The north facade of the Palace of Mines is free from all ornament except the richly decorative central portal. This is worthy of prolonged study, being one of the finest bits of architectural ornament at the Exposition. It is designed very closely after Spanish models, and is of that transitional period of Spanish architecture that came between the Gothic and the Renaissance, when Gothic had been enriched through the influence of Moorish art, and was just beginning to feel the impulse of the Italian Renaissance. Note how rich is every part of the detail; then note how all detail is subordinated to the mass effect of the whole. The statues in the niches of the portal are by Allen Newman. The central mantled figure is called the "Conquistador," or conqueror. The artist has here portrayed in spirited fashion a fine type of Spanish nobility. The figure in the side niches, with an old-style pistol in his belt and a rope in his hand, is "The Pirate." The east facade of the Palace of Mines duplicates that of the Varied Industries Palace, and the west facade forms one side of the north Court of Abundance. Palace of Transportation Here the one notably artistic feature is the central portal on the north side, which is an exact replica of the Spanish doorway of the Palace of Mines. The Column of Progress This monument symbolizes the energy, the unconquerable spirit that is forever pressing forward to overcome new obstacles, which has led to the building of the Canal. The idea of such a monument was conceived by A. Stirling Calder, the architectural design is from the hand of W. Symmes Richardson, the reliefs at the base are by Isidore Konti, and the crowning statue is by Hermon A. MacNeil. The Column of Progress as a whole is among the finest artistic achievements of the Exposition, and more than any other, perhaps, is worthy of perpetuation in permanent materials to commemorate for all time the opening of the Panama Canal and the holding of the Exposition. Reliefs at base. The high relief frieze on the square base of the column represents mankind heeding the call to achievement. On the south face are allegoric figures calling mankind to the struggle, the two women holding palm branches, the insignia of victory. On the other three faces are shown groups of figures striving forward at the call, pressing on to achievement, some joyously, some laboriously, some stopped altogether in thought. The whole frieze suggests the beginning of progress. In the spiral that winds about the column certain interpreters have found a symbol of the upward march of human achievement; but as this spiral decoration is found on the Column of Trajan and the Column of Marcus Aurelius, the Roman prototypes of the Column of Progress, there probably is no special significance in its use here. Supporting the crowning group is a drum with crouching figures of toilers in relief, entitled "The Burden Bearers."