![]() ![]() ![]() Here are the cogwheel, the anchor, the anvil, and the beehive. The Times noted he "is surrounded by objects familiar in daily life. Coutan depicted the god with a less-brawny physique than expected. To his right reclined the figure of Hercules, who symbolized strength. Designed to embrace the massive clock-crucial to an early 20th century train station-it was surmounted by a figure of Mercury, messenger of the gods as well as the god of travel, speed and commerce. The work, 50 feet tall and 60 feet wide, would weigh over 1,000 tons on completion. The article explained "The group.is constructed like the front of a building that is, it is built up in continuous layers of stone cemented together." The massive scale of the grouping, touted by The New York Times on Jas "World's Largest Sculpture Group," required the work to be completed in sections and pieced together. Burdett, whose work also appears on significant buildings like the Morgan Library and New York Public Library. Among the firm's sculptors working on the project was Oliver N. There the architectural sculpture firm of John Donnelly set to work recreating the limestone figures in full size. His finished model, one-quarter sized, finally arrived at the stone yards of William Bradley & Son in Long Island City over a year later, in May 1914. When the new Grand Central opened, Coutan was still at work in his Paris studio on the group entitled Transportation. He had recently completed the sculpture France of the Renaissance for the exuberant Alexander III Bridge in Paris. Coutan was well-chosen for the Beaux-Arts style work. Paris sculptor Jules-Felix Coutan had won the commission for the group. Rising above the uppermost cornice, it would serve as the crowning touch to the sumptuous structure.Ī postcard, depicting the proposed terminal, made a stab in the dark at the possible clock and sculpture. Included in the architects' design was a monumental sculptural grouping and clock. On FebruWarren & Wetmore's magnificent, $35 million Grand Central Terminal was completed. ![]()
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