If you’ve walked by the Walled Garden in Shadyside’s Mellon Park recently, you’ve probably noticed that it’s beginning to look like a garden again.  The Management and Maintenance staff at the Parks Conservancy has spent a lot of the last four months in Mellon Park, working alongside Department of Public Works crews and contractors to restore this beloved space in memory of one who left it too soon. 

The project had to balance several things: it honors the life of Ann Katharine Seamans through an art installation that mimics the pattern of the stars in the night sky over Pittsburgh on Annie’s birthday.  It also returns several historical elements from the garden’s 1929 design by Alden and Harlow for the Richard B. Mellon estate.  And finally, the garden had to be a welcoming space for today’s visitors, with plenty of seating, well-maintained plantings, and a beautiful, open design.

With work just about finished for this year, we wanted to give you a look back at how the project has progressed since our groundbreaking in July.  We’re planning on a June 2010 re-opening when the new trees are in full bloom and the grass has had a chance to grow into the lawn.

Before we get to the photos, Phil wants me to pass on something very important: if you’re using Mellon Park between now and June, please keep your dogs out of the fenced area!  The new grass needs time to grow in, and some larger dogs are leaping over the fencing and tearing up patches of lawn.  We’ll be working on some of the lawn area in front of the garden too, so you’ll see more fencing in the months to come, but we ask for your patience in helping us make the park better for everyone. 

And now for the pics!

In July, crews began removing the plant material in the garden borders so that work could begin.

In August, the whole lawn was dug up to prepare for the installation of the stars.  Meanwhile, Eagle Scout Jake Meyer assembled a crew at Schenley Plaza to assemble the stars out of PVC piping.

The garden’s signature fountain received a new water supply, and an underground vault was built that will serve as a mechanical room when a full restoration of the fountain can be undertaken.  (That portion of the project has not been funded to date.)  The fountain is once again able to flow but needs a little tweaking to do so properly.  New pipes were run from the vault to the fountain–the water supply and a return line that will allow the water to recirculate.

Electrical conduits were laid to power the fiber optics that make the stars glow.  Then fill was added to the lawn that covered the stars up to their fiber optic tip.  A nighttime lighting test allowed the garden to glow for the first time.  The effect is unique and surprising, and as Phil says, “If you look closely, they wink at you.”

Each star’s name and a short saying is affixed to a granite disc that covers up all but the tip of the fiber optic line.  So not only will you be able to sit on the lawn without running into a bunch of poky lights, but you’ll get to learn a fun star fact whenever you visit!

October was a time for planting.  A great crew of volunteers came out to help install shrubs, bulbs, perennials, and finally trees on the garden’s borders.

The restoration includes two plaques, one honoring Ann Katharine Seamans and the other recalling Vitale and Geiffert’s work.

The original design had an octagonal planting bed leading up to the lawn, so this element is being brought back.  The garden’s much-loved frog has hopped over to a nearby pad but is still part of the garden.  Its original location was at a pond in another part of the park, and it will likely return there if a restoration of the pond is ever undertaken.  The two lions on either side of the steps are currently in storage.  Historically, there were urns where they sat, so that’s what you’ll be seeing when the garden re-opens.  The lions are likely to turn up somewhere in another park to be determined.

The distinctive iron gates by Samuel Yellin were partially restored as part of the project.  Although a test revealed no lead paint on the gates, they are over 100 years old, so to be on the safe side they were sandblasted and repainted with lead-free, environmentally friendly coatings.  (Don’t worry, we didn’t turn them white–this is how they looked between blasting and painting!)

And this is where we stand today.  You can see that wooden park benches have been added, replacing some of the stone benches.  The idea there was to add to the garden’s airy feel by installing benches that weren’t completely solid, allowing the other elements to show through to a degree. 

You can also see that a stepped terrace has been added near the front of the garden with another planting bed and a circular bench.  This allows for a new and elevated perspective on the garden below.

So come next June, this is what you should see: an attractive space that’s lively yet intimate, bringing together an innovative new art installation with a stunning historical design and sustainable plantings. We can’t wait to open this back up and see it filled with people again!

Thanks to Carlos Peterson for the sketch and Joe Seamans for the lighting photo!

Had a great time last night at our reception for the opening of Marvels of Modernism and the tribute to John O. Simonds, who designed Mellon Square. We premiered a brand-new video celebrating Mellon Square’s importance to Pittsburgh and the many innovative elements of its design. Check it out below!

