Point State Park (locally known as The Point) is a Pennsylvania state park which is located on in Downtown Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, US, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, forming the Ohio River.

Built on land that was acquired via eminent domain from industrial enterprises during the 1950s, the park opened in August 1974 after construction was completed on its iconic fountain. Pittsburgh settled on the current design after rejecting an alternative plan for a Point Park Civic Center designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

The park also includes the outlines and remains of two of the oldest structures in Pittsburgh, Fort Pitt and Fort Duquesne. The Fort Pitt Museum, which is housed in the Monongahela Bastion of Fort Pitt, commemorates the French and Indian War (1754–63), during which the area soon to become Pittsburgh became a major battlefield. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1960 for its role in the strategic struggles between Native Americans, French colonists, and British colonists for control of the Ohio River watershed.

Features

Today, the park provides recreational space for workers, visitors, and residents in downtown Pittsburgh, and also acts as the site for major cultural events in the city, including the Venture Outdoors Festival, Three Rivers Arts Festival and Three Rivers Regatta. The park is operated by the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks.

Fountain

thumb|The fountain in Point State Park, which sprays water up to in the air at the head of the [[Ohio River.|left]]

The location of the fountain at the tip of the Point previously served as a connector for two old bridges, the Manchester Bridge (over the Allegheny River) and Point Bridge (over the Monongahela). Both were removed in 1970 to make way for the fountain.

In April 2009, the fountain was turned off for a $9.6 million upgrade and refurbishment; it went online again at the opening of the Three Rivers Arts Festival on June 7, 2013.

The fountain also serves as the western terminus for the Great Allegheny Passage, a 150-mile hiker-biker trail beginning at the 184.5 milepost of the Cumberland, MD, terminus of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, which begins in the Georgetown area of Washington, DC, thus forming in total a 350-mile recreational trail between DC and Pittsburgh.

History

18th century

thumb|250px|Period map showing strategic location of 18th century forts at Forks of the Ohio|left

thumb|250px|The [[Fort Pitt Blockhouse|left]]

The confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, creating the Ohio River, has greatly impacted the history of Point State Park. This confluence was referred to as the Forks of the Ohio, which remains the official landmark-designated name for the site. It was once at the center of river travel, trade, and even wars throughout the pioneer history of Western Pennsylvania. During the mid-18th century, the armies of France and the Great Britain carved paths through the wilderness to control the point area and trade on the rivers. The French built Fort Duquesne in 1754 on foundations of Fort Prince George, which had been built by the colonial forces of Virginia.

The French held Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War, and it became one of the focal points for that war because of its strategic riverside location in disputed territory. The French held the fort successfully early in the war, turning back the 1755 expedition led by General Edward Braddock. A smaller attack by James Grant in September 1758 was repulsed, but with heavy losses. Two months later, on November 25, the Forbes Expedition, under General John Forbes, captured the site after the French destroyed Fort Duquesne the day before. The British built the temporary Mercer's Fort in 1759, and later a much larger fort on the site, Fort Pitt. Smallpox was highly contagious among the Native Americans, and — together with measles, influenza, chicken pox, and other Old World diseases — was a major cause of death since the arrival of Europeans and their animals. A reported outbreak that began the spring before left as many as one hundred Native Americans dead in Ohio Country from 1763 to 1764. It is not clear, however, whether the smallpox was a result of the Fort Pitt incident or the virus was already present among the Delaware people as outbreaks happened on their own every dozen or so years and the delegates were met again later and they seemingly had not contracted smallpox. On August 1, 1763, most of the Indians broke off the siege to intercept an approaching force under Colonel Bouquet, resulting in the Battle of Bushy Run. Bouquet fought off the attack and relieved Fort Pitt on August 20.]]

Plans for Point Park Civic Center fell through and ultimately, the site was turned into a park with historic and recreational aspects, Point State Park. The Fort Pitt blockhouse remained intact, and three of the five bastions of the fort have been restored. The state acquired almost all property for the site by 1949, at a cost of $7,588,500 ($  in ); the park was finally completed in August 1974. Areas adjoining the park were condemned to permit commercial development, most notably Gateway Center.

21st century

thumb|right|The underpass under [[Interstate 279 in the park]]

On October 11, 2006, Michael DeBerardinis, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, announced a $25 million plan to renovate Point State Park. The plans called for improving the green spaces within the park, expanding recreational opportunities, preserving historical installations, and updating outdated amenities. Those estimated costs grew to a final figure of $36 million [http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/editorials/a-gem-restored-pittsburgh-can-rejoice-over-its-iconic-fountain-667764/]. The project was scheduled to be completed within four years, with the majority of the work to be finished in time for Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary celebration in 2008.

Sections of the park had fallen into disuse since it was established in the summer of 1974. The homeless had used the trenches surrounding the foundations of the remains of Fort Pitt as a temporary shelter for years. Graffiti on the structures of the park had become a major problem. Sections of the park were littered with fence posts, cut logs, plastic drums, and rolled up snow drift fencing. The walkways were cracked and beginning to fall apart. The restoration project aimed to reestablish the park as a recreational destination.

Point State Park was reopened to the public in the spring of 2008. The renovation process took a year and a half to complete.

In late 2025 both the state and city funded more improvements and upgrades to the park, including fixing leaks and funding new fountain controllers, walkway and utility repairs, lightning and landscaping updating.[https://triblive.com/local/pa-pledges-3-4-million-to-upgrade-point-state-park-ahead-of-2026-nfl-draft/]

Moving downstream about 100 yards:

<gallery>

File:Pittsburgh Point Park Punter 1.JPG|Del Monte Foods office building in the background

File:Pittsburgh Point Park Punter 2.JPG|Acrisure Stadium in the background

File:Pittsburgh Point Park Punter 3.JPG|Acrisure Stadium and Carnegie Science Center

File:Pittsburgh Point Park Punter 4.JPG|West End Bridge

File:Pittsburgh Point Park Punter 5.JPG|At the point

</gallery>

References

  • Point State Park Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
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  • Pittsburgh Waste Book and Fort Pitt Trading Post Papers published by ULS Archives Service Center University of Pittsburgh