Washington, D. C. - Union Station - ARCHITECTURE

Description: Washington, D. C. - Union Station - ARCHITECTURE - Trolleys: Union Station is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Visited by 32 million people a year, Union Station is one of the busiest train stations in the country and is served by Amtrak, MARC and VRE commuter rail services, the Washington Metro, and buses. It is also the headquarters for Amtrak. The station opened in 1907 and at its height during World War II some 200,000 people passed through it every day; in 1988 a new headhouse wing was constructed to the north and the original station renovated for use as a shopping mall. Before Union Station opened, each of the major railroads operated their own stations: Baltimore and Ohio Railroad trains arrived and departed from the New Jersey Avenue Station, while the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad (a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad) operated from its own station at 6th and B Street, NW—the current location of the National Gallery of Art. Architect Daniel H. Burnham, assisted by Pierce Anderson, was inspired by a number of different architectural styles. Classical elements included the Arch of Constantine (exterior, main façade) and the great vaulted spaces of the Baths of Diocletian (interior); 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 façade stretching more than 600 feet and a waiting room ceiling 96 feet above the floor; stone inscriptions and allegorical sculpture in the Beaux-Arts style; expensive materials such as marble, gold leaf, and white granite from a previously unused quarry. In the Attic block, above the main cornice of the central block, stand six colossal statues (modeled on the Dacian prisoners of the Arch of Constantine) created by Louis St. Gaudens. These are entitled "The Progress of Railroading" and their iconography expresses the confident enthusiasm of the American Renaissance movement: Prometheus (for Fire), Thales (for Electricity), Themis (for Freedom and Justice), Apollo (for Imagination and Inspiration), Ceres (for Agriculture) and Archimedes (for Mechanics). The substitution of Agriculture for Commerce in a railroad station iconography vividly conveys the power of a specifically American lobbying bloc. St. Gaudens also created the 26 centurions for the station's main hall. Burnham drew upon a tradition, launched with the 1837 Euston railway station in London, of treating the entrance to a major terminal as a triumphal arch. He linked the monumental end pavilions with long arcades enclosing loggias in a long series of bays that were vaulted with the lightweight fireproof Guastavino tiles favored by American Beaux-Arts architects. The final aspect owed much to the Court of Heroes at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, where Burnham had been coordinating architect. The setting of Union Station’s façade at the focus of converging avenues in a park-like green setting is one of the few executed achievements of the City Beautiful movement: elite city planning that was based on the "goosefoot" (patte d'oie) of formal garden plans made by Baroque designers such as André Le Nôtre. The station held a full range of dining rooms and other services, including barber shops and a mortuary. Union Station was equipped with a presidential suite which is now occupied by a restaurant. This Divided Back Era (1907-15) postcard is in good condition but shows some edge wear. B. S. Reynolds Co. Washington, D. C.

Price: 8.5 USD

Location: Brooklyn, New York

End Time: 2024-11-28T04:17:45.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD