Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Northside Park to Rebuild Historic Fountain

Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy

The oldest park in Pittsburgh is getting a facelift. A section of Allegheny Commons around a popular Northside fountain will be rebuilt this summer.

The Allegheny Commons Initiative is a volunteer group, that up until recently was handling most park matters. The group wanted to undergo a multimillion dollar project that would restore the park to its heyday, but was met with some funding challenges.

So the Initiative partnered with Northside Leadership Conference, and with the Pittsburgh Park Conservancy.

“We finally realized that we needed additional expertise to pull off a project this large. That’s why beyond our volunteer group’s capability. We really need your help and we appreciate all that you can do, and all that you have done for us,” said John Francona, Allegheny Commons Initiative chair.

The project will restore a 150-year-old fountain that sat at North and Cedar Avenues.

“In general the north commons area of the park new sidewalks, tree health issues will be addressed and a whole rehab of that entire section of the park. The fountain is simply the diamond in that plan, but there’s a whole other group of things that will be happening all along this corridor,” said Scott Roller, marketing manager for the Parks Conservancy.

About a million dollars of the $2.5 million project has been raised so far. The goal includes a half million dollar maintenance fund. The groups hope to break ground on the fountain by late spring or early summer. 

Jess was accepted as a WESA fellow in the news department in January 2014. The Erie, PA native attends Duquesne University where she has a double major--broadcast journalism and political science. Following her anticipated graduation in May 2015, she plans to enter law school or begin a career in broadcast journalism.