Pittsburgh, a foggy city

Feb. 9, 1970: Marty Molyneux, 16, of Mt. Washington peers out at the fog on the Monongahela River. (Harry Coughanour/Post-Gazette)

May 24, 1978: The U.S. Steel Building on a rainy day. (Harry Coughanour/Post-Gazette)

Nov. 30, 1978: Morning fog, seen here, often makes the city appear as if it’s already the evening. (Harry Coughanour/Post-Gazette)

Feb. 24, 1979: Heavy morning fog on the North Side of the Allegheny River. (Donald J. Stetzer/The Pittsburgh Press)

Feb. 19, 1981: Fog on Neville Island in the Ohio River. (Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette)

Sept. 19, 1982: The skeleton of PPG Place was the backdrop for fog on the rivers. (Harry Coughanour/Post-Gazette)

Feb. 6, 1986: Fog and mist nearly obscure a person walking on the Station Square railroad platform. (Thomas Ondrey/The Pittsburgh Press)

Oct. 17, 1986: Fog greets motorists exiting the Fort Pitt Tunnel. (Harry Coughanour/Post-Gazette)

When Post-Gazette colleague Andrew Rush saw the top photo, he had a quick-witted response.

“That must have been before Pittsburgh was here.”

Funny, that guy. But really, the fog seen from the Fort Pitt Tunnel and elsewhere in these photos leaves much to the imagination.

It’s not a mystery on the level of Stephen King’s “The Mist,” per se, but several of these photos do give off an ominous feeling. They’re so empty. Even that anonymous pedestrian in Station Square — rather lonely, isn’t he? Or is he a she? Too foggy to know for sure.

Pittsburgh has the unfortunate National Climatic Data Center distinction of supposedly seeing only 59 sunny days each year, though Brett Yasko worked hard to clarify that number in 2007.

Diana Nelson Jones doubled down three years ago, putting her own 2011 count of sunny days at 151.

Mr. Yasko clarified “sunny” as really just meaning “clear,” so that on days when the clouds and fog roll in during the morning and out by the afternoon, Pittsburgh gets no credit for a clear day.

Either way, the fog at times makes for a magical and ominous image.