Union Station (Washington, D.C.)
D.H. Burnham & Co.; Saint-Gaudens, Louis; Taft, Lorado
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Date
1908Description
View of Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain (1912) by Lorado Taft; The firm’s few monumental commissions included the Union Station (1907) in Washington, DC, of which Peirce Anderson was in charge. It is a remarkably spacious and successful composition of characteristic volumes. Inspired by several works including the the Arch of Constantine (exterior, main facade) and the great vaulted spaces of the Baths of Diocletian (interior); and notable for 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 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. The 1988 renovation added shops, restaurants and movie theaters. Source: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (accessed 7/9/2010)
Type of Work
passenger terminal; railroad station; mixed-use developmentSubject
architecture, Transportation, Twentieth century, Beaux-Arts
Rights
Rights Statement
Licensed for educational and research use by the MIT community only