A historic photo of Mellon Square shows its careful design.
For starters, we’ve got a new slideshow up on our website that takes you through the planning, construction, and life of the Square since its opening in 1955. You’ll see how a gift from the Mellon family enabled Pittsburgh to create what Mayor David Lawrence called ”a downtown breathing space and beauty spot” that broke up the congestion of buildings and traffic in the Golden Triangle. Inspired by the success of San Francisco’s Union Square, Pittsburgh leaders recognized that the need for public space downtown was just as urgent as the need for parking, and that Mellon Square could be a solution to both issues.
Building a park over a parking garage; Mellon Square under construction
But we’re most excited to be partnering with The Cultural Landscape Foundation to bring the Pioneers Regional Symposia series to Pittsburgh with a focus on John O. Simonds. Next week, three days of events will highlight Simonds’ contribution to landscape architecture, including tours of his local masterpieces in Mellon Square and Allegheny Commons.
Here’s what to expect:
Thursday, November 5:
We’ll celebrate the Pittsburgh opening of the Marvels of Modernism photographic exhibition (featuring Simonds’ Lake Elizabeth) with a dinner and reception at the Andy Warhol Museum. The program will also include the unveiling of the Parks Conservancy’s restoration plans for Mellon Square.
John Simonds
An all-day symposium, The Hunter and the Philosopher: John O. Simonds, Pioneer Landscape Architect, highlights Simonds’ work with leading historians, designers, and practitioners.
Saturday, November 7:
A morning walking tour will visit Mellon Square and Allegheny Commons’ Lake Elizabeth. Patricia O’Donnell and Marion Pressley, the landscape architects who researched and planned the restoration of these spaces, will lead the tour.
Tickets for any (or all!) of these events are available here. We hope you’ll be able to join us for this celebration of an underappreciated piece of Pittsburgh’s heritage.
Mellon Square Park is truly one of the nation’s unheralded “modernist art” urban design achievements. It should never have been left to fall apart. With a restoration project, that stunning urban park concept will be as fresh today and tomorrow as it was in the 50s. I find this vision truly amazing. The Park is very much the type of modern yet respectful architecture Salomon Guggenheim gave in the 1940s and 1950s to New York and other locations.
For nearly 30 years, when I visit Pittsburgh a friend who’s a manager at The William Penn tries to give me the same suite, overlooking Mellon Square Park. I remain transfixed by the Park’s design complexity – all envisioned and achieved BEFORE computer-aided design (CAD) or even calculators were invented.
As a tyke I first saw Mellon Square Park within days of its opening. Maternal Grandmother Regina Elizabeth Shearer (1900-1995) made sure I saw it. After many visits, at age five – on Easter following worship at nearby First Presbyterian Church (322 Sixth Avenue) – I insisted the family come with me to the Park. Excited and distracted, I fell down the landing of stairs alongside the stunning waterfall and ripped open my new suit’s slacks. I was looking at the water and not the steps. I remember that Mellon Square moment as if it happened yesterday – over 55 years ago! I’ll spare you the unholy words Dad used when he saw the irreparable gash in the little new suit I had only worn for a few hours, ignoring for a few moments the bleeding gash on my knee.
By the way, First Presbyterian Church kids would go to the park a lot; usually before Tuesday Boys Club or before Sunday Evening Young Peoples Society meetings. It seemed to me there were always at least two men in clean white uniforms, with Mellon Square logos on their pockets, patrolling the park all day long, and at least one caretaker during evening hours. The smallest piece of litter was gone almost before it hit the ground. The place sparkled. Occasionally I regretted how the fountain waters would be dyed different colors, which I thought was NOT fair to the overall design of the masterpiece. Yet families and others would flock to see the deep blue, purple, red, or other colors used. The design concept calls for plain water in the fountains at all times. Distracting any eyes with colored water interrupts the smooth-sweep gaze over the nuanced alignment of the design.
Please let more and more people know that Mellon Square Park deserves to be returned to its original glory. I will. It is a major symbol of Pittsburgh’s advanced renaissance thinking toward world-class design – making a rather dramatic statement to visitors (perhaps more so than to residents).
Thank you.
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, now in Chicago,
John R. Dallas, Jr.