The glory of Pittsburgh past greeted more than 350 guests Tuesday when the four local institutions founded by Andrew Carnegie hosted a welcome dinner for the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy honorees.

The spectacular Pennsylvanian Union Station, the train depot built in 1900 and used by 10,000 passengers a day at the height of the city's industrial bliss, was the setting for the elegant affair. Bars draped in crisp white linen and bistro tables were set up on the old stone pavers beneath the historic rotunda. The great arched entrance was outlined with tiny lights, making a drizzly night festive and illuminating the structure's turn-of-the-century charm. But the sense of history went beyond the architecture. In the crowd were many of the descendents of the great names associated with that time, and who continue the tradition of philanthropy into the present.

Two of those families -- Heinz and Mellon -- were to be awarded medals the following day during a luncheon at Carnegie Music Hall. Teresa Heinz and James "Jay" Mellon II represented their families and mingled during a private reception with fellow honoree Eli Broad and his wife, Edythe. The fourth medal recipient was the Tata family from India. Joining them before the dinner in the concourse of the Pennsylvanian were the presidents of the four host institutions -- David Hillenbrand of the Carnegie Museums, Barbara Mistick of Carnegie Library, Mark Laskow of the Carnegie Hero Fund and Jared Cohon of Carnegie-Mellon University. Also there were the former president of India, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Carnegie Corporation president Vartan Gregorian, Jim and Ellen Walton, Prosser and Sandy Mellon, Earl Powell III, director of the National Gallery of Art, Richard Armstrong, director of the Carnegie Museum of Art, Jeffrey Romoff of sponsor UPMC, John Surma of sponsor US Steel, County Executive Dan Onorato, Gov. Ed Rendell and three of Andrew Carnegie's descendents -- Linda Thorell Hills, Kenneth Miller and William Thompson.

It was fitting that the Duquesne Club, an historic institution created by local industrialists including Carnegie, served the dinner. Wonderful rack of lamb from local purveyor Elysian Fields and sweet potato cheesecake followed a welcome from the hosts and the introduction of dignitaries. The remarks were brief but substantial, and they fell on the ears of an illustrious group of Pittsburghers. So did the great music by CMU's Jazz Ensemble and Starling Quartet. This was the first time the ceremony was held here, an honor indeed given the competition -- among the guests were representatives from the Carnegie Foundation in the Netherlands, Carnegiestiftelsen in Sweden, the Carnegie Institution of Washington, Carnegie Dunfermline Trust, Carnegie UK Trust and the Carnegie Hero Fund Germany.