Pittsburgh People by Penelope Jencks

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This is the second sculpture in the city with the name of Pittsburgh People, the first was done by Jerry Caplan and installed in 1984. This version bears no resemblance to the first. They are done in different materials, styles and themes.

Pittsburgh People by Penelope Jencks celebrates the mix of business and arts found in the cultural district.

There are three figures in EQT Plaza. The two musicians are placed together near the street entrance, and the businessman is across the plaza near the building entrance.

While the figures in Jerry Caplan’s Pittsburgh People are modeled after real Pittsburghers, Penelope Jencks often used her children as her models. An article by Wendy Doniger says Her children are now, in various guises, standing, walking, or sitting from Toledo OH to Pittsburgh PA and scattered throughout eastern Massachusetts.

HeART this City by Ed Trask

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Riding through Point State Park we came across artist Ed Trask working on this temporary mural. He was happy to talk with us and explained that it was part of an Alternative Spring Break project sponsored by American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) and the Student Conservation Association (SCA).

AEO and SCA have been organizing these conservation projects for seven years now. This year’s theme is HeART This City and student volunteers have taken on projects in San Francisco, New Orleans, Chicago and here in our own backyard. In each location the volunteers work to improve parks or to accomplish other conservation efforts. Along side the students, they’ve brought in established artists to create murals promoting the theme. Ed Trask was the artist assigned to Pittsburgh, and given the task of creating a graphic image to represent the project.

Mr Trask said his initial idea was something that showed more of the history of the area – specifically the dichotomy of how the steel industry was detrimental to the environment versus the incredible philanthropic contributions from the steel magnates. The CSA wanted a more simple graphic though. They asked for the image to include the HeART This City phrase and symbols or images for the city woven into the design and done with the city’s colors featured. So Mr Trask has started off featuring one of our iconic bridges. He’s filled the right side of the mural with the hypocycloids that we all immediately recognize from the Steelers logo (which was originally from the American Iron and Steel Institute and US Steel Corp). Other imagery symbolizes what Ed Trask calls the Creative Renaissance of Pittsburgh. He uses triangular shapes to represent the three rivers and superimposes them on top of gears that represent industrial Pittsburgh. He sees all the bike trails, green spaces and cultural venues as part of the renaissance. Former Pittsburghers returning home are participants in the transition and renewal of the city. In the center of the mural the tracks represent the strong railroad presence here and its contribution to industrial Pittsburgh. We, of course, see them as a symbol for the Rails to Trails program, which created the Great Allegheny Passage – which starts (or ends, depending on your perspective) at the Point – which is a part of that Creative Renaissance previously mentioned. (I love it when it all ties together!)

While the mural is under construction, the student volunteers have been busy planting native plants around Point State Park. The SCA is a conservation corps, working to protect and restore parks and green spaces across the country. In the past they’ve focused on National Parks for the spring break project, but this year have focused efforts in urban areas. Here in Pittsburgh they took on the task of restoring native plants to the historic Point. Working with some of Penn State’s Master Gardeners they removed invasive species and replaced them with 170 natives including winterberry, wild geranium, clethra and blueberries.

They were working hard on the landscaping improvements and we appreciate it!

The mural was due to be completed by late April of 2014. We took the above photos on the 26th but when we returned the morning of the 27th the mural was already gone.

In May 2014 we arrived at the Bike–Pgh Bike to Work Day commuter cafe station in front of American Eagle Outfitters buildings on the Southside and discovered that the completed mural had been relocated there. It was there for a few months and then removed.

Langley Observatory Clock by R. M. Fischer

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In 1859 a group of wealthy Pittsburghers founded the Allegheny Telescope Association and opened the observatory in 1861 to club members. It was well equipped with the third largest telescope in the world when it opened. Club membership dropped as interests changed and less than 10 years later the money for this venture was running out. It was then donated to the local University (Western University of Pennsylvania, now the University of Pittsburgh). It became known as the Allegheny Observatory and the University hired Samuel Pierpont Langley for their first director. As the Professor of Astronomy and Physics, Dr Langley expanded the facility to add classrooms, darkrooms, and dormitories, and conducted research on sunspots. In 1869 Dr Langley began to essentially sell time. Langley used astronomical measurements to accurately determine the time. He constructed a system with a telegraph connected to a master clock that would send out the exact time twice a day. The railroad industry needed precise times to run the trains, so they became his biggest customer. He used the money earned with this subscription service to fund the facility and his research.

