Tryon Street station

Independence Square

The Sculptures On The Square, dedicated on November 27, 1995, are a suite of four large bronze sculptures that monumentalizes the forces that have shaped the development of Charlotte and are located at each corner of the intersection of Independence Square. Created by American sculptor Raymond Kaskey, each figure, weighing approximately 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg), is mounted on a tall granite column approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) tall. Commerce, represented by a gold prospector, alludes to the Carolina Gold Rush and the foundation of the Charlotte U.S. Mint in 1835. The prospector is depicted emptying his pan onto the head of Alan Greenspan, a former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, symbolizing Charlotte's transition into a major financial center. Industry, depicted as a female millworker with a child at her feet, symbolizes the flourishing mill industry Charlotte once had, as well as the role of child labor in the era before federal labor laws protecting children from factory work. Transportation, represented by an African American male, portrayed with strength and dignity resting on his knees and with a hammer in his hand, a reference to the men who built the rail lines and thus transformed the city's economy. The number 1401, inscribed on the statue, represents engine 1401, also known as Charlotte, a steam locomotive that used to pull trains through the city. Future, is a depiction of a mother holding her child up in the air in a sort of playful embrace. The flowering branch at the bottom edge is dogwood, North Carolina's state flower. A hornet's nest, a long-standing symbol of Charlotte referencing the city's tenacity and resilience in the face of adversity, is from a rumored story of General Cornwallis calling the city a hornets nest of rebellion, during the American Revolution.[3][4][5]

Il Grando Disco (also known as The Grand Disc), dedicated on October 2, 1974, was created by Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro. Located in front of One South, is a large, bronze coin-shaped sculpture containing a contrast of a smooth golden exteriors and a rougher, darker interior. It was commissioned and gifted to the city by Hugh McColl, a former Chairman and CEO of Bank of America.[6][7]