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I don't know about you, but I love to come to places that represent excellence in style,
whether it's something from our past or present. And here I am in Union Station, in St. Louis,
and this place is fantastic. It looks like a French castle. We're about to catch up with
my friend, Francis, who's gonna tell us a whole lot more about this place. This was
the main entrance to St. Louis Union Station. The station opened on September 1, 1894. Now,
it is said that two weeks before the station opened, two workman were putting the finishing
touches on this floor. The marble here. Yes. And one of the workman hit his finger. And
he was working at one end? Exactly. He said something he shouldn't of said, and his buddy
said: "You better watch your language, you've been warned." And when they turned and looked
at each other, they realized they were 40 feet away. This is the famous Whispering Arch.
It's an architectural phenomenon. When you stand and talk to one side of the wall, your
voice hits it, it shoots over the arch, and the person 40 feet away can hear you, as if
they're standing at your shoulder. And I see the great lion. I guess that's the Lion of
St. Louis? Somewhat. St. Louis is more of a bear than a lion. Oh, okay. Theodore Link,
some people say he was superstitious. Oh. Other say it was references to the Bible.
Oh. But as you walk around St. Louis Union Station, you'll notice a few things. Theodore
Link did things in sequences of 7. Ah huh. There are 7 arched stained glass windows on
each side of the Grand Hall. There are 7 lights in each of the windows. Sure. The other thing
about Theodore Link is that he felt that only a good soul could pass underneath an archway.
Really? There's no way to get in or out of St. Louis Union Station without walking underneath
and arch. Well, there is something magical about passing a threshold or moving through
a space like that. Yeah. But, you know, as a designer, I mean, most designers do recognize
the power of odd numbers. And so, I think that was probably weighing on his mind too.
Somewhat, I'm sure. Yeah, yeah. But, you know, this archway and the layers of gilding and
stenciling too, I mean, it's sort of the best of William Morris and Pugin, and a lot of
those great old boys at the end of the 19th century that were so active with this level
of decoration, both in England and America. Yes, all the gold in this room is real gold.
It's gold leafing. All of the walls are concrete, so as look at what looks like marble walls…
Right. It's a painting technique called scagliola. Sure. Which gives it that marbleized effect.
Faux finish. Exactly. Now, those 7 ladies… I love the fact that they're each holding…
The lights. Flames. That guided the trains in. But they're not statues. It's a type of
art called relief tracery. What they are, are the prettiest dust collectors you'll ever
see. So are they bi-relief? They just sort of come out --just a bit-- of the wall? They're
in the wall. Instead of– most times a statue is outside. You're doing your artwork on the
outside. This is done on the inside. Ah, so rather than… It's the relief. It's the trace.
It's the opposite of what it would be. So rather than projecting out… It projects
in. It's actually projected inward. And then, when you had millions of trains backing into
a station, you have millions of tons of coal and soot going up in the air. Ah, right. So
the dustier they got… I hadn't thought about that. That's how the detail came out. So if
we talk about the order of this: You have the head house, which is… Exactly. This
great, beautiful French chateaux… Exactly. Or castile. And then you have the midway,
which is… The midway point. That transition space… Exactly. Between that and the…
Train shed. The train shed, which is– was the largest in the world. 42 tracks underneath
it. Largest single… Spans more than 11 1/2 acres. That's just wild. But the midway was
the sight to be seen and to see. Who's coming in next? What was happening next? Oh, I see,
right. Francis, this has been such a treat to see this. Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm
and this marvelous place with me. I'm glad you got to experience St. Louis Union Station.
We love it. We love to show it to people. Well, I hope to come back soon. It was wonderful
meeting you. Thank you, so much. Bye-bye. If you're enjoying these segments on style,
check in with us regularly. And make sure you subscribe to eHow Home.