On the main entrance facade of Union Station, six granite statues, each 18 feet tall, are placed atop columns that decorate the three archways composing the building's main pavilion. The figures are paired to represent overarching concepts related to rail transportation: the western pair represents the major elemental forces that operate the railways; the eastern pair represents the industries most aided by rail transportation; and the central pair symbolizes the more abstract concepts that allowed the creation of rail travel.[2] Moving from west to east, these six figures and what they represent are:
- Prometheus – Fire
- The Titaness[a] is shown wearing a flaming headdress and holding a large torch in her arms.
- Thales – Electricity
- The philosopher wears a crown of lightning, while holding a bundle of lightning bolts in his left hand and a lump of coal in his right.
- Themis – Freedom
- The goddess is wearing a Phrygian cap and holding a sword in her left hand, with a bundle of olive branches in her right arm.
- Apollo – Imagination
- The god wears a crown of laurels, holding an open scroll in his left arm and a pen in his right hand.
- Ceres – Agriculture
- The goddess, wearing a diadem of intertwined wheat stalks, holds a bundle of wheat in her left arm and a sickle in her right hand.
- Archimedes – Mechanics
- The engineer's left hand is resting on a sledgehammer, while he holds a large compass in his right.
Each of these statues correlates to a segment of the three inscriptions at the top of each archway, each concluding with an additional statement tying together the three pairs.[1]
The western archway is inscribed:
- FIRE – GREATEST OF DISCOVERIES
- ENABLING MAN TO LIVE IN VARIOUS CLIMATES
- USE MANY FOODS – AND COMPEL THE
- FORCES OF NATURE TO DO HIS WORK
- ELECTRICITY – CARRIER OF LIGHT AND POWER
- DEVOURER OF TIME AND SPACE – BEARER
- OF HUMAN SPEECH OVER LAND AND SEA
- GREATEST SERVANT OF MAN – ITSELF UNKNOWN
- THOU HAST PUT ALL THINGS UNDER HIS FEET
The center is inscribed:
- SWEETENER OF HUT AND OF HALL
- BRINGER OF LIFE OUT OF NAUGHT
- FREEDOM O FAIREST OF ALL
- THE DAUGHTERS OF TIME AND THOUGHT
- MAN'S IMAGINATION HAS CONCEIVED ALL
- NUMBERS AND LETTERS – ALL TOOLS VESSELS
- AND SHELTERS – EVERY ART AND TRADE – ALL
- PHILOSOPHY AND POETRY – AND ALL POLITIES
- THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE
The eastern archway is inscribed:
- THE FARM – BEST HOME OF THE FAMILY – MAIN
- SOURCE OF NATIONAL WEALTH – FOUNDATION OF
- CIVILIZED SOCIETY – THE NATURAL PROVIDENCE
- THE OLD MECHANIC ARTS – CONTROLLING NEW
- FORCES – BUILD NEW HIGHWAYS FOR GOODS
- AND MEN – OVERRIDE THE OCEAN – AND MAKE
- THE VERY ETHER CARRY HUMAN THOUGHT
- THE DESERT SHALL REJOICE AND BLOSSOM
- AS THE ROSE
Extending on either side of the central pavilion are additional archways, each with two eagles at the top flanking additional inscriptions.[1] The inscription above the westernmost archway is a quote from Samuel Johnson:
- HE THAT WOULD BRING HOME THE
- WEALTH OF THE INDIES MUST CARRY
- THE WEALTH OF THE INDIES WITH HIM
- SO IT IS IN TRAVELLING – A MAN
- MUST CARRY KNOWLEDGE WITH HIM
- IF HE WOULD BRING HOME KNOWLEDGE
Above the easternmost archway, the inscription is composed of two quotes - one from William Shakespeare and John Fletcher's play Henry VIII, and the other from James Russell Lowell:
- LET ALL THE ENDS THOU AIMEST AT BE
- THY COUNTRY'S – THY GOD'S – AND TRUTH'S
- BE NOBLE AND THE NOBLENESS THAT
- LIES IN OTHER MEN – SLEEPING BUT
- NEVER DEAD – WILL RISE IN MAJESTY
- TO MEET THINE OWN
An additional inscription can be found on the northeastern side of this archway, also composed of two quotes - one attributed to Homer, and the other to Ralph Waldo Emerson:
- WELCOME THE COMING
- SPEED THE PARTING GUEST
- VIRTUE ALONE IS SWEET SOCIETY
- IT KEEPS THE KEY TO ALL
- HEROIC HEARTS AND OPENS YOU
- A WELCOME IN THEM ALL
- ↑ Possibly to provide balance between male and female figures, the traditionally male Prometheus is depicted as female.
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