On the south side of the Esplanade stands the Automobile Building, constructed between 1947 and 1948, at a cost of $800,000. It replaced the Centennial Exposition's Electrical and Communications Building and old Automobile Building, which together burned down on February 10, 1942.

Within each niche of the three large porticoes of the Centennial Building and Automotive Buildings stands a tall, pressed-concrete statue representing one of the six nations which have claimed, at one time or another, sovereignty over Texas. Each is 20 feet high and takes the form of a female figure. They were designed and built by a team of sculptors led by Lawrence Tenney Stevens and Raoul Josset and including Jose Martin. All the statues on the north side of the Esplanade, in front of the Centennial Building, were designed by Stevens while those on the south side, in front of the Automobile Building, were designed by Josset.

This statue nearest the Hall of State represents the United States. This lady wears a shield, emblazoned with an American eagle, upon her breast.