The Point State Park Fountain

To be completed 2012-2013

---

Pittsburgh’s “heroic moment”

• 

  The Fountain is an iconic part of Pittsburgh’s skyline. Due to a funding shortage, the original Stotz & Griswold fountain design was never realized when it was constructed in 1973. The new Fountain renovation will incorporate many of the originally intended features.

• 

  Over the past decades, the Fountain has been prone to electrical problems, flooding and broken pumps.

• 

  When fully operational, the Fountain can reach heights up to 200 feet.

• 

  The newly restored Fountain will be much more accessible and inviting, with raised seating, a splash pool, new lighting and more.

---

Overview

The fountain at Point State Park is Pittsburgh’s heroic moment.  It is the dramatic first image that visitors have of the city – our front door.  And it is the focal point of a vibrant network of riverfront parks that is unmatched in other cities.

Yet since its creation in 1974, the Fountain at Point State Park has fallen into disrepair.  Its original design limits public access, safety, and enjoyment.  The Riverlife-led restoration and improvement of the Fountain will re-create a dramatic focal point and an accessible setting for day-to-day enjoyment and large-scale special events for generations to come. 

The Fountain and surrounding landscape will be restored and enhanced, including the addition of seating, a raised fountain base, a cascade waterfall to touch, all new stone paving surfaces, and new plumbing and electrical systems – rejuvenating the Fountain for another generation. Riverlife has raised more than $5 million for the completion of this project. 

Project Partners

Riverlife
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Allegheny Conference on Community Development


Process

Riverlife’s Friends of the Fountain campaign began during the summer of 2009 to raise support for the Fountain’s renovation, which is the final piece of the overall renovation of Point State Park by then-Governor Edward G. Rendell, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Allegheny Conference on Community Development, and Riverlife. Since then Riverlife has raised over $5 million for the Fountain renovation, including $750,000 in private and grassroots donations for a matching grant challenge issued by the Colcom Foundation. The Fountain renovation is expected to break ground in late 2011 and be completed in 2012.

Fundraising for the Fountain continues - make your donation to Riverlife today!