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Elliott Banfield, instigated by Henry Hope Reed, has come up with an intriguing proposal to augment the façade of Washington’s monumental beaux-arts railway station. Above you can see Banfield’s illustration of Union Station as it exists today, while his view of the proposed additions can be seen below.

The central sculptural group are, appropriately, an allegorical depiction of Arrival and Departure. “The old man waving his goodbye, the woman, greeting,” says Banfield. “This group would be very, very big. Perhaps 40 feet high. It would be made of some sort of fiberglas material.” (View below)

“Is this idea farfetched?” Banfield inquires. “Only to people who are bitten with the bug of historicism. To those of us who are free of that way of thinking my idea is feasible: certainly no less so than the sculptural group at Grand Central Station in New York, whch is less than a century old, and is universally accepted as a landmark.”

In the humble opinion of yours truly, the additions make the station look rather more Italianate, and I can’t decide whether that’s an improvement or a detraction. I find both the current and the posited beautiful and attractive, so I suppose while I would not oppose the change, nor would I campaign for it.

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