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Point of pride: Pittsburgh’s park ranks among the great spaces

Point of pride: Pittsburgh’s park ranks among the great spaces

Point State Park has been hailed as a paragon of public planning since its dedication 40 years ago, and the accolades just keep coming.

This week, the American Planning Association designated the landmark as one of its 10 “Great Public Spaces” for 2014, the organization’s flagship program that recognizes “the gold standard in terms of having a true sense of place, cultural and historical interest, community involvement and a vision for tomorrow.” It’s an appropriate honor, but such praise is nothing new for the 36-acre park.

In his 1980 book “The Shaping of The Point: Pittsburgh’s Renaissance Park,” Robert C. Alberts chronicled its development, which he hails “as the spearhead of the country’s earliest large downtown renewal program after World War II.” Because it is bounded by the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers, there is an illusion that the park simply was a naturally occurring phenomenon, when in fact it was the result of 30 years of planning. What had been the site of combat during the French and Indian War became, as Alberts details it, a battleground for civic leaders, politicians, planners, architects, historians and traffic engineers.

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The resulting, successful urban space is a literal main entrance to the city, but the planning did not end with its dedication in 1974. The park has undergone several large-scale improvements since, most recently a seven-year upgrade that started in 2007 and included the addition of native flora, new pathways, energy-efficient lighting, a larger lawn and renovation of the 800,000-gallon fountain that sprays water 150 feet into the air.

The APA chose Point State Park because it is an example of a place “where people want to be.” Pittsburghers and visitors prove that every day, whether they are drawn to the park to learn history at the 250-year-old Blockhouse, jog or bicycle along its trails or simply take a break from the routine.

Enjoy the national recognition — and the park.

Meet the Editorial Board.

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First Published: October 4, 2014, 4:00 a.m.

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