The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-06-06

,soles. in front OF each and almost de.
'tached from It stand out the sculptured figures.
in pairs Of the goddess Minerva one OF War,
and the other Of Peace.
From this vestibule is entered the staircase
hall. an apartment unsurpassed in magnin.
~cence and artistic beauty by any entrance hall
in the world 1t is truly "a vision In polished
stone" with It's vaulted ceiling ~ feet high.
its sides lined throughout with fine Italian
MARBLE highly polished, while on the sides rise
pairs OF magnificent marble columns with
deliberately carved Corinthian capitals. Through
the intervening spaces are seen glmpses OF
the rich cooring Of the mural paintings and
the glittering gold OF the ceiling decorations
of the vaulted arches and galleries of the sec
,ond floor
The grand double staircase with white
marble balustrades, one on the north and the
other Gu the south side OF the hall. has prob
ably no equal in the western hemisphere The
newell posts, richly decorated with festoons
of flowers and leaves. are surmounted by two
huge bronze figures Of classlcally draped wom'
en- holding aloft a cluster Of electric lights.
The starcases are highly ornamented with
miniature marble figures carved in relief rep
resenting in emblematic sculpture the vari-
GUS arts and sciences. On the buttress Of the
south stairway are the sculptured figures rep
'resenting America and Africa supporting be-
while on the north side similar group repre-
SCENTS Europe and Asia.
This spacious and magnifcently decorated
hall, taken In connection with the grand corri-
doris and the deliberately and artlstically EN-
'bellished reading room, furnish the finest
marble interior In America.
From the east corridor stairway ascends
to the balcony of the reading room. On the
wall OF the landing Of this stairway Is beau
tiful mosaic OF Minerva, the goddress of wis
dom, by Ellhu Vedder. Entering the visitors
gallery an excellent view Is afforded OF this
spacious rotunda or main reading room. Its
.vastness is but dimly appreciable from the
bare statement that 1t is 100 feet in diameter
and 1875 feet in height. and that the pillars are
40 feet high and the windows 80 feet wide
One OF its chief beauties is the harmonious
blending Of the rich coloring effected by the
dark Tennessee, the red Numidian and the
yellow shades OF Sienna marbles. accentuated
by the old ivory OF the stucco ornamentaton
of the dome. Upon the eight immense piers
supporting the dome are placed female figures
of colossal stature, above each being quota
ton relative to the phase OF learning or
achievement further represented by the l6
bronze statues standing In the gallery. two In
each Of the great arches which enc,rcle the
ROOM In these statues Religion is represent
ed by Moses and Saint Paul; Commerce by Co
Iumbus and Fulton History by Herodotus and
'aibbon; Art by Michael Angelo and Beetho-
ven; Philosophy by Plato and Bacon; Poetry
by Homer and Shakespeare; Law by Scion
Gent; Science by Newton and Henry.
In the collar Of the dome. which ia $50 feet
n circumference. is q symbolism OF the twelve
tations and epochs which have contributed to
ne advance OF the world. each represented as
seated figure bearing the embems suggestive
its peculiar attribute. Egypt represents
1ritten Records; Judea. Religion; Greece.