Peoples Natural Gas Park

Last updated
Peoples Natural Gas Park
Peoples Natural Gas Park
Former namesFestival Park
Address90 Johns Street
LocationJohnstown, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 40°19′45″N78°55′26″W / 40.3291°N 78.9239°W / 40.3291; -78.9239 Coordinates: 40°19′45″N78°55′26″W / 40.3291°N 78.9239°W / 40.3291; -78.9239
TypeIndoor and outdoor concerts, Park
Seating typeLawn, pavilion fold out seating
Capacity 560-600
Construction
Built2011
Construction cost$4,000,000+
Website
http://floodcitymusic.org

Peoples Natural Gas Park is located near the Cambria Iron National Historic Landmark at the junction of the Conemaugh and Stoneycreek Rivers and there is a view of the Stone Bridge and the Johnstown Inclined Plane.
Located on 3.5 acres, the park has an outdoor pavilion that seats 600 as well as the adjacent Oilhouse that seats about 560.
Funded by Peoples Natural Gas for The Johnstown Area Heritage Association.
The newly completed Peoples Natural Gas Park is the home of the AmeriServ Flood City Music Festival and many other special events produced by the Johnstown Area Heritage Association (JAHA) and other organizations. The park includes landscaping, new restrooms, pathways and new sidewalks, ornamental fencing and gates around the perimeter.

The music festival has been staged here with temporary infrastructure since 2004. The festival utilizes the 3.5 acre park, Walnut Street and the parking lots across from the train station. Located across the river from Point Stadium and beside the Cambria Iron National Historic Landmark, the Peoples Natural Gas Park provides a beautiful view of downtown Johnstown, including the Inclined Plane and the Johnstown Flood Museum. The park is bordered by the Johnstown Urban Greenway, and stretches to the Johns Street Bridge.

The historic Stone Bridge, which has been lighted in colorful, programmable LED lights, is located at one end of the park. Every evening the bridge is lighted for three hours, beginning with a 20-minute lightshow before settling into a static scheme chosen to reflect the time of year, holidays, or special events and observances. The bridge will be lighted during festival hours, starting at dusk.

Development of the Park

Since the purchase of the park’s land in 2004, the Johnstown Area Heritage Association has been working to develop it as a permanent home for the music festival and as a catalyst for more special events. On May 23, 2011, a naming ceremony was held to name the park for the Peoples Natural Gas Co., which has donated $500,000 toward the project. Construction began in fall 2011 and was completed in May 2012.

The master plan for the park is by L.R. Kimball. The master plan was developed with input from a study committee in 2005-2006, public meetings in 2006, and individual discussions with agencies that have supported the project or might use it. Primary contractors on the project are Wilson Construction Inc., Mervac Plumbing & Heating, Inc., Church & Murdock Electric, Inc. and JWF Industries.

Park Financing

A $2 million matching grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Project was awarded to JAHA in spring 2008 for the park's development. In 2011, the Peoples Natural Gas donation completed the match.

Several other major grants made the project possible, including a $100,000 grant from the Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation. The Johnstown Redevelopment Authority provided matching Environmental Protection Agency Brownfield Cleanup funds. Also, the Authority was instrumental in undertaking the environmental assessment of the park and obtaining PA DEP Environmental Clearance. A grant for design costs was obtained from the Community Conservation Program, Growing Greener Fund, administered by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation. A $100,000 grant from Mark Pasquerilla assisted with initial improvements to the property, which included the removal of underground gas tanks and installation of utility infrastructure.

Other donors to the park include William Polacek; the Southwestern Pennsylvania Heritage Preservation Commission; JAHA's Board of Directors; and other supporters and friends of JAHA.