This sculpture honors this particular aspect of Samuel Pierpont Langley’s work. The illuminated blue and yellow lights represent old railroad switchlamps. On top of the sculpture is a rotating clock minute hand with its shape based on our three rivers.

The sculpture is constructed of Corten Steel (the same type used for the USS Building, which actually develops a protective layer of rust), and stainless steel, with the minute hand being made out of aluminum.

This sculpture is at the boundary with the Chateau neighborhood and the Northshore and right on the Three Rivers Heritage Trail. It is part of the North Shore Riverfront Park (commissioned by the Sports and Exhibition Authority for this specific location) and part of a public art initiative designed to reconnect people with our rivers. In Mr Fischer’ artist statement he says it celebrates the act of looking out over the river. The work is a response to the industrial history of Pittsburgh while simultaneously appearing timeless and looking forward.

Bell Telephone Building Relief Map

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We found precious little information about this relief map of Pennsylvania. It's carved in granite on the side of the old Bell Telephone Company building, and has the company motto Anywhere Any Time by Telephone beneath a spinning globe inset. We know the building went up between 1956–58, and the architects were Emil W. Kinder, William Tesky, and Press Dowler of Dowler Calvery & Associates Architects. According to a Pennsylvania Historic Research form, the artwork was installed as a tribute to the global reach of the Bell Telephone system. Above the globe, there’s a clock and across the map are some carvings. The Pittsburgh skyline, Appalachian Mountains, and Liberty Bell are obvious. There are also trees, what might be an oil well, fort, and the dome of the capital building in Harrisburg.

The building has a couple of other small reminders that it was built as Bell Telephone’s Western PA Regional Headquarters.

Cafe at the Point Relief, artist unknown

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There’s a small – sort of fold–up – café in Point State Park. When it’s closed up, the stainless steel front has this great etched map of what this location used to look like. Included in the etching is this explanation:

This map depicts Fort Pitt and its extensive outworks and gardens lying at the Forks of the Ohio River. The original manuscript, produced by British military engineer Lieutenant Elias Meyer around 1761, is held by The National Archives of the United Kingdom.

They also give a description of how the area was used for gardening:

The King’s Garden:
Feeding Pittsburgh in the 18th Century
You are standing on what was once the parade ground of Fort Pitt, one of the largest military fortifications in 18th century North America. British and colonial American soldiers built this massive Fort between 1759 and 1761 in order to control the strategic Forks of the Ohio River (now Point State Park). The town of Pittsburgh grew up around Fort Pitt.
To feed the growing population, Fort Pitt’s British commanders set aside nearly forty acres of land along the Allegheny River for the King’s Garden, named for the British King George III. Stretching three–quarters of a mile along the Allegheny River from Fort Pitt, the Garden included a bowling green, a fenced deer park, a large orchard, and a series of fields, pastures, and garden plots laid out in geometrical patterns. The plantings that make up the green or living walls of the cafe reflect the Garden’s patterns.
Fort Pitt’s garrison raised fruits, vegetables, and grains in the King’s Garden. These local crops, rich in vitamins and nutrients, supplemented the typical military diet of salted meat, flour, dried peas, and rice. Pittsburgh’s early inhabitants enjoyed strolling the grounds for many years and continued to use the term the King’s Garden even after the colonists declared their independence from King George III.

Living wall on the side of the cafe.

Stephen Foster mural by Jeremy Raymer

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The owners of this home wanted to make it stand out. They were looking for something to make their home unique and wanted to add some art to the neighborhood. They contacted Jeremy Raymer and when he showed them some designs they fell in love with the idea of Stephen Foster.

There’s a Stephen Foster Memorial in Oakland, and most Pittsburghers know he was from the area. The background in the mural ties him specifically to his home town of Lawrenceville. Doughboy Square is a big part of Lawrenceville’s identity.

Considered this country’s first songwriter, Stephen Foster composed over 200 songs. You’ve most likely heard and sung his songs numerous times without knowing where they originated: Beautiful Dreamer,Oh! Susanna,My Old Kentucky Home,Camptown Races,and Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair are some you might recognize.

Update: 1 Sep 2017
Recent controversy over the Stephen Foster sculpture outside the Carnegie Museum of Art has apparently influenced the homeowners to remove this mural.

WWI Memorial by Frank Vittor

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In 2011, The City of Pittsburgh took inventory of the war monuments and memorials within the city. They came up with over 120. If you’re interested, you can download a PDF file listing them. We have a few on our map and may slowly add more of the monuments that include interesting sculptures.

This monument for World War I (or at the time it was sculpted still just the World War), marks the entrance for the Blvd of the Allies at Grant St. They were created by Frank Vittor, who was responsible for over 30 public fountains as well as numerous sculptures all around the Pittsburgh Area.

Both columns are topped with beautiful eagles, their wings spread high. On the base of both columns (facing Grant Street) is the image of Lady Liberty on a shield, an eternal flame, multiple flags, Oak leaves, and wings. The inscription carved into the one side reads:

To Commemorate the deeds of valor and sacrifice of those who contributed to the successful termination of the world war and to the abiding hope of an enduring peace this boulevard is dedicated

Le Magnifique by Bruce Wolfe

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Mario Lemieux has had a lot of accomplishments both on and off the ice. He’s a Hall of Fame Center with two consecutive Stanley Cup championships and a three time MVP. He has battled cancer, back injury, and city politicians and won. But if you want to know what the city really thinks of this man, check out the inscription on this sculpture:

Mario Lemieux’s career is defined not only by his spectacular talent, but also by his fierce determination and uncommon resilience; qualities that enabled him to break through adversity and overcome immense challenges both on and off the ice. Mario arrived here as a teenager from Montreal and quickly became one of our own, choosing to stay here and give back to the community. Exuding all those core attributes – loyalty, dedication, ability and compassion – that make him, above all else, a Pittsburgher.

A Pittsburgher. If you aren’t from here then you don’t realize how difficult it is for an outsider to break through that barrier. You can live here for thirty years and as much as we may love and accept you as our neighbor, co–worker, or friend, we still might not consider you one of us. It’s a ’Burgh thing. So when you see this inscription, you have to understand that this city has truly embraced Le Magnifique as one of ours. We don’t mind that our friends up north still think of him as Canadian. We know he’s a Pittsburgher.

The sculpture is designed from a photograph taken by Paul Bereswill that was published in Sports Illustrated in 1988. It was during a game between the Penguins and the NY Islanders when Mario powered through defensemen Rich Pilon and Jeff Norton to score. Almost every article we read about this sculpture quoted different people as saying that the move was typical for number 66. On the Penguins own website write–up they said this image was a metaphor for everything Lemieux accomplished in his career and his life – breaking through defenders, overcoming obstacles, turning back challenges. That particular play was his 247th career goal out of 690.

Defenders Rich Pilon and Jeff Norton

As for the poor defensemen that are now immortalized while being beaten by Le Magnifique, we found this quote in an article by Sean Leahy: Pilon told TSN’s Bob McKenzie on Wednesday that he’s honored to be a part of the statue, adding, ’If you're going to get beat on a play and it’s there for everyone to see forever, it might as well be Mario. He did that to a lot of defensemen.

The city owes Mr Lemieux a lot. If not for him we might not even still have a hockey team. That part of his contribution is well known, but in the background our number 66 has contributed so much more. I think by now that most everyone is aware that he has a charitable organization. They may not be aware of just how much he’s accomplished there. The Mario Lemieux Foundation has been around for more than 20 years. Over the years he has raised and contributed millions to local hospitals for patient care and cancer research. He and his wife have built 28 playrooms at hospitals for patients and families. On the foundation’s website Mr Lemieux says that it is a life-long opportunity for me to give hope to patients and families facing what I know is a frightening battle.