My husband and I are about to duck out of Pittsburgh for a long weekend and head to Los Angeles to visit some friends.  While I’m definitely excited for warm, sunny days, I’m also interested in visiting Pershing Square Park.  It is a park on top of a parking garage just like our own Mellon Square. 

One of Mellon Square's purposes was to provide contrast with the tall office buildings surrounding it.

I will, unfortunately, be missing The Cultural Landscape Foundation’s Pioneers Regional Symposium this Friday and Saturday at the Warhol Museum.  The symposium will celebrate the life and work of John O. Simonds who envisioned Mellon Square.  I will also miss a great opportunity to learn more about the restoration of Mellon Square during a reception for the opening of the Marvels of Modernism exhibit at the Warhol on Thursday evening.    

But there’s still time for you to register!  We’re now offering special rates for Friday’s symposium.  Students can register for $25 and educators for $75, a savings from the standard cost of $125.  Parks Conservancy members also receive a special rate of $100.  And if you can’t miss work on Friday, Saturday morning’s walking tour will be full of fascinating history, and it’s only $25!

For a list of this week’s events, visit our website.  Or you can go ahead and sign up for any or all of them here.

And if you still need convincing, check out Pop City’s article on the symposium here.

Mellon Square Trees

We got an interesting question about Mellon Square last week from @bobf_vstpgh via Twitter and thought we’d share the answer here as well. 

Q: Did you know that each of the trees in Mellon Square are on top of the garage’s columns?  Where do the roots go?

A: All loads on the park surface are carried by columns through the entire structure to the footings spaced out on the floor of a prehistoric stream bed 60 feet below.  Each major tree is centered squarely on a prelocated column cap.  The trees are set in steel boxes to prevent roots from penetrating the roof surface below.

If you ever have a question about something you’ve noticed in one of the parks, post it here and we’ll answer it for you!

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

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.

The Parks Conservancy would like to invite fellow park lovers to a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, October 26 at 9:30am to celebrate the beginning of a comprehensive trail and signage improvement project in the parks.  We’ll meet up in the Lower Frick parking lot off Lancaster Avenue in Regent Square and be joined by representatives from the offices of Senators Bob Casey and Arlen Specter and Representative Mike Doyle.  Rep. Doyle and Sen. Specter were instrumental in securing the $3.1 million federal grant that has made the project possible.

Trails in lower Frick Park will soon get some TLC.

The support of our donors has also helped move the project forward substantially.  In order to release the federal funds, the Parks Conservancy needed to raise a percentage of matching funds from the community.  Foundations, individuals, and the corporate community helped us raise over $498,000, releasing nearly $2 million in federal funds!

Construction crews will begin work shortly on trails in lower Frick Park.  Other projects will begin along Butler Street on the north end of Highland Park and on the Bob Harvey and Mairdale Trails in Riverview Park.  Work on Schenley Park, including the restoration of the Works Progress Administration-era bridges in Panther Hollow, begins next spring.

Schenley Plaza already features signs in the new style.

Shortly after the trail work begins, crews will also begin installing about 100 new signs throughout the four regional parks to improve wayfinding and educate users about the parks.  In addition to directional signage, interpretive signs will provide information about park history, wildlife, and restoration projects that have improved the parks.

Once work begins, the trail and signage project should take about 10 months to complete.  The Conservancy’s Department of Management and Maintenance and the City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works will pay increased attention to these newly restored landscapes, monitoring them for maintenance issues and assigning Urban EcoStewards to care for them.

We’d love to see you at the groundbreaking on the 26th if you’d like to learn more about this exciting project!

A look at the sign family that will soon appear in the parks.

Schenley Plaza won the Silver Award in the Environmentally Sustainable Project category at the 2009 International Awards for Livable Communities (LivCom Awards) held October 8-12 in the Czech Republic city of Pilsen. Meg Cheever, President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy presented the project to a panel of judges and an audience representing 15 countries.

Meg Cheever is congratulated by Alan Smith, Chief Executive of the LivCom Awards.

The purpose of the LivCom Awards is to encourage best practices, innovation, and leadership in sustainable development.  The LivCom Awards is the world’s only competition for local communities that focuses on environmental management and the creation of livable communities.

Judging criteria included enhancement of the landscape, heritage management, environmentally sensitive practices, community sustainability, healthy lifestyles, and planning for the future.  The Pittsburgh project competed with projects from Australia, Austria, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Poland, England, Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Ukraine.

“It has been wonderful to see Schenley Plaza grow and develop over the past four years, and we are thrilled that it has received international recognition,” Cheever says.  “As first-time competitors in the LivCom event, we are proud to be able to bring home the Silver Award to Pittsburgh.  Schenley Plaza’s conversion from parking lot to vital, green gathering place has improved the quality of life in Oakland.  We are gratified to see our efforts validated by an international panel of judges at this year’s LivCom competition.”

The $12 million Plaza was the product of a community-wide effort.  It was completed in 2006 and expects its millionth visitor in 2010.

Click the viewer below to see the presentation that was given at the awards ceremony.

The annual Bioneers conference is a gathering of visionary leaders proposing breakthrough solutions for people and the planet.  And now, for the first time ever, Bioneers is coming to Pittsburgh!  The 3 Rivers Bioneers conference takes place October 16-18 at the Pittsburgh Project on the North Side.  As a satellite conference of the Bioneers event, attendees will experience inspirational speakers from the main conference as well as 40 local leaders in the areas of green jobs, sustainable agriculture, and environmental restoration.   

Registration for the three-day conference is only $99 at the early bird rate!  You can also register for one or two days at a lower rate.  Click here to register now!

Still need a little convincing?  Here are five reasons you should reserve your spot today!

1. Early Bird Registration closes this week on Thursday, October 1!  Registration for all three days will be $125 starting on Friday.
 
2. 40 workshops by local leaders with topics ranging from “Involving people in Re-Imagining Pittsburgh” to “Energy Conservation for Healthy Families” to “Progressive Urban Water Design and Reuse.”  Click here for a full schedule.  
 
3. Live satellite feed of 15 national solutions-based global leaders including Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore’s Dilemma, and Dr. Andrew Weil.  See the full list of national speakers here.  
 
4. Social events Friday and Saturday nights.  Youth space for young people to interact, relax, and hang out.  Spoken word, water blessing, and peace garden events round out the schedule.
 
5. Local catering and food provided by Enrico Biscotti and the Quiet Storm for all three days of the conference.  

Don’t miss an event that is sure to be inspiring and thought-provoking.  Register today!

Tim Fulton, Meg Cheever, Doug Blonsky, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Board Chair Jerry Voros, and Phil Gruszka

Yesterday the Parks Conservancy hosted two park experts from New York to tell us the story of zone management: Doug Blonsky, President of the Central Park Conservancy and Administrator of Central Park, and Tim Fulton, former Director of Park Operations at the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy.  They were joined by our own Phil Gruszka, who shared his experiences with zone management at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA.

I touched on this a couple of entries ago in the New York parks recap, but in a nutshell, zone management means that a park (or park system) is divided into zones, with each zone having a dedicated crew responsible for maintenance.  In Central Park, for example, crews use a “GLOW” checklist to rate the appearance of their zone for Graffiti and Glass, Lawns and Litter, and Weeds.  (More on that here.)  Having workers assigned to specific areas gives them both accountability and a sense of pride in their area.  It also makes them ambassadors for that section of the park, knowledgeable about the area and able to share information with park visitors.

Mr. Blonsky’s presentation was excellent, with lots of stunning visuals to illustrate just how terrible Central Park had become over the years when there was no management plan.  (Want to see them?  Click here to view a PDF of the presentation.)  Prior to the Central Park Conservancy signing its management contract with the City of New York, the Conservancy was focusing on capital improvements while the City handled maintenance.  But they quickly learned that all the capital restorations in the world were useless without a maintenance plan.  After the contract was signed, the Conservancy took charge of all day-to-day operations, dividing the park into 49 “zones” and assigning its own employees and the City employees to specific zones.

The impact was immediately noticeable.  Before, when people would walk into the park, the first thing they saw was trash.  With the dedicated zone crews, litter removal began to occur earlier and earlier in the day, and soon people stopped littering so much.  That’s the thing that strikes me about the zone management approach: when people see the impact that the park staff is making, they are encouraged to use the park more positively.  Positive use then drives out negative use (witness the transformation of Harlem Meer from a crack house to a well-used educational center following its restoration). 

Central Park's Great Lawn before and after its restoration and maintenance

Zone management also makes maintenance more efficient: the Central Park Conservancy has a rule that graffiti must be removed within 24 hours, but usually it is gone in less than two.  Without park workers assigned to zones, the Conservancy would likely have to rely on visitors to report problems–or park workers would be driving around the entire park looking for issues, wasting time and burning fossil fuels.  Instead, the staff remains in their areas and notices problems immediately.

