42-672: Point State Park (locally known as The Point ) is a Pennsylvania state park which is located on 36 acres (150,000 m) in Downtown Pittsburgh , Allegheny County , Pennsylvania , USA, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, forming the Ohio River . Built on land that was acquired via eminent domain from industrial enterprises during the 1950s, this park opened in August 1974 after construction
84-731: A redoubt —remains in Point State Park, the only intact remnant of Fort Pitt. It was erected in 1764, and is believed to be the oldest building, not only in Pittsburgh, but in Western Pennsylvania. Used for many years as a house, the blockhouse was purchased and has been preserved for many years by the Daughters of the American Revolution , who open it to the public. During the city's early history,
126-589: A tabula rasa . During the course of the Second World War, federal and local authorities established three goals for the site: "the creation of a park commemorating the site's history, improved traffic circulation through the construction of new roads and bridges, and designation of a portion of the site for new office buildings, intended to stimulate private interest in the Golden Triangle". The Allegheny Conference on Community Development became
168-476: A brief history of their development since the first park opened in 1893. State parks range in size from 3 acres (1.2 ha) to 21,122 acres (8,548 ha) and comprise one percent of Pennsylvania's total land area. According to Dan Cupper (1993), "Pennsylvania is the thirty-third largest state, but only Alaska and California have more park land". There are state parks in 62 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties , which nearly reaches Pennsylvania's goal of having
210-602: A driving force for these changes. Edgar Kaufmann, a Pittsburgh department store owner, sat on the board of the Conference and became chair of the 28-member committee convened to look into the Point Park problem. Kaufmann wanted a plan for the Point that was more urban and developed than the park others were imagining. In particular, Kaufmann was a major supporter of Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and wanted to provide it with
252-441: A final figure of $ 36 million [2] . The project was scheduled to be completed within four years, with the majority of the work to be finished in time for Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary celebration in 2008. Sections of the park had fallen into disuse since it was established in the summer of 1974. The homeless had used the trenches surrounding the foundations of the remains of Fort Pitt as a temporary shelter for years. Graffiti on
294-728: A much larger fort on the site, Fort Pitt . The Forbes Expedition was successful where the Braddock expedition had failed because of the Treaty of Easton , in which local American Indians agreed to abandon their alliance with the French. American Indians, primarily Delawares and Shawnee , made this agreement with the understanding that the British military would leave the area after the war. The Indians did not want British army garrisons in their territory. The British, however, built Fort Pitt on
336-503: A permanent building. He brought in Wright, by that time a preeminent architect, who had done numerous other projects for Kaufmann in the past, including Kaufmann's landmark home at Fallingwater and an unbuilt design for a parking garage. Plans for Point Park Civic Center fell through and ultimately, the site was turned into a park with historic and recreational aspects, Point State Park. The Fort Pitt blockhouse remained intact, and three of
378-635: A power struggle for the region commenced. Virginians took control of Fort Pitt, and for a brief while in the 1770s it was called Fort Dunmore, in honour of Virginia's Governor Lord Dunmore . The fort was a staging ground in Dunmore's War of 1774. During the American Revolutionary War , Fort Pitt was the headquarters for the western theatre of the war. A small brick building called the Blockhouse —actually an outbuilding known as
420-479: A seating area around the fountain and a wading area for children, restoring the river walk with steps that lead into the river, building kiosks for information and concessions, renovating the rest rooms, water taxi landings and surrounding docks, and installing wireless internet access hubs. These plans were not put into place without some controversy. On January 25, 2007, thirteen members of two local labor unions were arrested for blocking access by contractors to
462-475: A state park within 25 miles (40 km) of every resident in the Commonwealth. Eleven parks do not have "State Park" in their name. Three are " Conservation Areas ": Boyd Big Tree Preserve , Joseph E. Ibberson , and Varden ; four are "Environmental Education Centers": Jacobsburg , Jennings , Kings Gap (also a "Training Center") and Nolde Forest ; White Clay Creek is a "Preserve"; Norristown
