an Orlando friend that we were living in D.C.  The friend has a nephew who serves as a legislative assistant to a Senator.  Before we knew it, we were enjoying a behind-the-scenes tour of the U.S. Capitol with that nephew.

Our guide was extremely knowledgeable, since he had given similar tours many times in the past to relatives and friends.  The tour included the usual things on the public tour and also some not-so-public sights.   

We visited the soaring rotunda of the Capitol.  Around the base of the dome is a frieze painted in white and dark brown.  The frieze is 8' tall and 300' long and depicts scenes from American history.  What makes the frieze so remarkable is that it appears to be a three-dimensional relief, even though it is a flat painting.  You can see for your self below.  

Frieze of American History around the base of the Capitol dome:  The Burial of DeSoto by Constantino Brumidi.

Frieze of American History around the base of the Capitol dome:  Captain Smith and Pocahantas by Constantin Brumidi

In the rotunda are scenes and persons from American history depicted in paintings, statues and other sculptures.  One sculpture (pictured below) caught Greg's attention.   

Conflict of Daniel Boone and the Indians, 1773, by Enrico Causici (1826–1827)

The rotunda has many statues including the one below.  What makes this statue interesting is the base, which includes a piece of the Berlin Wall.  

The thin black and white horizontal layer is a piece of the Berlin Wall. 

While walking through a back hallway, we spotted a masterpiece by Albert Bierstadt.  

Discovery of the Hudson River by Albert Bierstadt (1874)

Around a corner, we discovered the former entrance to the West Front of the Capitol, a large pair of bronze doors.  The doors reminded us Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise in Florence and Rodin's Gates of Hell.  

A close up of one panel:  Iron and Electricity

Some random hottie with expert guide Brandon

Around another corner, we ran into a former U.S. president.

On the floor below the rotunda is a large circular room.  The center of the room is marked with a white marble compass.  The compass is the very center of the original District of Columbia, as envisioned and mapped by engineer Pierre L'Enfant in 1791.  The compass denotes the four directions and the four quardrants of the city.

  

We visited the old Senate chamber.  

Susan especially enjoyed visiting the old Supreme Court chamber, since she is a self-described law nerd.    

A bust of Chief Justice John Marhsall

Even a chief justice needs a place to hang a robe when not wearing it

Our guide pointed out many interesting sights, including the paw prints in the concrete floor pictured below. 

Apparently, when the concrete was poured in the early 1800's, the presence of many cats in the Capitol was tolerated.  So, paw prints were an unavoidable occurrence.  The cats were tolerated because they controlled the rat and mice population.

Next Up:  The best part of the tour.