The Progress of Railroading

The Progress of Railroading is a group of public artworks designed by American artist Louis Saint-Gaudens and sculpted by Italian stonemason Andrew E. Bernasconi. The collection of six allegorical sculptures was created between 1909 and 1911, and are currently located at Union Station in Washington, D.C., United States. The statues depict Greco-Roman deities and thinkers meant to symbolically represent concepts related to rail transport in the United States.Goode, John Washington Sculpture. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, p. 15.

Description

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. Moving from west to east, these six figures and what they represent are:

Prometheus – Fire The Titaness 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.

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. 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

Creation process

When the Station was being constructed debate erupted regarding "who" the figures would be or represent. Historical American figures were considered, however, they did not fit into the Baroque architecture of the building, therefore allegorical figures were chosen. Many people were consulted regarding what figures to have St. Gaudens sculpt including Charles W. Eliot, the former president of Harvard University.

Condition

The Progress of Railroading sculptures were surveyed in 1994 by the Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture! program and was described as needing treatment.

See also List of public art in Washington, D.C., Ward 6

The Progress of Railroading

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