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#1732772909815504-640: A year and a half to complete. The confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, creating the Ohio River, has greatly impacted the history of Point State Park. This confluence was referred to as the Forks of the Ohio , which remains the official landmark-designated name for the site. It was once at the center of river travel, trade, and even wars throughout the pioneer history of Western Pennsylvania . During
546-661: Is a "Farm Park"; and Big Spring is a "State Forest Picnic Area". Seven parks are undeveloped with no facilities: Allegheny Islands , Benjamin Rush , Bucktail , Erie Bluffs , Prompton , Swatara , and Varden ; the last four of these are in the process of being developed. Five state parks are small picnic areas: Laurel Summit , Patterson , Prouty Place , Sand Bridge , and Upper Pine Bottom . Five state parks have major U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dams and/or lakes: Bald Eagle , Beltzville , Elk , Kettle Creek , and Sinnemahoning . Three former parks now belong, at least partly, to
588-958: Is now Cherry Springs , "Codorus Creek" is now Codorus , "Kooser Lake" is now Kooser , "Laurel Hill Summit" is now Laurel Summit , and "Promised Land Lake" is now Promised Land ). Such minor name changes are not included in this table. The following eighteen were once Pennsylvania state parks, but have been transferred to federal ( National Park Service , U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ) or state ( Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission , Pennsylvania Game Commission , Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry ) agencies, or ceased to exist. The following are significantly different former or alternate names for two former Pennsylvania state parks. One former park dropped one word from its name ("Colerain Forge" became "Colerain" sometime between 1924 and 1937). Such minor name changes are not included in this table. Water taxi Too Many Requests If you report this error to
630-500: The French and Indian War (1754–63), during which the area soon to become Pittsburgh became a major battlefield . It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1960 for its role in the strategic struggles between Native Americans, French colonists, and British colonists, for control of the Ohio River watershed. Today, the park provides recreational space for workers, visitors, and residents in downtown Pittsburgh, and also acts as
672-643: The Georgetown area of Washington, DC , thus forming in total a 350-mile recreational trail between DC and Pittsburgh. On October 11, 2006, Michael DeBerardinis, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources , announced a $ 25 million plan to renovate Point State Park. The plans called for improving the green spaces within the park, expanding recreational opportunities, preserving historical installations, and updating outdated amenities. Those estimated costs grew to
714-416: The U.S. state of Pennsylvania . The Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks , a division of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), is the governing body for all these parks, and directly operates 116 of them. The remaining parks are operated in cooperation with other public and private organizations. The first Pennsylvania state park, at Valley Forge , opened in 1893 and
756-589: The 1930s, some mere camping and picnic areas in state forests, while others preserved unique sites. The 1930s saw a great expansion of parks and their facilities under Governor Gifford Pinchot , who cooperated with President Franklin Roosevelt , despite their being of different political parties. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) established 113 CCC camps in Pennsylvania (second only to California). Using CCC and Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor,
798-656: The DCNR, the state parks in Pennsylvania are on more than 300,000 acres (120,000 ha) with some 606 full-time and more than 1,600 part-time employees serving approximately 36 million visitors each year. Admission to all Pennsylvania state parks is free, although there are fees charged for use of cabins, marinas, etc. Pennsylvania's state parks offer "over 7,000 family campsites, 286 cabins, nearly 30,000 picnic tables, 56 major recreational lakes, 10 marinas, 61 beaches for swimming, 17 swimming pools" and over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of trails. Pennsylvania's first state park
840-434: The Golden Triangle was at a record low and falling. At the point, rarely used railroad facilities included 15 acres (61,000 m) of yards (60000 m) and half a mile (800 m) of elevated train tracks. City leaders wanted to alleviate traffic congestion in the city. The Manchester Bridge and Point Bridge met at the point in a way that left no room for the interchange required by the volume of traffic. The growth of
882-570: The Indians broke off the siege to intercept an approaching force under Colonel Bouquet, resulting in the Battle of Bushy Run . Bouquet fought off the attack and relieved Fort Pitt on August 20. After Pontiac's War, Fort Pitt was no longer necessary to the British Crown, and was abandoned to the locals in 1772. At that time, the Pittsburgh area was claimed by both Virginia and Pennsylvania, and
