11 Things You Didn’t Know About Mellon Square: Part 2

May 29th, 2014: The grand rededication of Mellon Square.

Fifty-nine years after the ribbon was cut for the newly constructed Mellon Square, Pittsburghers once again celebrated their Downtown emerald oasis. After a $10 million makeover, the Square is back, looking handsome and vibrant once more.

The ribbon cutting during the Mellon Square rededication.

As we revel in the reopening of the green heart of the Golden Triangle, join us in celebrating this unique space with part 2 of our series of lesser-known features and facts of the Square. (And again, thanks to Parks Curator Susan Rademacher for providing the information below!)

6. Walking on the wild side

A number of Pittsburgh’s city parks were home to animals wilder than deer and pigeons. The Pittsburgh Zoo sits in Highland Park; Riverview Park had enclosures for bear and elk. While Mellon Square was being dreamed up, there was a serious discussion about having live animal displays in this city greenspace.

Among the most talked about potential animal exhibits was one for sea lions. Looking at the sketch below, you can see the circular swimming area and platforms drawn up for flippered park denizens:

7. Hand-picked flowers

No detail was overlooked when it came to Mellon Square’s restoration — including what would be putting down roots there. After taking out a majority of the dead or dying trees and seeing that some greenery was struggling to survive, our park management team decided on more appropriate flora that is rugged and hardy, but also fragrant and textured. Here’s what you’ll see growing there:

Chamomile. Photo: Steve Brace/Flickr license

Magnolia stellata. Photo: Margrit/Flickr license

Bearberry. Photo: Sarah Gregg/Flick license

8. Iconic inspiration

The design and landscaping of Mellon Square sells itself. And over the years, it’s been used to sell products, such as Fort Pitt Beer. It’s also been used in photo shoots, movies, and even a medium for a love letter.

An old ad for Fort Pitt Beer, found during a local Pittsburgh resident’s home renovation, features Mellon Square’s signature cascading fountain. Image courtesy Laura Aguera.

Cover for the Three Rivers Cookbook featuring a painting by Susan Gaca.

Winter in the summer! Batman was shot right beside Mellon Square. Other movies, like The Mothman Prophecies, were shot in the Square.

The text under this Post Gazette clipping reads, “Novel! A swain, as they once were called, apparently performed this feat – or shall we say feet? He walked in the snow at Mellon Square, Downtown, forming the words, “Hi Bonnie.” Who is Bonnie? Perhaps she’s employed at the Penn Sheraton Hotel, from which this photo was taken, and she can look out upon her boy friend’s message.”

9. Investment impact

What’s that old real estate adage? We know it had something to do with location…

When the idea for Mellon Square was put on the table, many property owners in that part of town complained about diminishing property values from lost parking and demolition of the then-deteriorating buildings on that block.

Quite the contrary.

Just as a gorgeous public park is a magnet for new investment, a park that’s rough around the edges pushed investment away. Vacant properties around the Square have started to come back to life in the short time that the Parks Conservancy has been renovating Mellon Square. Said Jeremy Waldrup, Executive Director of Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, the recent renovation has created an investment uptick to the tune of $200 million around the Square. With the reopening of the Square and a plan to refresh the storefronts on Smithfield Street, new investment and tourism are soon to follow.

Crowds flock to the Square in 1955, much like they do today. Photo courtesy Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections.

10. Bonsai approach

We’ve already talked about the careful planning that went into each of the plant types in the Square. Learning from flora failures there in the past, our stellar gardeners will be using what we like to call the Bonsai approach to keep the trees, shrubs and flowers in the Square growing for a long time to come. This means not letting them get too tall, helping them stay healthy, and making sure they withstand the temperature extremes in the open Square.

A tree being planted in the Square. Photo courtesy Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections.

11. Planning for the future

The chronic issue with Mellon Square has been it’s lack of sustained maintenance. When the Parks Conservancy first assessed the Square, the fountains had not run for years. (They were only put on when a worker was on site to manually check on the fountain every hour because none of the automated controls worked.) The unique terrazzo (the triangle pavement) was grimy and chipped. The stairs were in deplorable condition. Water was leaking into the parking garage below.

Without a long-term maintenance plan, the restoration of the Square would have been done in vain. But with a new, thoughtful plan — and a $4 million maintenance budget — in place, Mellon Square will continue to shine on for generations to come.

Mellon Square is now open for all to enjoy. Check our Facebook and Twitter to see pictures of the opening ceremonies and festivities, mark your calendars for upcoming Mellon Square events, and of course, visit the Square the first chance you get!

Content for this blog was adapted from a presentation by Parks Curator Susan Rademacher.

Some of the Parks Conservancy gang on opening day.

