This doorway is a work of art called "Typanum". It is on the Smithsonian's Inventory (
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"A tympanum in relief is installed over a set of double doors within an arched niche. The central element is the Coat of Arms for the City of Santa Barbara. On the left stands Aristotle, representing Science and History, wearing a green toga, red cloak and long gray beard. Plato, representing Philosophy and Literature, stands on the right wearing a blue and red toga with a green and white drape. Both figures holds books. Shields for four famous European libraries are installed along the top. Decorative elements include scrollwork and bunches of fruit."
NOTE: THE SMITHSONIAN INVENTORY IS INACCURATE... PLATO IS THE FIGURE ON THE LEFT AND ARISTOTLE IS THE FIGURE ON THE RIGHT. Each figure is labeled and the figure on the left is clearly labeled Plato in the Greek alphabet.
The sculptures of Plato and Aristotle are about 3 feet tall.
A plaque at the site reads:
"TYMPANUM
THE WOOD CARVING ABOVE WAS DESIGNED BY CARLETON M.
WINSLOW AND EXECUTED BY MARSHALL LAIRD. AT THE
CENTER IS THE COAT-OF-ARMS OF THE CITY. ON EITHER
SIDE ARE FIGURES OF PLATO AND ARISTOTLE. SURROUNDING
THE CENTER ARE THE SHIELDS OF FOUR FAMOUS
LIBRARIES; FROM THE LEFT, THE UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA,
THE BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALE IN PARIS, THE UNIVERSITY
OF SALAMANCA AND THE BODLEIAN LIBRARY AT OXFORD UNIVERSITY"
As for Plato, Wikipedia (
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"Plato ... was a philosopher in Classical Greece. He was also a mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the foundations of Western philosophy and science. In the words of A. N. Whitehead:
The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato. I do not mean the systematic scheme of thought which scholars have doubtfully extracted from his writings. I allude to the wealth of general ideas scattered through them.
Plato's sophistication as a writer is evident in his Socratic dialogues; thirty-six dialogues and thirteen letters have been ascribed to him. Plato's writings have been published in several fashions; this has led to several conventions regarding the naming and referencing of Plato's texts. Plato's dialogues have been used to teach a range of subjects, including philosophy, logic, ethics, rhetoric, religion and mathematics. Plato is one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy."