Mellon Park Public Art
Mellon Park's public art collection includes historic landscape elements and contemporary installations.
7:11 AM 11.20.1979 79.55'W 40.27'N
Janet Zweig
Walled Garden at Mellon Park, south of Fifth Avenue
Year: 2009
The installation of 150 “stars” embedded in the lawn of the Mellon Park Walled Garden serves as a memorial to Ann Katharine Seamans. Representing the brightest objects in the sky, the pattern of lights recreates the night sky over Pittsburgh at the moment of Annie’s birth on November 20, 1979. A short phrase is engraved on the stone marker surrounding each light, giving a clue to a scientific, historical, or mythological aspect of the celestial body it represents.
Five Factors
Peter Calaboyias
North of Fifth Avenue, near Penn Avenue
Year: 1973 (remade 2010)
The forms that Calaboyias used to create his composition are inspired by ancient Greek stelae, or cylindrical stone markers that were inscribed with words or carvings. Like much of the artist's work, it unites his cultural heritage with a mid-century minimalist sensibility. The sculpture was originally commissioned for the Carnegie Library in Squirrel Hill. In 2010, the artist entirely recreated the original work as part of a City of Pittsburgh conservation program, funded by the Richard King Mellon Foundation.
Mellon Park Fountain
Edmund Amateis
Walled Garden at Mellon Park, south of Fifth Avenue
Year: 1920
Mellon Park was established on the former estate of Richard Beatty Mellon, whose 60- room Tudor home was at one time the largest mansion in Pittsburgh. Following the house’s demolition during World War II, the grounds were converted to a City park. The Gothic-inspired fountain was part of an elaborate Renaissance garden design by the firm of Vitale and Geffert. Three bronze maidens, also by Amateis, once stood in niches at the rear wall of the garden, and can now be seen in the gardens of Phipps Conservatory.
Steelcityscape
Aaronel deRoy Gruber
Mellon Park, north of Fifth Avenue near Penn Avenue
Year: 1976
At 17 feet tall and weighing 3.5 tons, this is the largest work created by Gruber. The rounded circle was a signature motif of this prolific local artist. Originally designed for the portico of the City-County Building, it had to be relocated due to the effects of its immense weight on the portico floor. It was then moved to a spot on Fort Duquesne Boulevard before later undergoing restoration and being placed in Mellon Park. Gruber gave her consent to the new location shortly before her death at the age of 92.
Untitled (January Sprinter)
Thomas Morandi
Mellon Park, north of Fifth Avenue near Penn Avenue
Year: 1973
Done in the early days of the artist's career, the massive bulk of this piece combined with gentle curvature is typical of his work at the time. Morandi drew inspiration for this piece from the landscape of eastern Oregon, where he was working as a college professor. The sculpture was originally commissioned for the Carnegie Library in Squirrel Hill. In 2010, the City of Pittsburgh restored the it as part of a conservation program funded by the Richard King Mellon Foundation.
Forbes Road Monument
Mellon Park, north of Fifth Avenue near Penn Avenue
Year: 2012
Forbes Road, established in 1758 by Brigadier-General John Forbes on a military expedition, once stretched hundreds of miles through the Pennsylvania forest to Fort Duquesne at what is now Point State Park. After an oak tree which had grown alongside this road was cut down in 1907, a memorial was created in the shape of the tree's stump. It stood in that spot for nearly a century before being recreated in its new location, utilizing the original plaque.
Location
Mellon Park North
Mellon Park South