11 Things You Didn’t Know About Mellon Square: Part 1

Walking into Downtown Pittsburgh’s “elegant outdoor living room,” as Mellon Square was called by architectural historian James van Trump, it’s easy to see why it’s such a well-loved greenspace. Sixty years after it’s original opening, Pittsburghers are just as excited for the grand reopening next week.

Beyond the welcoming feel of this vibrant park, Mellon Square has an exceptionally unique history. Did you know that the Square is located over a prehistoric stream? That it’s a Mad Men masterpiece? That sea lions were a part of some of the early plans?

As we count down the days to the Square’s grand rededication, join us in digging into historic Mellon Square. (Many thanks to Parks Curator Susan Rademacher for providing the information below!)

1. Mellon Square was radical green infrastructure

Image from www.lifeprint.com.

Pittsburghers, sorry to tell you, but the American Sign Language sign for our city was decided during some of our filthiest years. The sign for Pittsburgh is the gesture for dusting dirt off of your shoulder — and we don’t mean in the Jay-Z kind of way. Presumably, in the way that steel workers, city workers, and just about everyone dusted themselves off after a day in the sooty air.

In addition to the dismal air quality, Pittsburgh had the kind of traffic that would turn the Golden Triangle into a nightmare on the daily. A comprehensive traffic study identified the block that now houses Mellon Square as an ideal location for a parking garage. Thinking big, Richard K. Mellon had a better idea — put those unsightly parking spaces underground, and give the people of Pittsburgh greenery, space, and a place to enjoy their city. With Mellon’s decision, the first modern garden plaza on a parking garage was born.

Existing buildings and parking had to be removed for the construction of Mellon Square. Photo courtesy Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections, circa 1951.

An aerial shot of the completed Mellon Square. Photo courtesy Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections, circa 1955.

2. Strong women shaped the Square

Like so much of Pitttsburgh’s park history, wise women played an influential role in shaping Mellon Square. Two in particular — Sarah Mellon Scaife and Constance Mellon — had a direct pipeline to Richard King Mellon while he was dreaming up Mellon Square.

Sarah Mellon Scaife (left). Constance and Richard K. Mellon (right).

While staying at the William Penn Hotel on one trip to Pittsburgh, Constance Mellon, Richard’s wife, couldn’t even see the Mellon Bank Building across the street because of the smog. She urged him to do something, or no businessperson (or his wife, for that matter) would want to live in a city that was so heavily polluted.

Sarah Mellon Scaife, Richard’s sister, was not impressed with the initial paving design — a plain rectangular pattern — for the Square. After visiting Venice’s St. Mark’s Square, she returned to challenge the Mellon Square designers to come up with a more intriguing pattern. And thus, the iconic terrazzo pavement that resonated with the nearby ALCOA building (now the Regional Enterprise Tower) came to be.

3. What lurks beneath…

Fundamentally, the six stories of parking was built atop a prehistoric stream bed. The stream bed predicated where all of the support structures were placed and determined where to put the trees and heavy loads on the plaza. Looking at the Square from a birds-eye vantage, you can get a rough sense of where the stream was by where the trees are planted.

Construction of the garage and Square. Photo courtesy Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections, circa 1954.

The Square at the time of restoration groundbreaking. Photo by John Altdorfer, 2011.

4. Nine-of-a-kind basins

Have you ever taken a good hard look at the nine gorgeous bronze basins in the Square? These 3,500-pound behemoths are reportedly the largest basins cast as one single piece. It’s common in bronze casting to create pieces in multiple casts before welding them all together. The basins in the Square were made up of one cast, which by today’s safety standards would not be allowed. And so, these are reportedly the largest single bronze basins ever cast.

Refurbishing these basins during the Square’s restoration was no small feat. Moved with great care to Matthews International where they were cast, all nine basins are back to their original splendor. Read more about that here.

Finishing the surface of one of the nine bronze basins for Mellon Square. Image courtesy Matthews International.

Positioning the last basin after its repair and refinishing by Matthews International.

5. Classy and sophisticated

When opened, Mellon Square had a quintessential Mad Men style. A promenade for men in flat-brimmed fedoras and ladies in white gloves, Mellon Square provided the perfect backdrop for classy Downtown gentlepeople. Designed by the distinguished firms Mitchell & Ritchey and Simonds & Simonds, Mellon Square has been named one of America’s Ten Great Public Spaces.

Mellon Square after opening. Photo courtesy Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections.

With the rededication of the Square next week, we’re looking forward to this restored image of classic glamour, Downtown’s emerald oasis. We hope you’ll join us in celebrating this gem being polished back to its dazzling splendor!

For more information about the rededication, visit our website and check back here next week as we finish off the list of Mellon Square things to know!

Content for this blog was adapted from a presentation by Parks Curator Susan Rademacher.