Showing posts with label Station Square. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Station Square. Show all posts

28 March 2016

Ladies of Stone by Eugenio Pedon

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Two of three figures from a sculpture that once topped the old post office building in downtown. Together the three figures are known by several titles: Stone Ladies, Stone Maidens, and Ladies of Stone. Individually these two are Navigation and Industry.

Navigation was depicted holding a rudder - which is mostly broken off on this copy. Industry is holding a mold. A mold of what, we have no clue, but some sort of industrial mold.

There were two copies of that original sculpture, so six individual stone ladies when the old post office building was demolished. Two of them are now together on the Northside, one is on Mt Washington, and the other copy of Industry is at a different Station Square location.

Industry by Eugenio Pedon

About Pgh Murals
Spreadsheet of Pittsburgh Public Art and blog archives
Map of Pittsburgh Public Art

This lady is one of six ladies that began as part of the decoration on the old downtown Federal Building built in 1889. They adorned the roof of the building, which later became the old Post Office. In 1966 the building was demolished and these sculptures were saved, though not as originally displayed. Originally there were two identical sculptures that were comprised of three ladies. In the course of the demolition most of the figures became separated and are now displayed in four different locations.

As a group of three, the sculpture is titled Stone Ladies, Stone Maidens, or Ladies of Stone. The Smithsonian lists all three titles and we don't know which is the correct, original title. Separated, the ladies have titles of their own. This one is Industry, and she holds an industrial mold of some sort.

You can see the other ladies at other locations around the city. The second copy of Industry is placed with one of the copies of Navigation at a different spot in Station Square. The second copy of Navigation is still attached to Enlightenment on the Northside, while the second copy of Enlightenment is up on Mt Washington by herself.