Before turning to the more important south facade, it is well to look at
the east wall, with its dignified and colorful portal. This is Roman in
style of architecture, to harmonize with the Palace of Machinery
opposite. It is similar in general form to the memorial arches and
gateways of the Romans, but in the use of architectural motives and in
decoration it is of Italian Renaissance style. The niches at each end of
the gallery contain figures of The Miner, by Albert Weinert. The facade
is ornamented with buttresses at regular intervals, carrying figures of
the California Bear holding a scutcheon with the state seal.
Returning to the Avenue of Palms and the south facade, one sees the most
important artistic feature of the building, the central portal. This is
a copy, except for the figures filling the niches, of the famous doorway
of the Hospital of Santa Cruz at Toledo, Spain. It is in Spanish
Renaissance style, of that especially rich type known as "Plateresque,"
due to its likeness to the work of the silversmiths of the time. For its
grace of composition, its exquisite detail, its total effect of richness
and depth, this portal is worthy of long study.
The sculpture of the portal is all by Ralph Stackpole. In the lower
niches are replicas of "The Man with a Pick," a figure that has been
justly admired as a sincere portrayal of a simple laboring type. The
relief panel in the tympanum represents various types of industry. From
left to right the figures typify Spinning, Building, and Agriculture (or
the clothing, sheltering and feeding of mankind), and Manual Labor, and
Commerce. The group in the niche above the arch shows a young laborer
taking the load from the shoulders of an old man. The single figure at
the top of the arch shows the laborer thinking, and is called "Power."
Note how all these sculptures, while having individual interest, fit
unobtrusively into the lace-like portal.