Pittsburgh Arts Festival and Fort Pitt

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

**Photo dense!**

Every year Pittsburgh holds a 10 day festival called the Three Rivers Arts Festival. For abbreviation purposes... let's just call it the TRAF. It's 10 days of music and arts of all kinds. Artists from across the country come and set up their booth for a 3, 5, or 10 day span and the art ranges from sculptures to paintings to cross stitch to jewelry and everything in between.

It's been a favorite of mine for many years now.

The TRAF is held in Downtown Pittsburgh (Pgh) and the main music stage is located near Fort Pitt. This herein' post is about said Fort, and a few shots of the festival. Because of the nature of the art, people (mainly security and the artists themselves) don't want photos taken directly of their booths and I tried to respect that. So please pardon the expansive shots of the art tents, I didn't want to tick anyone off by photographing something I shouldn't be.

That being said, there are 252 artists tents and the artists tend to sign on for a 3 or 5 day run and then pack up and a new group comes in. It's nice to have a little rotation mid week, to keep things fresh...and give one more reasons to head back down to scope it out!

Some of the artists tents





These were taken on a 'light crowd' day due to rainstorms, but it gets very... VERY crowded in this area.

The giant fountain in the middle of the plaza has been converted into a sail boat 'race' for young kids and the young at heart.





In a vague attempt to keep this post from being too overwhelming (plus, I'm at work ) I'm going to dump the photos off in separate posts here

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

Ghetto panoramic

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

See that wonky concrete outline above (and below) ? That's the outline of Fort Pitt!



Here's an old school drawing/plan of Fort Pitt, constructed at the 'point' of where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers meet and form the Ohio River.

Up until a handful of years ago, the general outline of the fort was still very much visible-

Due to age, and crumbling walls (they take a beating with Pittsburgh's awful weather) a plan was developed to restore and renovate the entire area. This was ALL filled in to preserve what's left of the walls, but to still show where they are, a concrete outline was created (with solar lighting set into it as well) on the brand-new, flat field we have now.



This pic wasn't taken from the same place, but I hope you get the idea


There's a highway that literally passes straight through Point State Park but a tunnel/ramp runs underneath it to connect the lower half of the Point to the rest of Downtown and Fort Pitt.



...The art installation is, thankfully, temporary. There's a shallow pool of water here- a reflection pool.

The lower half of the point looks like this, when you cross under the highway.



(These booths were kids arts and crafts and music)

Next up, the Blockhouse, Fort Pitt Museum, and fountain!

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

At one point in Pittsburghs history, the Point was completely disregarded and ill used.

It was ugly, basically.

Looking at the pic above, roughly in the middle of the pic is a little square building with a house next to it. This is the Blockhouse.

This is what it looks like today





And inside-



They used to shoot out of these holes... I'd imagine this place is very cold in the winter.






Old school gun




...Ok, I gotta get some work done :\ Will post more later!

 

[JenniferS]

Great pics.
Awesome narrative.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

Thanks, Jennifer!

Starting where I left off... the inside of the blockhouse. It's a tight, drafty building. The stairs would just about break both of my knees-



Those stairs really are just as small and high as they appear.

The volunteer who was describing the blockhouse also made mention of these seemingly out of place, unthemed numbers.

Turns out, they're the dates of the worst floods in Pittsburgh, and how far 'under' the blockhouse was.





The 1936 flood was known as the St Patricks Day flood. Wanna take a stab at why?

Here's the outside of the blockhouse. The Daughters of the American Revolution was an organization of ...well, women, who were out to preserve and save the history of the city from being destroyed or otherwise sold off- and moved. The city of Pgh wanted to move this blockhouse off site many times, but the DofAR stopped them from doing so. Now that it's been deemed a historical landmark, it will never be moved.



Don't strain your eyes trying to read that date above the door, here's a better pic



This is the 'back' of the blockhouse, though there is truly no back or sides

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

This is the massive flag hanging near the blockhouse



Also near blockhouse-



Back to that concrete outline- here's the original, Fort Duquesne, itty compared to the other, Fort Pitt.



In the middle of this outline is a huge plaque-

 

[Nemo14]

Way cool!!!

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

I'll add more history (and art festival stuff!) soon...

Now that you've seen Pittsburgh's past, here's Pittsburgh's future:



The first sky scraper to exceed LEED Platinum standards for green certification, making it one of the most energy efficient skyscrapers in the country.

It's still being built, but will be quite a beauty when it's finished. That's what it looks like from a few blocks away, right now.


And if you're curious, here's more information about it. http://www.thetoweratpncplaza.com/

 

[MOXOMUMD]

Thanks, Jennifer!

Starting where I left off... the inside of the blockhouse. It's a tight, drafty building. The stairs would just about break both of my knees-



Those stairs really are just as small and high as they appear.

The volunteer who was describing the blockhouse also made mention of these seemingly out of place, unthemed numbers.

Turns out, they're the dates of the worst floods in Pittsburgh, and how far 'under' the blockhouse was.





The 1936 flood was known as the St Patricks Day flood. Wanna take a stab at why?

Here's the outside of the blockhouse. The Daughters of the American Revolution was an organization of ...well, women, who were out to preserve and save the history of the city from being destroyed or otherwise sold off- and moved. The city of Pgh wanted to move this blockhouse off site many times, but the DofAR stopped them from doing so. Now that it's been deemed a historical landmark, it will never be moved.



