A View of Rome

Philadelphia may not be known for adopting good ideas from other cities, but some good things from the outside world do find their way here. When the Pennsylvania Railroad destroyed New York's magnificent Penn Station in 1963 to make way for the banal Madison Square Garden complex, most of the elegant architectural elements of the Beaux-Arts structure wound up in a scrap heap in Secaucas, New Jersey. But four proud Eagles from its facade were brought to Philadelphia and perched at the corners of the Market Street Bridge, as if to guard the nearby 30th Street Station.