CC appreciated.

Not the best monitor to view this but this is how things look to me:

smudged sidewalk areas are quite apparent, lines between stones obliterated - in NX you could use a gradient to increase blur opacity receding into the background, I'm sure CS4 has similar functionality although I have no clue of how to do it,

next to last column appears more OOF than people standing at the far edge of the building,

blurred area on nearest column is inconsistent with the nearest portion on RHS, which seems to be more in focus than the column details,

and, the old standby - image is off-vertical (rotate slightly CW), probably need to correct perspective a bit since RH edge of 1/4 round column appears vertical

regards,

Bob

Bob's detailed observations are, of course, right on.
I'm not entirely sure what you are going for here. The scene is interesting but the selective focus draws attention to the second architectural feature on the right (not sure what its called. This actively competes the with background interest of the men talking, looking over. Are you going for the shape similarity with the man on the right? If so, it works as a puzzle, but too subtle for me.

Scott

Thanks.

Bob suffice to say that there is no PS or smudging. The effects are in camera.
The choices made are intended. PS was used to convert to b&w. The horizon
does not appear off to me. Look at the small pilars on the edge and intesecting
lines on the floor (it kind of caves in as it did live).

Scott the men talking isn't the targeted reading of this image although the leading
lines are intended to end there. The image is about the setting itself or at least
some details of it.

Yeah, I could not imagine your stooping to cosmetic trickery , how did the camera create that imagery, if you don't mind sharing, T&S? Aesthetically, I prefer without...

I'm OK with the geometry, looks as if the building almost is torqued in some fashion which is what I suspected - no fault of yours

And I admit, surely more often than Scott, subtlety often escapes me

I've always found marble and travertine quite interesting natural stones. Here's a version with a few tweaks, including removing the slight pin cushion distortion and a little selective sharpening to make more of the stone patterns. ... And a little rotation for Bob.

Ahh, upright on!

"Yeah, I could not imagine your stooping to cosmetic trickery..."

?!?

I like your rework AuntiPode. Please share the fix steps. Thanks.

First I used the Lens Correction tool to fix the pin cushion distortion. Then I used the Ruler tool to set the arbitrary rotation. Then I used the Transform Skew to tweak it. Then I used the Shaper Tool to selectively sharpen the stonework. I may have edged up the contrast a little, too.