"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
SWEETENER OF HUT AND 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
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 TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE
THE FARM - BEST HOME OF THE FAMILY
MAIN SOURCE OF NATIONAL WEALTH
FOUNDATION OF CIVILIZED SOCIETY
THE NATURAL PROVIDENCE
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
Above is a picture of my favorite place in Washington, D.C. -- Union Station. I love to sit outside and look up at the architecture, particularly focusing on the facade above the pavilion. I love reading the inscriptions (which I also included above) and contemplating the greatness of humanity, and our accomplishments. These quotes are accompanied by massive figures, each depicting one of the inscribed phrases. For instance, on one side, Fire is depicted by a statue of Prometheus, and Electricity by Thales. On the other side, Ceres represents Agriculture and Archimedes serves to depict Mechanics. The two figures in the middle are abstract, and represent Freedom and Imagination.
Because Union Station is the railroad hub in DC, the design was created to focus on the powers that brought the railroad, and subsequently the nation, to new great heights. Fire and Electricity drove the production of the railroad, and with the railroad came greater opportunities for agriculture and industry. The middle two panels are most important, however, and in a very, old book about the design that I came across, it says, "the central figures typify the atmosphere of freedom in which the inventive imagination has been able to accomplish such great results."
It is for this reason that Union Station is my favorite place in Washington, DC. Because while there are many monuments to specific individuals, and other monuments that honor the great valor of men and women in this nation -- this building acts as a functioning hub of transportation and commerce. It was produced because of the great liberty and opportunity that our nation affords its citizens, and it stands today in praise of our Freedom and Imagination.
Because Union Station is the railroad hub in DC, the design was created to focus on the powers that brought the railroad, and subsequently the nation, to new great heights. Fire and Electricity drove the production of the railroad, and with the railroad came greater opportunities for agriculture and industry. The middle two panels are most important, however, and in a very, old book about the design that I came across, it says, "the central figures typify the atmosphere of freedom in which the inventive imagination has been able to accomplish such great results."
It is for this reason that Union Station is my favorite place in Washington, DC. Because while there are many monuments to specific individuals, and other monuments that honor the great valor of men and women in this nation -- this building acts as a functioning hub of transportation and commerce. It was produced because of the great liberty and opportunity that our nation affords its citizens, and it stands today in praise of our Freedom and Imagination.
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