Train Station Platform Architecture

Cast-iron columns from the 1920s support the canopy on the train platform at the downtown station. Proportions of the roof, low enough to feel sheltering but open at the sides for ventilation, create a space that manages the experience of waiting better than any modern transit stop I've used. Ornamental at the top with fluted capitals that serve no structural purpose, those columns communicate that the station was built at a time when public infrastructure was expected to be beautiful in addition to functional. Oak and iron benches, worn smooth by a century of use, complete the platform.