Union Station - an Unamerican space?

I love Union Station in Washington. I am just not sure there isn't a mistake that this place is in the US. Such a grand building for a technolgy - the railway - that has mostly been done away with. Such a contrast to sit under this splendid ceiling in a bit of public space - and to then board a train that feels more like a historical experience than a travel choice of the 21st century (ok, my fault for being stingy and taking the regional train, I guess). Even the shops are hardly American - Belgian chocolates, speciality beers, and the posher end of clothing chain stores - it's much more like a railway station in Europe.