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Mellon Square | |
---|---|
Type | Municipal Park |
Location | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Coordinates | 40°25′56″N79°54′18″W / 40.432314°N 79.904904°W |
Area | 1-acre (0.40 ha) |
Created | September 28, 1953 |
Operated by | City of Pittsburgh Citiparks, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy |
Parking | Underground parking garage |
Website | Official website |
Designated | 1982 [1] |
Mellon Square is an urban park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the first Modernist park built above a parking garage. With its distinctive black, white and green geometric pavement, it is a prominent urban oasis and gathering spot in Downtown Pittsburgh.
The square, bounded by Smithfield Street, William Penn Place, and Oliver and Sixth Avenues, is surrounded by prominent downtown buildings including the Oliver Building, 525 William Penn Place, Omni William Penn Hotel, and the Regional Enterprise Tower. It has long been a popular lunchtime destination for downtown workers. In addition, retail shops are housed underneath it, along the Smithfield Street side of the square.
In the 1800s the site was home to Turner Hall, and in 1881 the world's first labor union, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions (later to become the AFL and part of the AFL-CIO) had its founding conference at the site. [2] By the early 20th century the northern part of the block bordering Oliver Avenue was occupied by the Standard Oil Building (later to become the Peoples Gas Building) while the southern section of the block was occupied by the Davis Theater. [3] On March 10, 1921 the world's 1st broadcast of live theater/opera was conducted by KDKA-AM from the Davis Theater.
After World War II, the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA), which was established in Pittsburgh in the 19th century, proposed to move to New York City. Banker Richard King Mellon aimed to block the move. In 1949 he proposed a new downtown headquarters building for ALCOA (now the Regional Enterprise Tower). As a bonus, it would have a nearby underground parking garage capped by a public plaza: Mellon Square, built in 1953-55, designed by Mitchell & Ritchey, landscaped by Simonds & Simonds, and paid for by Mellon family foundations. The Mellon family through various foundations gave a total of $4 million ($45.1 million in 2021 dollars) to help create the park, $3.5 million for property acquisition ($39.5 million in 2021 dollars) and $500,000 ($5.64 million in 2021 dollars) to build the parking garage and flora. [4] On September 28, 1953 Pittsburgh City Council officially renamed the block "Mellon Square". Upon completion, Mellon gave the property to the City of Pittsburgh. Mellon Square is named in honor of Mellon's father and uncle, Richard Beatty Mellon (1858-1933) and Andrew Mellon (1855-1937). A dedication marker on ground level says the following: "Mellon Square is dedicated to the memory of two brothers, Andrew W. Mellon and Richard B. Mellon, their leadership, civic spirit and philanthropy advanced immeasurably the welfare of this community". The square is part of the Pittsburgh Central Downtown Historic District, which received National Register of Historic Places status in 1985.
A historical marker in the square commemorates the Founding Convention of the American Federation of Labor, which took place on November 15, 1881, in Turner Hall, near this location. This site is on the List of Pennsylvania state historical markers in Allegheny County.
The Square serves as the backdrop to revealing scenes in the 2002 thriller The Mothman Prophecies with Richard Gere and Laura Linney. In the movie Gere travels to "Chicago" and meets "The Professor" in the square. Many Pittsburgh landmark buildings and cathedrals are showcased and get close-ups to add a visual layer to the revelations discussed in the square.
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy along with funding from the Richard King Mellon Foundation, The Colcom Foundation, The Eden Hall Foundation, BNY Mellon and other, spent $10 million and many years to renovate the square. The project replaced all of the original flooring and stairs, which had fallen into disrepair. The square re-opened to the public in May 2014. [5]
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 whose joining forms the Ohio River. The "triangle" is bounded by the two rivers. The area features offices for major corporations such as PNC Bank, U.S. Steel, PPG, Bank of New York Mellon, Heinz, Federated Investors and Alcoa. It is where the fortunes of such industrial barons as Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, Henry J. Heinz, Andrew Mellon and George Westinghouse were made. It contains the site where the French fort, Fort Duquesne, once stood.
Union Station is a historic train station in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It was one of several passenger rail stations that served Pittsburgh during the 20th century, and it is the only surviving station in active use.
East Liberty is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's East End. It is bordered by Highland Park, Morningside, Stanton Heights, Garfield, Friendship, Shadyside and Larimer, and is represented on Pittsburgh City Council by Councilwoman Deborah Gross and Rev. Ricky Burgess. One of the most notable features in the East Liberty skyline is the East Liberty Presbyterian Church, which is an area landmark.
Station Square is a 52-acre (210,000 m2) indoor and outdoor shopping and entertainment complex located in the South Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States across the Monongahela River from the Golden Triangle of downtown Pittsburgh. Station Square occupies the buildings and land formerly occupied by the historic Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Complex, including the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Station, which are separately listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Smithfield Street Bridge is a lenticular truss bridge crossing the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Allegheny Center is a neighborhood on Pittsburgh's North Side. Its zip code is 15212, and it has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by both council members for District 6 and District 1 (Northside).
The Allegheny County Courthouse in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is part of a complex designed by H. H. Richardson. The buildings are considered among the finest examples of the Romanesque Revival style for which Richardson is well known.
