Painting: The Culebra Cut

The murals tell the story of the canal’s construction through four main scenes: the digging of Gaillard Cut at Gold Hill, where the canal passes through the continental divide; the building of the spillway of the Gatún Dam, which dammed the Río Chagres and created Lago Gatún; the construction of one of the giant lock gates (the canal uses some 80 of these gates); and the construction of the Miraflores Locks near the Pacific entrance to the canal. A frieze located immediately below the murals presents a panorama of the excavation of Gaillard Cut. Van Ingen is also known for his murals in the Library of Congress and the US Mint.