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#1732772909815924-541: The NPS built five Recreation Demonstration Areas , which became Pennsylvania state parks in 1945 and 1946: Blue Knob , French Creek , Hickory Run , Laurel Hill , and Raccoon Creek . The CCC also "fought forest fires, planted trees, built roads, buildings, picnic areas, swimming areas, campgrounds and created many state parks". In 1956, there were forty-four state parks in Pennsylvania, mostly in rural areas. Forty-five parks had been added by 1979, mostly near urban areas, and
966-510: The Point became a hub for industry and transportation. By the 1930s it was occupied by warehouses and railroad yards. Frank Lloyd Wright commented in 1935 that the city had wasted the potential of its rivers and hilly landscape. In 1945, the situation in this regard was even worse; four years of World War II and eight years of the Great Depression had permitted urban blight to make substantial inroads. The total assessed property value in
1008-403: The Point, creating more space for adjoining access roads and interchanges. Although the site had substantial problems, Robert Alberts observes that "the condition, in the view of the city planner, was almost perfect". The Point had few property owners who needed to be bought out, few residents who would need relocation, and few structures worth preserving. Architects and planners could treat it as
1050-422: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Seven parks preserve the industrial past: Canoe Creek is the site of a former lime kiln , and Caledonia , French Creek , Greenwood Furnace , Kings Gap , Mont Alto , and Pine Grove Furnace (plus one former park) are all former iron furnace sites. Eight current parks and one former park contain at least part of eight different National Natural Landmarks . According to
1092-418: The city had made parking a serious problem as well. Robert Moses , who had developed the traffic scheme for New York City , was brought in and published a traffic plan in 1939. He offered a circular park surrounded by approach roads connecting the bridges to the city. His plan retained the existing bridges, but most of the experts brought in to examine the problem called for the bridges to be relocated away from
1134-530: The five bastions of the fort have been restored. The state acquired almost all property for the site by 1949, at a cost of $ 7,588,500 ($ 97.2 million in 2024); the park was finally completed in August 1974. Areas adjoining the park were condemned to permit commercial development, most notably Gateway Center . Moving downstream about 100 yards: The following state parks are within 30 miles (48 km) of Point State Park: List of Pennsylvania state parks As of 2024 , there are 124 state parks in
1176-501: The former state parks were also chiefly historic. In addition to preserving historic sites, Pennsylvania also sought to preserve natural beauty and offer opportunities for recreation in its state parks. In 1902 Mont Alto State Forest Park was the second park established, a year after the state "Bureau of Forestry" was set up to purchase, preserve, and restore Pennsylvania's forests, which had been ravaged by lumbering, charcoal production, and wild fires. Parks were added sporadically until
1218-553: The fort successfully early in the war, turning back the 1755 expedition led by General Edward Braddock . A smaller attack by James Grant in September 1758 was repulsed, but with heavy losses. Two months later, on November 25, the Forbes Expedition , under General John Forbes , captured the site after the French destroyed Fort Duquesne the day before. The British built the temporary Mercer's Fort in 1759, and later
1260-722: The fountain. In April 2009, the fountain was turned off for a $ 9.6 million upgrade and refurbishment; it went online again at the opening of the Three Rivers Arts Festival on June 7, 2013. The fountain also serves as the western terminus for the Great Allegheny Passage , a 150-mile hiker-biker trail beginning at the 184.5 milepost of the Cumberland, MD terminus of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, which begins in
1302-559: The mid-18th century, the armies of France and the Great Britain carved paths through the wilderness to control the point area and trade on the rivers. The French built Fort Duquesne in 1754 on foundations of Fort Prince George , which had been built by the colonial forces of Virginia . The French held Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War , and it became one of the focal points for that war because of its strategic riverside location in disputed territory. The French held
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1344-798: The site for major cultural events in the city, including the Venture Outdoors Festival , Three Rivers Arts Festival and Three Rivers Regatta . The park is operated by the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks . The location of the fountain at the tip of the Point previously served as a connector for two old bridges, the Manchester Bridge (over the Allegheny River) and Point Bridge (over the Monongahela). Both were removed in 1970 to make way for