Maybe in summary we should quote Mike Lange (our infamous announcer of the Penguin’s games) on the day of the sculpture’s dedication: His number is retired. He bought the team. He owns the team. He is the team.

Willie Stargell sculpture by Susan Wagner

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There are four sculptures around PNC Park that pay tribute to some of the Pittsburgh Pirates greatest players. Three of them were created by Susan Wagner between 1994 and 2010. Those include Roberto Walker Clemente, Willie Stargel, and Bill Mazeroski. The fourth, Honus Wagner, was done back in 1955 by Frank Vittor. His brother Tony Vittor did the relief work on the base of the Honus Wagner sculpture.

Willie Pops Stargell

If ever there was a heart to a sports team, it was Pops. The Pirates have had their share of great players and fan favorites, but Willie Stargell was one of a kind. Yes, he was a tremendous hitter with 475 home runs, but that doesn’t tell you what a leader he was. Pops was the heart and soul of the team that won two World Series (1971, 1979), two National League pennants and six National League East titles. He was the force that brought the players together and made them more than just a team. He made them a family.

Dan Gigler of the Post–Gazette quoted artist Susan Wagner as saying that she used old photographs and film of Stargell as well as vintage uniforms and bats to create the sculpture. It took a year.

Once again, Astorino and Associates architecture firm designed the base for the sculpture and gave it a truely personal touch. They’ve inscribed a quote from Willie Stargel on his first impression of Pittsburgh when he arrived here.

Last night, coming in from the airport, we came through the tunnel and the city opened up its arms and I felt at home.

Willie Stargell used to give out Stargell Stars to reward teammates. The embroidered stars were worn proudly on thier hats, and images of those prized possesions are embedded in the pavement around the sculpture.

An unmatched power hitter, Pops was the only player to hit a ball out of Dodger Stadium for almost 30 years. He hit the ball so far that in two stadiums they painted the seat where he had hit to in a different color. (Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia and Olympic Stadium in Montreal)

Number 8 was retired by the Pirates in 1982. We may see a better player someday, but filling his shoes as the heart and soul of Pittsburgh baseball will be near impossible.

Honus Wagner sculpture by Frank Vittor, Tony Vittor

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There are four sculptures around PNC Park that pay tribute to some of the Pittsburgh Pirates greatest players. Three of them were created by Susan Wagner between 1994 and 2010. Those include Roberto Walker Clemente, Willie Stargel, and Bill Mazeroski. The fourth, Honus Wagner, was done back in 1955 by Frank Vittor. His brother Tony Vittor did the relief work on the base of the Honus Wagner sculpture.

Honus Wagner AKA The Flying Dutchman

Pittsburgh native Johannes Peter Honus Wagner was one of the first five players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. One of – if not THE – best short stops ever, he also won eight batting titles. Considered to be the best all–around player by many, he was talented in every aspect of the game. When he retired for the last time, he held the National League’s record for all time hits.

As good a player as Honus Wagner was, he may be better known today because of his baseball card, the T206. There’s a mural in his hometown neighborhood of Carnegie that replicates it.

The Pirates retired number 33 in 1952. It’s one of only ten numbers retired by the Pittsburgh Pirates over the years. The others include Billy Meyer, Ralph Kiner, Willie Stargell, Bill Mazeroski, Paul Waner, Pie Traynor, Roberto Clemente, Danny Murtaugh, and one non–Pirate player – Jackie Robinson, who’s number was retired by all the teams.

According to wikipedia the sculptor, Frank Vittor, was known for his preference for the heroic and colossal. Some of his other works include Christopher Columbus and Charles Lindberg. A native of Italy, he studied art in Paris and eventually made Pittsburgh his home. He founded the Pittsburgh Society of Sculptors and taught at the Carnegie Institute (now CMU).

The reliefs on the base of the sculpture were done by Tony Vittor (Frank Vittor’s brother.) According to Pittsburgh Art in Public Places, they depict young people looking up at the baseball hero with admiration.