Having basked in comic books and old movies my whole life, architectural details were what cities were supposed to be about. On a morning like the one above, the ornamentation would catch the light and look glorious. These details also look great on miserable days streaked with rain or covered in snow. It’s not a spectacular or important building but it’s so much more interesting than reflective glass.
Outside of the 69th Street SEPTA terminal.
That it is, and a remnant of forgotten days… sigh
Architecture is still trapped in that notion detailed in the movie of “The Fountainhead.” Extraneous ornamentation was considered decadent. My guess is that with new materials and 3-D printing, ornamentation as pictured above would be a lot easier to do. Of course, it would require an architect that understood that aesthetic which is probably be the stumbling block.