Penn Station, Pittsburgh

 The parson's rule of urban aesthetics: "Judge not, lest ye be judged....

but ye can judge a city by its train stations."   

 Long before air travel, in an age when beauty mattered for its own sake, train stations were a person's introduction to most cities.  For that reason, they were designed to express that city's spirit.

 Pittsburgh still has its two glorious train stations, their architecture and designs fully intact.  

This is the Union Station--known to locals as Penn Station.  Look closely at the carved figure between the arches.  Under this grand dome, there are four cities named in stone, depending on the direction that you're facing: New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.  

 Amtrak still operates out of a lower level of this station, and the city's light rail system still has a stop here, but this magnificent building is mostly occupied by deluxe apartments and offices.  

The lesser of Pittsburgh's two great railway stations is just across the Smithfield Street Bridge, on the South Side.  It's also pretty impressive, and now home to a restaurant known as The Grand Concourse.  It was the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie station, whereas the one pictured here was the main stop for the Pennsylvania Railroad.  Even the old P&LE station is an architectural feat.