Similar strides were made in Buffalo after zone management was adopted.  Mr. Fulton told the story of how the City of Buffalo was facing bankruptcy and could no longer afford to employ a staff to maintain the park system.  The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy accepted a contract to manage the parks, and expected to adopt a zone management approach within 5 to 10 years.  They wound up implementing it within the first year, despite the community’s worries that the organization should remain focused on capital projects and programming. 

Volunteers are assigned to zones that interest them, as in the aquatic restoration program in Central Park.

As in Central Park, the impact was almost immediate.  Workers began to get enthusiastic about their areas of the park and to advocate for them.  They changed the way people treated the parks.  Before, companies having events in the parks drove their vehicles all over the turf, creating huge ruts and making the park look unappealing.  Following zone management, the employees were able to enforce the rules and explain how damaging some of the old practices were. 

Both speakers also mentioned how zone management has had a positive effect on volunteers.  Instead of coming in as part of a large group, volunteers are assigned to a zone based on their interests.  Some prefer to specialize in the aquatic areas, while some like to assist with flower plantings.  They develop relationships with the zone’s other volunteers and staff members, and their sense of ownership in the park increases as well.

If this interests you at all, I’d recommend checking out the lecture recap and materials, which we’ve archived on our website.  You can download all the presentations and read more about the speakers.  We’re not there yet in Pittsburgh (the Conservancy and the City have an excellent partnership, but the Conservancy does not have a contract to manage the parks), but it’s fascinating to learn about how this approach has been able to take parks to the next level in other cities.

If you asked me to name my favorite spot in all of the four parks, I would probably say the area of Nine Mile Run that goes from Commercial St. down to the Monongahela River. It’s a low-traffic spot that is teeming with interesting flora and fauna, so it somehow manages to be both totally peaceful and exciting at the same time.

Fall is a perfect time to discover this area of the park. Before you start hiking, pass under the Commercial St. bridge and check out the restored wetland habitat that was created as part of the Nine Mile Run aquatic ecosystem restoration.  This is my favorite place in the parks to watch dragonflies and damselflies, because there’s a whole rainbow of them down here.  I hadn’t realized until a few explorations in this area that we had orange damselflies around here.

Just a few of the dragonflies and damselflies spotted at Nine Mile Run.

You can start your journey down to the river one of two ways: you can use the “Jeep Trail,” which is a functioning trail on the Swisshelm Park side of the stream, or you can pick your way through an overgrown trail on the Summerset at Frick Park side of the stream. This trail is getting harder and harder to use as the wildflowers and grasses grow in, and sometimes it can be completely impassable. So I’d recommend taking the Jeep Trail, which takes you high above the stream and (in the fall) past a stunning, bright yellow stand of maple trees.

Nine Mile Run before the slag (from the 1923 Citizens Committee on City Plan of Pittsburgh parks report)

Along your way, you may encounter anything from deer to a family of ducks to a great blue heron sailing overhead.  If you’re on the Jeep Trail, you’ll pass a big pile of slag to your left, and if you glance to your right you can make out the Summerset at Frick Park development through the trees.  These slag heaps are reminders of Pittsburgh’s industrial past and of the long and difficult journey this area endured on its way to becoming parkland.  It’s a fascinating story that I plan on exploring in more detail in an upcoming blog, but the short version is that this area was part of a grand plan for a water recreation center in Pittsburgh.  A combination of funding issues, the prioritization of playgrounds over other park amenities, and the fact that the Duquesne Slag Company had purchased 94 acres in the Nine Mile Run Valley before government re-zoned it doomed Nine Mile Run for the rest of the 20th century.

It wasn’t until the mid-1990s that the turnaround began, and project partners began to convert the slag heap into a residential development and the abandoned valley into parkland.  The annexation of the Nine Mile Run Valley added 106 acres to Frick Park, officially making it Pittsburgh’s largest park at 561 acres.  So when you’re on your hike, you are in the newest section in all the regional parks.

Eventually (after you’ve properly contemplated all this history, of course), you’ll come to a point where the Jeep Trail and the makeshift trail link up again.  This is my very favorite part, because the reflections of the trees in the water are really beautiful, and the small splash of a single leaf or rock sends off such beautiful ripples.  Funny to think that in the middle of what was once an industrial waste site, it’s the natural beauty that’s so overwhelming.

