Hartwood Acres is a

county park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

Allegheny County Allegheny County () is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, following Philadelphia C ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Hartwood is considered the crown jewel of the county's network of nine distinct parks. Purchased by the county in 1969, its special feature is one of the largest and most spectacular country estates in the region. Hartwood consists of a stately Tudor mansion (begun in 1927 and completed in 1929), an English style Formal Garden, a cottage, a stable complex, and a gate lodge (erected in 1927). The mansion, designed by Alfred Hopkins for John and Mary Flinn Lawrence, houses a collection of original English and American antiques. Hartwood is sited northeast of

Downtown Pittsburgh Downtown Pittsburgh, colloquially referred to as the Golden Triangle, and officially the Central Business District, is the urban downtown center of Pittsburgh. It is located at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River who ...

on largely forested land in both

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and

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

townships. The park also offers a large-stage concert area where the Free Summer Concert Series is held, as well as the Allegheny County Music Festival, and of trails—horse riding, walking, hiking, biking, and cross country skiing. Hartwood is especially well-known because of its now-defunct "Festival of Lights," a large outdoor light display once held during the holiday season to benefit local charities.

History

Mary Flinn Lawrence, a Pittsburgh philanthropist, created Hartwood with money she inherited from her father, Senator William Flinn. In the 1920s, she and her husband John Lawrence asked architect Alfred Hopkins to borrow design elements from a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals ...

the Lawrences had seen in Broadway, Oxfordshire, England. The result was a stately 31-room slate-roofed stone house constructed around a great hall. Mary transformed the grounds of her estate into an equestrian arts showcase, building riding trails that extend for miles, show rings, steeplechase layouts, and ivy-covered stables. The stalls of the stables are made of varnished oak. The Allegheny Parks Commission bought of land and riding trails from Mary (John died in 1945) in 1969, with several stipulations. 1) Mary was to be able to remain in residence until her death as were her servants, 2) The land would never be subdivided, and 3) the county would also purchase her sister Edith's home, which was called Harkaway Farm (This is now the area called the Middle Road Concert Area where the amphitheater is located). Mary died on October 29, 1974, and in 1976 the new park was opened to the public.

Usage in popular culture

A large segment of the 1996 TV film '' The Christmas Tree'', directed by

Sally Field Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has received many awards and nominations, including two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Cannes Film Fe ...

, was filmed at Hartwood. Some scenes in the 2006 film '' 10th & Wolf'' were filmed in the Hartwood Mansion's great hall. The pilot episode for the cancelled Twentieth Century Fox Television adaptation of Joe Hill's

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are List of Eisner Award winners, prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Acad ...

-winning graphic novel, '' Locke & Key'', was filmed at the Hartwood Mansion in early 2011. Scenes from the 2014 blockbuster The Fault in our Stars were filmed near the Middle Road entrance to the park. Scenes from the 2022 Netflix film ''

The Pale Blue Eye ''The Pale Blue Eye'' is a 2022 American mystery thriller film written and directed by Scott Cooper, adapted from the 2003 novel of the same name by Louis Bayard. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Christian Bale, Harry Mell ...

'' feature the Hartwood stables as well as exterior shots of the Hartwood Mansion.

Sculpture

Eleven large, outdoor sculptures by nationally-known artists co-exist with visitors to the park as part of the permanent collection. *''Coronet'', 1978, Lila Katzen *''Monumental Holistic Image IV'', 1980, Betty Gold *''Ring Series #5'', 1983, Fletcher Benton *''Cloudt'', 1982, Ron Bennett *''Stretch'', 1980–81, Charles Ginnever *''Hence'', 1977, Clement Meadmore *''Manly'', 1980, Lyman Kipp *''Large Escargot'', 1982, David Hayes *''Mobius Trip X'', 1966–83, Peter Forakis *''Large Snail'', 1965, Tillie Speyer *''Hidden in the Obvious'', Stanley Boyd Spotts *''Totem, Lamina, Limbus'', 1979, Jack Youngerman

Gallery

File:EllisMarsalisJr.jpg, Ellis Marsalis Jr. in 2004 File:AllGood GLove2 (8466075287).jpg, G. Love & Special Sauce in 2010 File:JeanLucPonty.jpg,

Jean-Luc Ponty Jean-Luc Ponty (born 29 September 1942) is a French jazz violinist and composer. Early life Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano. At sixteen, he was admitt ...

in 2007 File:LosLobos.jpg,

Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") are an American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cu ...

in 2005 File:PittsburghBallet.jpg, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre in 2008 File:PittsburghSymphony.jpg,

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra The ''Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra'' (''PSO'') is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District. History The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is an Ameri ...

in 2007

References

External links

Hartwood Acres Park website

Friends of Hartwood website

Smithsonian Inventory of American Sculpture
{{Authority control Parks in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area Museums in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Historic house museums in Pennsylvania Parks in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Houses in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1929 Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks County parks in the United States