Circa 1903: “Travelers flock to Penn Station” We at the Digs like to imagine the experience of arriving in Pittsburgh when the city was a growing industrial center. Certainly it was a smoky and smelly place, but Pittsburgh also offered grandeur rarely found outside New York or Chicago. Pennsylvania Station, designed by the great urban architect Daniel Burnham, is one example. Travelers who arrived by train had the experience of walking through the station’s stunning concourse and rotunda. (You can see an interactive picture of what the rotunda looks like today at our Pittsburgh Revolution page. The station is known to Pittsburghers as Penn Station and was completed in 1903 — we suspect this picture was made shortly after its opening. In the mid-1980s, Pennsylvania Station was converted to apartments. (Photo credit: Unknown) — Steve Mellon

Circa 1903: “Travelers flock to Penn Station”

We at the Digs like to imagine the experience of arriving in Pittsburgh when the city was a growing industrial center. Certainly it was a smoky and smelly place, but Pittsburgh also offered grandeur rarely found outside New York or Chicago.

Pennsylvania Station, designed by the great urban architect Daniel Burnham, is one example. Travelers who arrived by train had the experience of walking through the station’s stunning concourse and rotunda. (You can see an interactive picture of what the rotunda looks like today at our Pittsburgh Revolution page.

The station is known to Pittsburghers as Penn Station and was completed in 1903 — we suspect this picture was made shortly after its opening. In the mid-1980s, Pennsylvania Station was converted to apartments.

(Photo credit: Unknown)

— Steve Mellon

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    penn station is so beautiful. i was horrified...an ugly little building behind
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