Don't strain your eyes trying to read that date above the door, here's a better pic



This is the 'back' of the blockhouse, though there is truly no back or sides

I remember doing the cruise and the dates posted on a marker by the snack bar showing how high the river had flooded.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

in 1912 there was a huge Exposition Hall located where Point State Park (encompassing all of Fort Pitt and Duquesne) is now... and there was a roller coaster along the bank

Notice how dirty and bad the air quality was. This didn't improve until the 70's. Pittsburgh regularly still receives marks for bad air quality, however you can see the sun in the middle of the day now.

This was taken in the 1940s

This was the 1950s, middle of Downtown Pgh. Pittsburgh was called "Hell with the lid off". This was taken in the middle of the afternoon.

It's still bad.

But it's light years away from what it once was. A good part of Downtown is going green or has already, and PNC is adding to it with its conversion of old buildings to energy efficiency and landscaping with lots of shrubs and trees. They have a "living wall" on the side of the building to help absorb gross air pollution.

There's currently a proposition to keep public busses to the outskirts of Downtown only instead of trafficking through the entire Downtown district in an effort to help with air qualities.

 

[donaldtoo]

Thanks for sharing the festival and PGH history in words and pics!
Great stuff!!!

 

[Cesar R M]

At one point in Pittsburghs history, the Point was completely disregarded and ill used.

It was ugly, basically.

Looking at the pic above, roughly in the middle of the pic is a little square building with a house next to it. This is the Blockhouse.

This is what it looks like today





And inside-



They used to shoot out of these holes... I'd imagine this place is very cold in the winter.






Old school gun




...Ok, I gotta get some work done :\ Will post more later!

wow
1907's flood must have been insane!


speaking of floods, is the downtown zone now protected? or still in risk?
I remember everything seems elevated 2-4 meters above the waterline.

(edit)
OH MY GOD.. the 1936 one D:

 

[Cesar R M]

This is the massive flag hanging near the blockhouse



Also near blockhouse-



Back to that concrete outline- here's the original, Fort Duquesne, itty compared to the other, Fort Pitt.



In the middle of this outline is a huge plaque-

Isn't fort Duquesque more like a redoubt supporting Fort Pitt?

I'll add more history (and art festival stuff!) soon...

Now that you've seen Pittsburgh's past, here's Pittsburgh's future:



The first sky scraper to exceed LEED Platinum standards for green certification, making it one of the most energy efficient skyscrapers in the country.

It's still being built, but will be quite a beauty when it's finished. That's what it looks like from a few blocks away, right now.


And if you're curious, here's more information about it. http://www.thetoweratpncplaza.com/

Also, its amazing how fast buildings rise!

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

@Cesar R M From what I understand Fort Duquesne was the first fort built, then a reinforcement... a larger in size and scope fort, Fort Pitt, was built right behind it.

Check out that link posted above regarding the PNC tower, it has some really cool information!

wow
1907's flood must have been insane!


speaking of floods, is the downtown zone now protected? or still in risk?
I remember everything seems elevated 2-4 meters above the waterline.

(edit)
OH MY GOD.. the 1936 one D:

It still floods. There's really no way of protecting the point easily with water surrounding it. It floods every spring, due to the winter storms (snow and ice) we get every year. This year, the fountain was underwater but the open fields were more or less spared. It's something the city has just come to grips with and realizes there's nothing to do, besides a huge, HUGE renovation to raise the entire area (wont happen) so just minimize the damage as much as possible. It's a slight incline from where the fountain is to where the main street leading to Downtown Pgh is, and that kinda helps. A few of the highway bypasses flood out with the Point, and that snarls traffic pretty badly.

 

[Cesar R M]

@Cesar R M From what I understand Fort Duquesne was the first fort built, then a reinforcement... a larger in size and scope fort, Fort Pitt, was built right behind it.

aaah gotcha!
that explains it!

 

[MinnieM123]

It is evident to me that you take great pride in your city. Although I've never been to Pittsburgh, I have just gained an appreciation for a city that has taken great strides, in an effort to continually improve itself. Your commentary provided some wonderful insights.

Your well-composed pictures also captured my interest. They presented a unique window of vision to those of us following along, and also nicely coincided with your own perceptions.

I like it when cities exhibit enthusiasm to promote festivals, etc., in their green, open spaces. It fosters goodwill throughout the community, encourages tourism, and generates a boost to the local economy.

Thank you for taking the time to share this. History is fascinating, and I enjoyed learning something new today.

 

[unkadug]

Loving the history lesson on your city....looking forward to more.

 

[Lucky]

Thanks for the interesting stories and photos. I've only been there once, in the late 80s. I saw a couple of Pirates-Cards games at Three Rivers Stadium, which is gone now, right? Otherwise I didn't see a whole lot of downtown. I was just tagging along with a friend from Pittsburgh who went back for his brother's HS graduation.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

Thanks for the interesting stories and photos. I've only been there once, in the late 80s. I saw a couple of Pirates-Cards games at Three Rivers Stadium, which is gone now, right? Otherwise I didn't see a whole lot of downtown. I was just tagging along with a friend from Pittsburgh who went back for his brother's HS graduation.

Yeah, they leveled Three Rivers Stadium. The Pirates have their own dedicated stadium (its beautiful!- PNC Park) and the Steelers have theirs (Heinz Field- equally well done, but I'm smitten with the Pirates stadium)

Pittsburgh in the 80s was a rough time, so you didn't miss much from what I understand.

The next bright and sunny day... if it ever happens again... I'll grab some more downtown shots