If you’re on the Jeep side of the trail, you’ll have to cross the stream to continue heading to the river.  This is fairly easy if you’re adept at hopping over rocks, but a lot of park users can’t wait for the new bridge that’s slated for this area to be installed.  The last time there was a bridge in this area of the park, it was so that slag could easily be hauled from one side of the dump site to the other.  Now, the plan is for a pedestrian and bike-only bridge that will increase connectivity between the park and the river.

I talked to Brenda Smith, the Executive Director of the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association, about this recently, and she said, “Since I came to the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association in January 2008, I’ve probably been asked about the bridge more than any other subject.  Even though that area seems remote, it is quite frequently used.  People have been finding ways to pick their way across the stream, but they are very excited to have a bridge there again.”    

Beyond the bridge (which has been delayed due to difficulty in securing funding), the Urban Redevelopment Authority is planning to complete a new trail that goes to Old Browns Hill Road and links up with the existing trail down to Duck Hollow, where park users can access the river.

For now, though, if you actually want to make it all the way to the river, you’ll have to just pretend there’s a trail leading you there.  Hang a right and go up the hill towards Summerset at Frick Park.  Eventually if you keep walking you’ll come out near Browns Hill Road and can make your way down to Duck Hollow, where you can stand on the shore and watch all the shoppers at the Waterfront across the river. 

Hopefully you’ll have a chance to explore this lovely stretch of land that has beat all the odds and finally become part of our parks.  To learn all about Nine Mile Run (including the stretch that runs through Fern Hollow, which we didn’t cover here), visit the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association’s website at www.ninemilerun.org. 

Panorama thanks to Mary Jane Bent

Bringing the Stars to Earth

Artist's rendering of the starry lawn

One of the aspects of this project that we’re most excited about is the installation of a public art piece at the garden.  Working with the community and with the family of Ann Katharine Seamans (to whom this restoration is dedicated), artist Janet Zweig has conceived of a starscape buried in the lawn that will be illuminated using fiber optics.  Over 100 stars will glow in the evenings in the pattern of the night sky as it appeared over Pittsburgh on the night of Ann Seamans’ birth.  

Hard to believe the next time you see this, it will be glowing!

Making stars glow turns out to be a work-intensive process!  Luckily, we have some great volunteers who are helping us out.  The stars are made using PVC pipe with a hole at the top to insert the fiber optics.  They’re being assembled this week by a crew led by Jake Meyer, who is undertaking the work as his Eagle Scout project.  He wanted to do something beneficial for the parks, and as luck would have it we had a pretty big project waiting for him!

After the lawn is dug out and the foundations for the stars are assembled, the stars will actually be installed.  Then Janet Zweig will come and work with the fiber optics to make sure the effect is just right.  After that, the construction crew will backfill the site with soil and seed the lawn area so that it will be ready for the park’s spring re-opening.

When you come to the park this spring, you’ll be able to search through the grass during the day for the stars, which each have a name and a saying engraved around them.  Many donors have already come forward to sponsor a star for $500; if you’re interested in dedicating a star to someone, give us a call at 412-682-7275.

What happened to the trees?

Japanese stewartia, courtesy of autan on Flickr

The two large American hornbeam trees on either side of the fountain have been removed to make way for other specimens.  “Those trees were fabulous, but they were dying,” Phil explained.  In their place (and in place of cherry trees that were formerly planted around the garden), we’ll be planting Japanese stewartia trees, which Phil describes as “small, exquisite trees–a perfect selection for the space.”  The Japanese stewartia trees grow more slowly and live much longer, and their flowers are beautiful in springtime.

The rest of the planting plan involves bringing back a lot of the historic plant material that was included in the garden’s original plans.  Some different plants, like the stewartia tree, will be added in to enhance the beauty of the space.

What’s Next?

In September, all the perennials and shrubs will be delivered and planted.  New trees will be planted the first week of November, along with daffodil bulbs.  By then everything will be pretty much functional, with the only major remaining job being the planting of shrubs beneath the trees in the springtime.  The garden should be open for everyone’s enjoyment by this spring!

If you’re interested in contributing to the project, we still need to raise funds in order to perform a full restoration.  Among the aspects yet to be funded are the restoration of the iron gates, repointing the brick walls, installing more benches, and repairing the sandstone paving.  You can help out in any amount at www.pittsburghparks.org/donate by selecting “Mellon Park” from the Designation menu.

A glimpse into the Walled Garden's future