[1] [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

Letchworth State Park State park in New York, United States

Letchworth State Park is a 14,427-acre (5,838 ha) New York State Park located in Livingston County and Wyoming County in the northwestern part of the State of New York. The park is roughly 17 miles (27 km) long, following the course of the Genesee River as it flows north through a deep gorge and over several large waterfalls. It is located 35 miles (56 km) southwest of Rochester and 60 miles (97 km) southeast of Buffalo, and spans portions of the Livingston County towns of Leicester, Mount Morris, and Portage, as well as the Wyoming County towns of Castile and Genesee Falls.

Cambria County, Pennsylvania U.S. county in Pennsylvania

Cambria County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 143,679. Its county seat is Ebensburg. The county was created on March 26, 1804, from parts of Bedford, Huntingdon, and Somerset Counties and later organized in 1807. It was named for the nation of Wales, which in Latin is known as "Cambria".

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Place in Pennsylvania, United States

Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona and 67 miles (108 km) east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census and estimated to be 19,195 in 2019. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County.

Westmont, Pennsylvania Place in Pennsylvania, United States

Westmont is a borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,181 at the 2010 census, down from 5,523 at the 2000 census.

Johnstown Flood Massive flood of Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1889

The Johnstown Flood occurred on May 31, 1889, after the catastrophic failure of the South Fork Dam, located on the south fork of the Little Conemaugh River, 14 miles (23 km) upstream of the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The dam broke after several days of extremely heavy rainfall, releasing 14.55 million cubic meters of water. With a volumetric flow rate that temporarily equaled the average flow rate of the Mississippi River, the flood killed more than 2,200 people and accounted for $17 million of damage.

Allegheny Portage Railroad United States historic place

The Allegheny Portage Railroad was the first railroad constructed through the Allegheny Mountains in central Pennsylvania, United States; it operated from 1834 to 1854 as the first transportation infrastructure through the gaps of the Allegheny that connected the midwest to the eastern seaboard across the barrier range of the Allegheny Front. Approximately 36 miles (58 km) long overall, both ends connected to the Pennsylvania Canal, and the system was primarily used as a portage railway, haulting river boats and barges over the divide between the Ohio and the Susquehanna Rivers.

Johnstown Inclined Plane Funicular in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, US

The Johnstown Inclined Plane is a 896.5-foot (273.3 m) funicular in Johnstown, Cambria County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The incline and its two stations connect the city of Johnstown, situated in a valley at the confluence of the Stonycreek and the Little Conemaugh Rivers, to the borough of Westmont on Yoder Hill. The Johnstown Inclined Plane is billed as the "world's steepest vehicular inclined plane", and can carry automobiles and passengers, up or down a slope with a grade of 71.9%. The travel time between stations is 90 seconds.

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary marine protected area in California, USA

The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) is a US Federally protected marine area offshore of California's Big Sur and central coast. It is the largest US national marine sanctuary and has a shoreline length of 276 miles (444 km) stretching from just north of the Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco to Cambria in San Luis Obispo County. Supporting one of the world’s most diverse marine ecosystems, it is home to numerous mammals, seabirds, fishes, invertebrates and plants in a remarkably productive coastal environment. The MBNMS was established in 1992 for the purpose of resource protection, research, education, and public use.

The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) or Office de protection de la nature de Toronto et de la région is one of 36 conservation authorities in Ontario, Canada. It owns more than 16,000 hectares of land in the Toronto region and employs more than 400 full-time employees and coordinates more than 3,000 volunteers each year. TRCA's area of jurisdiction is watershed-based, and includes 3,467 square kilometres: 2,506 on land and 961 water-based in Lake Ontario. This area comprises nine watersheds from west to east: Etobicoke Creek, Mimico Creek, Humber River, Don River, Highland Creek, Petticoat Creek, Rouge River, Duffins Creek, Carruthers Creek.

Cambria Iron Company United States historic place

The Cambria Iron Company of Johnstown, Pennsylvania was a major 19th-century industrial producer of iron and steel. Founded in 1852, it had the nation's largest steel foundry in the 1870s, and was renamed the Cambria Steel Company in 1898. The company used many innovations in the steelmaking process, including those of William Kelly and Henry Bessemer. The company was acquired in 1923 by the Bethlehem Steel Company. The company's historic facilities, extending some 12 miles (19 km) along the Conemaugh and Little Conemaugh Rivers, are a National Historic Landmark District.

Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service body of the Tasmanian Government (Australia) responsible for the care and administration of Tasmanias National Parks and reserves (including historic sites)

Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service is the government body responsible for protected areas of Tasmania on public land, such as national parks, historic sites and regional reserves. Historically it has also had responsibility for managing wildlife, including game.

Stone Bridge (Johnstown, Pennsylvania) bridge in United States of America

The Stone Bridge spans the Conemaugh River in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The bridge is a seven-arch stone railroad bridge located on the Norfolk Southern Railway mainline, built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1887-88. Its upstream face was reinforced with concrete in 1929.

Johnstown Redevelopment Authority is an authority that oversees commercial development in the City of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

Inclined Plane Bridge

The Inclined Plane Bridge is a 237-foot (72 m), Pennsylvania through truss bridge that spans Stonycreek River in Johnstown, Cambria County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It connects the city to the lower station of the Johnstown Inclined Plane. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 and was documented by the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) in 1997.

Cambria City Historic District United States historic place

Cambria City Historic District is a national historic district located at Johnstown in Cambria County, Pennsylvania. The district includes 198 contributing buildings and 1 contributing structure in a predominantly working-class residential area of Johnstown. Though predominantly residential, it also includes a small business district and industrial buildings such as a former brewery, bottling plant, and slaughter house, along with a notable collection of churches, schools, and fire station. The district includes some buildings dated before the Johnstown Flood, but the majority date from 1890 to 1920. Notable buildings include the collection of two-story, balloon frame, detached and semi-detached dwellings, Fifth Avenue Hotel (1889), Pollack Building (1905), former Cambria Fire Hose and Ladder Company (1890), former Germana Brewery (1907), August and Louisa Mayer Building (1907), Tulip Bottling Company (1913-1949), St. Casimer's Polish Church (1907), Immaculate Conception Church (1908), St. Stephen's Slovak Church (1914), St. Columba Church (1914), St. Mary's Greek Catholic Church (1922), Venue Of Merging Arts, Hungarian Reformed Church (1902), and First Catholic Slovak Band Hall (1913-1949). The contributing structure is the Minersville Bridge (1914).

The Wagner–Ritter House & Garden, located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, is a modest house that was occupied for 130 years by three generations of a steel worker's family, from the 1860s to the 1990s. The house and garden have been restored by the Johnstown Area Heritage Association. The historic house museum illustrates the domestic lives of this immigrant family, interpreting the home lives of the thousands who toiled in the shadow of the mill. The Wagner-Ritter House is located on Broad Street in the Cambria City neighborhood.

The Heritage Discovery Center, officially known as the "Frank & Sylvia Pasquerilla Heritage Discovery Center", is a community history and culture center operated by the Johnstown Area Heritage Association (JAHA) in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The center features permanent and changing exhibits and galleries focusing on local history and culture. The building also features the Johnstown Children's Museum, a cafe and a social club.

Johnstown flood of 1977 Flood in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1977

The Johnstown flood of 1977, also known as the second great flood of Johnstown and the Johnstown disaster, was a major flood which began on the night of July 19, 1977, when heavy rainfall caused widespread flash flooding in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, including the city of Johnstown and the Conemaugh Valley.

The Johnstown flood of 1936, also collectively with other areas referred to as the Saint Patrick's Day Flood, was a devastating flood in Cambria County, and Johnstown, Pennsylvania proper, referred to as "Greater Johnstown".

Conservation in Scotland

This page gives an overview of the structure of environmental and cultural conservation in Scotland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom.

References

  1. "Johnstown Area Heritage Association".
  2. "Peoples Natural Gas".
  3. "Flood City Music".