1386-662: The site, naming it after William Pitt the Elder . As a result, in 1763 local Delawares and Shawnees took part in Pontiac's Rebellion , an effort to drive the British from the region. The Indians' siege of Fort Pitt began on June 22, 1763, but the fort was too strong to be taken by force. During a diplomatic meeting at the fort, the commander of Fort Pitt Simon Ecuyer gave Delaware Indian emissaries blankets that had been exposed to smallpox in hopes of infecting them, as suggested by trader William Trent. The use of blankets to spread smallpox
1428-596: The spring before left as many as one hundred Native Americans dead in Ohio Country from 1763 to 1764. It is not clear, however, whether the smallpox was a result of the Fort Pitt incident or the virus was already present among the Delaware people as outbreaks happened on their own every dozen or so years and the delegates were met again later and they seemingly had not contracted smallpox. On August 1, 1763, most of
1470-422: The structures of the park had become a major problem. Sections of the park were littered with fence posts, cut logs, plastic drums, and rolled up snow drift fencing. The walkways were cracked and beginning to fall apart. The restoration project aimed to reestablish the park as a recreational destination. Plans for the 2006 improvements to the park included installing new pumps and pipes in the fountain, establishing
1512-434: The system had increased by 130,000 acres (53,000 ha). This was thanks largely to the efforts of Maurice K. Goddard , who served as director of the precursors to the DCNR for twenty-four years under six administrations. The number of visitors to parks more than tripled in this time and two voter approved bond issues (Projects 70 and 500) raised millions of dollars for park expansions and improvements. All this expansion
1554-419: The work sites at the remnants of Fort Pitt. The unions were protesting the use of four non-represented workers by the contractor. In addition, advocates for historical preservation disagreed with the decision to bury the remnants of the fort's walls, which could damage the bricks and remove the walls from public access. Point State Park was reopened to the public in the spring of 2008. The renovation process took
1596-834: Was Valley Forge State Park , purchased by the Commonwealth on May 30, 1893, to preserve Valley Forge . It was transferred to the National Park Service (NPS) on the Bicentennial of the United States , July 4, 1976. Many state parks still preserve history: as of 2012, forty-two Pennsylvania state park sites are on the National Register of Historic Places , including two National Historic Landmarks ( Delaware Canal and Point ), twenty-eight Civilian Conservation Corps sites in nineteen parks, and twelve other parks' historic sites and districts. Eight of
1638-477: Was completed on its iconic fountain. Pittsburgh settled on the current design after rejecting an alternative plan for a Point Park Civic Center designed by Frank Lloyd Wright . The park also includes the outlines and remains of two of the oldest structures in Pittsburgh, Fort Pitt and Fort Duquesne . The Fort Pitt Museum , which is housed in the Monongahela Bastion of Fort Pitt, commemorates
1680-510: Was discussed and approved the next month between British General Jeffery Amherst and his subordinate Colonel Henry Bouquet , who was marching to Fort Pitt with a force of 460 soldiers. Smallpox was highly contagious among the Native Americans, and — together with measles , influenza, chicken pox , and other Old World diseases — was a major cause of death since the arrival of Europeans and their animals. A reported outbreak that began
1722-929: Was given to the National Park Service (NPS) for the United States Bicentennial in 1976. There are a total of seventeen former Pennsylvania state parks: four former parks have been transferred to the NPS, four to the Pennsylvania Historical Museum Commission , two to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , one to both the Corps and the Pennsylvania Game Commission , five to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry , and one has ceased to exist. Nine current and two former state parks have had major name changes or have been known under alternate names. The list gives an overview of Pennsylvania state parks and
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1764-748: Was not without costs and by 1988 there was an estimated $ 90 million in deferred maintenance. In 1993, as the park system celebrated its one-hundredth anniversary, new tax and bond revenues were earmarked for the parks. Since 2000, parks are being improved through the state's Growing Greener and Growing Greener II and bond programs. The following are significantly different former or alternate names for nine current Pennsylvania state parks. Note that many parks were originally "State Forest Parks" or were state public camping or picnic areas in Pennsylvania state forests. In modern times, some "State Parks" have become "Environmental Education Centers", while other parks have dropped one word from their name ("Cherry Springs Drive"
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