The Grand Portico

I've been making a concerted effort to use public transit again.  I had been a regular RTA-rider for some time; my routes have included the 51X, the 6, the 9, the 247, the 55 and of course, the mighty, mighty Red Line. These days, I catch the rapid from the Green Road station and roll on into town.  One of the results of taking the RTA is lots of time at the Terminal Tower (I still don't dig the Tower City moniker).  Add shopping time, hanging out time and film festival time to the mix and you get a pretty substantial amount of hours (days?) spent in this landmark complex.


After all of this time, I still have to look up when walking through the portico of the Terminal.  Those of us who call Cleveland home have some pretty nifty public spaces to enjoy; the Huntington Bank (formerly the Union Trust) lobby, the Old Arcade, the West Side Market, et al.  The portico fits into this group very well.  It's coffered ceiling is marvelous, as are its marble floors.  The real highlight, however, are the portico's murals.  Created by the noted illustrator and muralist Jules Guerin, these works are a genuine treasure.  Guerin's other works include paintings for Chicago's Burnham Plan, murals for the aforementioned Union Trust lobby as well as a little-known pit stop in DC called the Lincoln Memorial. According to Patience Cameron Hoskins, a Cleveland Hiking Club guru and local author, the murals " depict transportation, industry, commerce, and the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water."  The murals alone are worth a jaunt into the Terminal.


I would be remiss, however, if I did not mention one aspect of the portico that can't be seen by the general public; the Terminal Tower ghost.  When the complex was being built, some clever construction workers left behind coveralls encased in plaster to stand watch over the portico for all time. Cool! (The Plain Dealer has a nice graphic with the "ghost" here.)


Before departing, look below for some pictures of the portico that I borrowed from other folks.

Thanks to http://csudigitalhumanities.org/exhibits/items/browse/tag/Terminal+Tower for this Margaret Bourke-White image.

Found at skyscraperpage.com

Found this shot at http://www.davidrehunt.com/Cleveland-Ohio-davidrehunt.html

Tom McGee took this picture.

And this one too.