RESTORING A PIECE OF HISTORY Originally created as the first public space built over a parking garage in 1955, Mellon Square is a Modernist masterpiece.
ABOUT THE PARK
Mellon Square is a landmark park in downtown Pittsburgh. Built during the city's 1950s Renaissance, the park provides a green oasis that highlights and enhances the buildings around it. One of the oldest surviving parks to be built atop a parking garage, Mellon Square is one of the country's original "green roofs."
ABOUT THE RESTORATION
The completely restored Mellon Square reopened publicly in May 2014 offers a renewed urban oasis for workers, visitors, and residents, while supporting economic growth in the city’s downtown core. “To be a competitive city,” Mellon Square Committee Co-Chair and former Parks Conservancy Vice Chairman Dan Booker said, “you have to provide and maintain high-quality public spaces.”
During this project special attention was given to the Square’s signature fountains; reinstalling dramatic nighttime lighting; landscaping the Square with a wide array of plantings; restoring the unique terrazzo paving; and creating 15% more public space with the addition of a terrace over Smithfield Street. Park enhancements also encompass the perimeter with a newly installed interpretive wall and illuminated signband that provide pedestrians with history of the Square and the Pittsburgh Renaissance. The restoration of Mellon Square included a complete facelift for the Square’s streetscape on Smithfield, with brand new curbing, sidewalk planters, benches, trash receptacles, and updated storefronts. To prevent the Square from falling back into disrepair, a maintenance fund was established prior to restoration.
