Hill District’s August Wilson Park Opens to Public at August 6th Community Celebration
Major rehabilitation complete; opening of fully ADA-accessible greenspace to include ribbon-cutting, festive procession
WHAT: August Wilson Park Community Celebration. August Wilson Park – formerly Cliffside Park – opens to the public after an extensive, multi-year reimagining and rehabilitation.
The community celebration will include a ribbon cutting and festive all-ages procession along the park’s winding entry path, ending at the overlook with views of the Allegheny River and North Side. Children’s activities, park tour guides, music, and Hill District food vendors will round out the celebration.
WHERE: August Wilson Park, 1801 Cliff Street in Pittsburgh’s Hill District (Google map search term “August Wilson Park”; click here for Google Map).
WHEN: Saturday, August 6th, 2p.m. – 4p.m. Ribbon-cutting and festive processional begins at 2:15p.m.
WHO: Project partners are Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, City of Pittsburgh’s Parks and Recreation and Public Works Departments, Hill House Association, and Daisy Wilson Artist Community, with significant neighborhood input and support. Design partner for August Wilson Park is Environmental Planning & Design.
INFO: August Wilson Park – despite its steep incline – has been carefully designed with a switchback trail to be fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, making the park accessible to all. The park includes resting benches to encourage small gatherings, a performance space, half-basketball court, and a multi-age playground.
The park features installations of quotes from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson, and photographs by nationally-known Hill photographer Charles Teenie Harris.
Future park programming will be developed by Hill District community groups, with literary readings, music, neighborhood festivals, and fireworks viewing parties under discussion.
Interviews with project partners are available prior to and at the event; guided tours of the park are available prior to and at the event. High-resolution images are available. Contact Scott Roller at sroller@pittsburghpark.org, or 412-682-7275 ex 220, or 412-725-0023.
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About the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy:
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy was founded in December 1996 by a group of citizens concerned with the deteriorating conditions of Pittsburgh's historic city parks. A nonprofit organization, the Parks Conservancy works closely with the City of Pittsburgh under an official public-private partnership agreement to restore and improve the city’s park system to its full potential. Originally including Highland, Schenley, Frick, and Riverview Parks, the scope of the Park Conservancy’s work now includes a focus on community parks including Allegheny Commons, Arsenal Park, August Wilson Park, McKinley Park, and Mellon Park. To date, the Parks Conservancy has raised $92 million toward park improvements.