About 34 years ago I came to
Union Station and it was a total dump as the renovation had not yet occurred. It was dark and dusty with some sort of plywood paneling with bad posters lining a corridor that funneled train passengers away from the very dingy train tracks and out of the building. However, some federal and private funds were found and it was cleaned up, and redecorated and stores, movie theaters, food court and restaurants were brought in. Today, the station is a totally bustling, busy place with enough of the old features, like this clock and window, and those mysterious figures with shields guarding us at the frieze level to add elegance, charm and curiosity to what has become a city destination. I'm not sure everyone notices all the gilded, sculpted and leaded things when they hurry through from the Metro subway or on to the regional trains, but there's no comparison with
Tyson's Corner or any of the super shopping malls, in my opinion, which have some of these elements but none of the history. And its location near Capitol Hill makes it a great place to meet for drinks after work.
Inspired by all the artsy crafts projects I see on Pinterest, I made a clock for the basement living room out of a cardboard chip tube, some spare spray paint, some ribbons and a clock face I'd bought to fix another clock but it was the wrong size. So for this one, after spray painting the inside and outside of the chip tube, I cut out the circular shape for the clock face using an exacto knife after drawing a circle around the clock onto the cardboard tube. Then I wedged in the clock face and put some weights in the bottom of the tube so it wouldn't tip over easily. I used those glass beads you put in flower vases but any weight things would do. Then I put the lid back on and then decorated the tube by gluing on some salvaged gold and blue ribbon pieces. I quite liked the overall effect and it's good to have a clock in this room and when the battery fails, I can just open it up and pop in a new one. 
