Connecting the Entrance Hall with the main staircase is a deep triumphal arch. The marble of the steps is ivory gray Echaillon marble, mottled with fossil shells; the walls are a richly variegated yellow Siena marble. The floor of the first landing is inlaid with Numidian marble. Two unpolished Siena marble pedestals support marble lions carved by Louis St. Gaudens, a gift of the 2nd and 22nd Regiments of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry who served during the Civil War. The names of the battles the 2 regiments fought in are carved into the pedestals.
The Main Staircase under construction