Old train stations high ceilings

[ilovectp]

Somewhere I read about the reason for older train station having very high ceilings.
In Berea, Ohio there is a station like this. It dates back to the 1800.
Does anyone know why?

[wjstix]

I'm sure part of it was ventilation. Before air conditioning and electric fans, a higher ceiling allowed warm air to rise to the ceiling, keeping the air at "person level" a little cooler. That's also at least part of why older houses had a standard 12' interior height for each floor, whereas 8' has been the norm for many years now.

There's also an asthetic concern, a large room with a low ceiling just looks very cramped and unappealing. I'm sure an architect could tell you a specific ratio that they use as a rule of thumb, like 'the ceiling height should be at least X% of the length or width of the space' or something like that.