The Cultural District is a fourteen-square block area in Downtown Pittsburgh, USA bordered by the Allegheny River on the north, Tenth Street on the east, Stanwix Street on the west, and Liberty Avenue on the south.
The Pittsburgh Light Rail is a 26.2-mile (42.2 km) light rail system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and surrounding suburbs. It operates as a deep-level subway in Downtown Pittsburgh, but runs mostly at-grade in the suburbs south of the city. The system is largely linear in a north-south direction, with one terminus just north of Pittsburgh's central business district and two termini in the South Hills. The system is owned and operated by Pittsburgh Regional Transit. It is the successor system to the streetcar network formerly operated by Pittsburgh Railways, the oldest portions of which date to 1903. The Pittsburgh light rail lines are vestigial from the city's streetcar days, and is one of only three light rail systems in the United States that continues to use the Pennsylvania Trolley (broad) gauge rail on its lines instead of 4 ft 8+1⁄2 instandard gauge. Pittsburgh is one of the few North American cities that have continued to operate light rail systems in an uninterrupted evolution from the first-generation streetcar era, along with Boston, Cleveland, New Orleans, Newark, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Toronto. In 2021, the system had a ridership of 27,975,600.
John Ormsbee Simonds was born in Jamestown, North Dakota on March 11, 1913. He was a visionary landscape architect, planner, educator, and environmentalist. Simonds was an original modernist landscape architect and one of the most influential and well-known of his time.
Market Square is a public space located in Downtown Pittsburgh at the intersection of Forbes Avenue and Market Street. The square was home to the first courthouse, first jail and the first newspaper (1786) west of the Atlantic Plain, the Pittsburgh Gazette. A public/private modernization in the late 2000s has re-established the square as a social and cultural hub. A great number of restaurants, ranging from fast casual to fine dining, cafes and retailers occupy ground level buildings immediately facing the square, while housing units and offices occupy upper levels.
Fifth Avenue is one of the longest streets in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It begins downtown and moves eastward for over five miles (9 km). Fifth Avenue passes by the Carlow University, the Cathedral of Learning and other buildings of the University of Pittsburgh, then forms the borders between Shadyside on the north and Squirrel Hill and Point Breeze to the south. Finally, after passing Chatham University, The Ellis School, and Mellon Park, it turns north and forms the border between Larimer on the west and North Point Breeze and Homewood (Pittsburgh) on the east. At the intersection with Frankstown Avenue its name becomes Washington Boulevard and descends a branch of Negley Run to meet Allegheny River Boulevard near the Highland Park Bridge.
The Henry W. Oliver Building is a 25-story, 106 m (348 ft) skyscraper at 535 Smithfield Street, across from Mellon Square in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The building was designed by Daniel Burnham and built 1908-10, consisting of a stone and terra cotta facade over a steel frame. It cost $3.5 million
525 William Penn Place is a skyscraper located in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was completed in 1951 for the Mellon National Bank and the U.S. Steel Corporation. At 520 feet (160 m) tall, it was the second-tallest building in Pittsburgh until 1970, and the third-tallest until 1984. The building has 41 floors and approximately 950,000 square feet (88,000 m2) of office space. Presently it is the third-largest office building by square feet in downtown Pittsburgh. In 2016, BNY Mellon sold the building for $67.65 million.
The Alcoa Building is a 410-foot-tall (120 m) skyscraper in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was completed in 1953 and has 31 floors. It is the 15th tallest building in the city and is adjacent to Mellon Square. A unique radiant heating and cooling system is contained in the ceiling: since there are no pipes, radiators, or air conditioning units along the exterior walls, an additional 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2) of rentable space was gained. Also, the windows rotate 360 degrees so they can be washed from the inside.
The Omni William Penn Hotel is a 23 floor hotel located at 530 William Penn Place on Mellon Square in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A variety of luminaries have stayed at the hotel, including John F. Kennedy. The hotel staff innovated Lawrence Welk's now famous bubble machine, and it was the site of Bob Hope's marriage proposal in 1934. The hotel has won numerous awards including being named to the "Best of Weddings 2009" list by The Knot and receiving the Editor's Choice Award in the Business Hotels category on Suite101.com.
Mellon National Bank Building at 514 Smithfield Street in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was completed in 1924 after Mellon acquired the property in August 1916 from the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad which had their regional offices on the site. Prior to the B&O office the site was the original home to the city's first public high school which opened in the fall of 1855. The Classical styled building was designed by architects Trowbridge & Livingston with Edward Mellon. It was added to the List of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks in 1976, and the List of City of Pittsburgh historic designations in July 1999.
Grant Street is the main government and business corridor in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is home to the global headquarters of U.S. Steel, Koppers Chemicals, and Oxford Development. It also is home to the seat of Allegheny County, City of Pittsburgh and the regional Federal Government offices. It is part of the Pittsburgh Central Downtown Historic District.
The Frank & Seder Building is a 30-metre (98 ft), 7-story, former department store building completed in 1918 on Smithfield Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The building is a contributing structure in the Pittsburgh Central Downtown Historic District.
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