The line between artistic minimalism and dullness is thin and permeable. Which one does this picture represent? You get to decide! Old Pa Pitt intends the single dry leaf as symbolism, and you also get to decide what it symbolizes.
A wintry view across the Diamond or Market Square, with the Pittsburgh National Bank Building (One PNC Plaza), the U. S. Steel Tower, the Tower at PNC Plaza, and Tower Two-Sixty looming behind the square.
The American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) is notable for its peeling bark, which comes off in sheets, leaving gleaming white underneath.
There are three species of Platanus in the United States, but P. occidentalis is the one that grows in the East, suggesting that some botanist was disoriented in the most literal possible sense.
It was the largest amount of snow on one day in December since 76 years ago in 1944: 9.3 inches according to National Weather Service observations, but closer to a foot in some neighborhoods (the NWS says that one forecaster measured 11 inches in Lower Lawrenceville).