Mellon Park is a
park in the
Shadyside and
Point Breeze neighborhoods of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
, straddling both sides of
Fifth Avenue, from approximately Shady Avenue to
Penn Avenue
Penn Avenue is a major arterial street in Pittsburgh and Wilkinsburg, in Pennsylvania. Its western terminus lies at Gateway Center in downtown Pittsburgh. For its westernmost ten blocks it serves as the core of the Cultural District with such ...
, the western corner abutting
Pittsburgh Center for the Arts building. The park is home to the Walled Garden and holds events throughout the year. It is also home to several recreational facilities. A number of public buses serve the area.
The park is on the
list of landmarks recognized by the
Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation
The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation (PHLF) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 to support the preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
In 1966, PHLF established the Revolving Fund fo ...
(PHLF).
History
The park was established in 1943, on the grounds of the former estate of
Richard B. Mellon. His was the largest mansion in Pittsburgh. The mansion was built by Italian immigrants from New Kensington, PA, under the direction of
Monsignor Nicola Fusco. These industrious men then built the monumental
Mount St. Peter Church in
New Kensington
New Kensington, known locally as New Ken, is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. It is situated along the Allegheny River, northeast of Pittsburgh. The population was 12,170 at the 2010 census.
History
Like much of Westmoreland Co ...
, which still stands and functions to this day from the materials of the Mellon Mansion. The gardens were originally designed in 1912 by
Alden and Harlow. Several other architects added their own touch to the landscape, including the
Olmsted Brothers
The Olmsted Brothers company was a landscape architectural firm in the United States, established in 1898 by brothers John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920) and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (1870–1957), sons of the landscape architect Frederick Law O ...
and some seventeen years after the garden began, Vitale and Geiffert. After Mellon's sixty-room home was brought down during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, most of the garden still remained and was transformed into a city park known now as Mellon Park. The park also contains the Phipps Garden Center and
Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.
The Walled Garden
The Walled Garden is surrounded by walls of brick and limestone and is one of
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
design. The garden's fourth wall was part of the Mellon mansion before its demolition in the 1940s. A fountain stands between the garden and the rest of the park. Vitale and Geiffert were behind the planning of this garden. The Mellon Park Project wanted to create a memorial in memory of Ann Katherine Seamans, who frequented the Walled Garden repeatedly after being introduced to it in kindergarten. Janet Zweig, an artist chosen by the project team, turned the floor of the garden into an exact replica of the sky in Pittsburgh on the day Ann was born. There are 150 stars, and each is a light in the ground and includes an inscription about it. It is possible to sponsor a star and make a donation. LaQuatra Bonci Associates was responsible for the planning and supervising of the garden's redemption. The park was reopened on June 12, 2010.
A Fair in the Park
Any form of an event can potentially take place in Mellon Park with permission from the City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works. One event that has taken place annually since 1969 is A Fair in the Park put on by the Craftsmen's Guild of Pittsburgh in the month of September. This is a contemporary craft festival with a small concert. There is an area just for children. No admission fee is charged.
Mellon Park Tennis Center
The Mellon Park Tennis Center is a year-round facility that offers classes for younger children ages 4–7 and other age groups up to adults. Along with the tennis courts Mellon Park includes a
playground,
basketball court
In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor sur ...
s, and
baseball fields.
Post-Gazette NOW – Events
Post-gazette.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-29.
References
External links
*
A Fair in the ParkPittsburgh Post Gazette
{{Pittsburgh parks
Parks in Pittsburgh
Urban public parks
1943 establishments in Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks
City of Pittsburgh historic designations