A HISTORIC PARK BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE August Wilson Park is the first park project to be based on the Greenprint for the Hill District. The plan envisions reconnecting the people of the Hill District to their unique landscape and connecting the Hill District to the city as a whole.
ABOUT THIS HISTORIC PARK
Located in Pittsburgh’s historic Hill District, August Wilson Park (formerly Cliffside Park) is a vibrant neighborhood asset. By the early 2000s, little changed from its original 1975 design. A too steep path led park-goers under mature oaks to an exciting, sweeping view of the north side of the city, the Allegheny River, and the Strip District. Existing amenities in the parks were in poor condition, the impressive view overgrown, and significant drainage issues and broken pavement were all visible signs of overall neglect. After witnessing years of the park’s decline and deterioration, residents rallied to preserve this important greenspace.
ABOUT THE RESTORATION
The restoration of August Wilson Park is the first park project to be based on the Greenprint for the Hill District, by Walter Hood Design Studio. The Greenprint plan envisions reconnecting the people of the Hill District to their unique landscape and connecting the Hill District to the city as a whole.
Produced by Find the Rivers! — a partnership of Hill House Association, Community Partners Institute, Hill District Consensus Group, and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy — the Greenprint provides a practical framework for a beautiful urban landscape around which housing, commercial development, transportation, the arts, and community services can be woven. Ultimately, it envisions the Hill as a “Village in the Woods” above the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. The park was officially opened to the public in 2016.
Special features of the park include an inviting new playset, a resurfaced half-court for basketball, a rolling, fully accessible pathway, an installation of vintage photographs from Pittsburgh native Charles “Teenie” Harris and the Oliver M. Kaufmann Photograph Collection, and quotations from beloved Pittsburgh playwright and park namesake August Wilson.