Main Hall Union Station Washington
Architect Daniel Burnham, assisted by Pierce Anderson, used a number of techniques to convey this message: neoclassical elements combined the Roman architecture of the triumphal arch with the great vaulted spaces of Imperial Roman public baths, such as the Baths of Diocletian in Rome; prominent siting at the intersection of two of Pierre L'Enfant's avenues, with an orientation that faced the United States Capitol, just five blocks away; a massive scale, including a facade stretching more than 600' and a waiting room ceiling 96' above the floor; stone inscriptions and allegorical sculpture in the Beaux-Arts manner; expensive materials such as marble, gold leaf, and white granite from a previously unused quarry. Above the main cornice of the central block stand six colossal statues designed by Louis St. Gaudens titled "The Progress of Railroading" whose iconography expresses the confident enthusiasm of the American Renaissance movement: Fire, Electricity, Freedom, Imagination, Agriculture and Mechanics. The substitution of Agriculture for Commerce in a railroad station iconography vividly conveys the power of a specifically American lobbying bloc. Louis St. Gaudens also created the thirty-six centurions for the station's main hall.
Size: 6796px × 5184px
Location: 50 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Photo credit: © Nathan Hale / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., 1907, amtrak, buses, ceremonial, commuter, departures, entrance, grand, marc, metro, opened, railroads, served, shopping, station, subway, system, terminal, tickets, train, trains., transit, travel, union, vre, washington
