14th Street Station

I'm greeted by this?

 I wasn't really expecting this when I went to 14th Street Station.

 All around me, like some kind of little leprechauns, were these small bronze figures. They were all over. Some were in plain sight, and others were hiding in some crevices. At first, I wasn't really sure what to make of them. They were cute, and set up almost like a scavenger hunt. I would have enjoyed finding as many of these as I could if I were still a child (heck, I enjoyed finding these as an adult).

 But what quickly became apparent was how these figures represented different social classes. There were the blue collar workers, often with hardhats on, and the higher up white collar workers, better dressed. Some were cops, and others looked to me like greedy tycoons.

 The picture above depicts a worker who has fallen asleep, while an offer looms above her. This offer's position looks unhappy, as if she's just generally unpleased with the blue collar workers in the area.

 I feel like this one also has a deeper meaning to it. We have a well dressed business man handing off a single gold coin to a much smaller figure (who looks like a child to me). This child is wearing the clothes of a poorer man. I have no idea how accurate this is, but I feel like this picture is supposed to represent how a rich man doesn't really give much to the poor. The man here clearly has many coins, so many in fact that he is unable to hold them all. And yet, he is only giving a single coin? But that's just my interpretation. I may very well be as far from the artist's intent as possible.

 These two look like a couple who is down in the dumps. Judging from the defeated look of the man, I would guess he lost his job. The woman is looking up, as if praying to a higher power for help, while holding a single coin, because they are running low on funds very quickly.

 This one here looks to me like an officer attempting to move a homeless person that they found asleep on the ground. I often take pity on the homeless, though I will confess to never giving them money when they ask. I've seen enough homeless people decline food or water to know that the money probably isn't going to help them at all.

 This one here just looks really out of place to me, with two quadrupedal animals staring off at each other. The larger of the two resembles a donkey to me, while the smaller is, ironically, an elephant. Are these trying to represent the two major political parties? Or am I just completely over-analyzing these figures? I suppose it's very possible that these figures are just representing the different parts of city life, and weren't supposed to be a social commentary. But I like the commentary idea.

 This one was really amusing. Here we have an officer catching someone attempting to sneak under the fence and onto the subway. I suppose you could argue that this is supposed to represent people in power not letting those under them move up, but I feel like that's a stretch.

 The alligator was probably my favorite. This figure, like a few others, has a money bag for a head, which I think is supposed to mean that they care only for money and nothing more in life. The way the alligator has them by the back of the legs makes me think in snuck up on the man. Is this saying that he was too wrapped up in his money-obsessed worldview that he was unable to see what was clearly right behind him the whole time?  Perhaps. At the very least, this is poking fun at the rumors that alligators live in sewers (which is very likely untrue).

 I like the one here of the workers constructing the rafters on the subway, but I'm honestly at a loss for ideas about a deeper message.

I struggled for this last picture. I felt like there had to be some meaning to it, but I was stumped. I got a few outside opinions, and I think I'm able to form my own. This one, depicting workers sweeping up money, I think is saying that the workers only get the scraps. They aren't paid much at all. It's like they get the leftover money, the afterthoughts from the tycoons.

But that's just my interpretation.