Hollow Trail Part 2 - The Lake Trail

Up these steps, hang a left and you're off...

We left the Panther Hollow trail at the steps that cross over to the home stretch on the way to PHL. When you climb the stone-pillared stairs and bear left a few paces (a right takes you on the main Lower Panther Hollow trail) across the small WPA bridge, the difference is striking. The narrow hikers' path turns into a gravel highway, more or less, straight to the lake.

Panther Hollow Run - FOPHL Tour (photo Jon Buckley)

Historically, the trails have the same history. They were likely originally horse trails improved in 1939 by the WPA (they made the path easier on the feet and replaced the old wooden bridges with stone spans) and then really spiffed up by the Parks Conservancy in 2010.

On the right is the Panther Hollow Run. In the summer, you can only tell it's there by the gurgle and splash of the stream because the creek-side vegetation is so lush. From the fall through the spring, when the greenery is a bit less imposing, it offers the same beauty as the upper stream - tree crossed channels flowing serenely over a stony bed.

Panther Hollow Run

If you peer past the Run, you'll see trees and some oddly aquatic grasses. That's the Lake wetlands, bolstered considerably by Conservancy work, that stretches from the Lower Panther Hollow trail to the Run. Its purpose is to intercept the overflow from the Schenley Drive ravine and prevent it from gushing straight into the PH Run and Lake. The area slows down rain event torrents, giving it a protective marsh to settle in while filtering the water as it seeps into the water table. It also a fairly cool habitat for the SP critters, as an added benefit.

The Wetlands

One side of the trail is tucked against the ravine behind the Anderson Grove. Joggers pound the Upper Hollow Trail almost directly overhead, but you're generally isolated in your own little world by the steep slopes and the tree canopy. This part of the trail has its own attractions.

Popular among both strollers and pooch walkers, there's a little cul-de-sac about midpoint that has a bench to rest your tired puppies. And the Conservancy work is at its most obvious. The stone border along the ravine side of the path is actually an infiltration ditch, slowing and catching the runoff before it washes out the trail and gets into the stream.

A place to rest your weary feet

You may also note a couple of odd looking rock piles, lumber stacks and log trail borders. Their purpose is to form a "slow water" defense by breaking up the flow and allowing it to soak into the ground while directing it away from more vulnerable low lying areas. The FOPHL have adopted them in a smaller way around the lake in select spots.

Almost there...

After you're moseyed down the trail, catching the sights, you'll approach a canopied curve with the Panther Hollow bridge haloed above it. You're almost there - a few more steps, and you've arrived at the Lake, where the trail loops around our Lady.

And thar ya be!

Mary E. Schenley Memorial Fountain/Song To Nature

The Mary Schenley Memorial Fountain

In late 1914, architects were invited to submit proposals for the Schenley Memorial. It took another four years of review and approvals by City departments and arts commissions, but the memorial fountain was finally dedicated on September 2nd, 1918 as the Pirates played the second game of a Labor Day doubleheader with the Cubs in nearby Forbes Field.

Brenner's clay model - 1916

Sculpted by Victor David Brenner (who designed the Lincoln penny), with the granite base designed by architect H. Van Magonigle (who was an assistant to Stanford White, the architect shot by Harry Thaw), the statue was entitled “A Song to Nature.”

The statue is a cross between Art Nouveau and Art Deco, and represents the sleeping Earth god Pan being awakened by Harmony, who plays a lyre for him.The architect dealt with the problem of unstable landfill used to level St. Pierre Ravine by using the buried Bellefield Bridge as the foundation for the Memorial.  After getting a little long in the tooth, the memorial was restored in 1988, then again in 2008 by the City and the Parks Conservancy at a cost of $500,000.

Laurie Anderson of the Parks Conservancy noted in a blog post that the memorial wasn’t altogether an altruistic enterprise. Pirate owner Barney Dreyfuss wanted to extend Forbes Field a bit into Schenley Park, although that violated the 1891 deed forbidding that the donated land be used for anything but a park.

Dreyfuss persevered and finally got his way when City Council voted on a back room work-around to allow the Pirates to lease rather than buy a half acre of park land for $1,000 per year for 20 years. At the same council meeting, an ordinance was also passed to erect a memorial to Mary Schenley, partly to honor her and partly as a peace offering to those who were against giving park land to the Pirates.

For many years, the sculpture was a stand alone attraction across from the Carnegie Library in an area known as Memorial Circle, complete with benches and a circular walkway. When the Schenley Plaza was converted to a parking lot, its grounds gave way to parking meters and that's how it ended up in its somewhat out of the way spot by the Fine Arts Building

Turtle spit detail

A little added local lore: it’s known as the “Turtle Spit” to those who were raised in Oakland, for obvious reasons. And in keeping with its roots as a ballyard compromise, a baseball splashing down in its waters was the mark of an epic homer from the Oakland little leaguers who played at Plaza Field (now Mazeroski Field), between Forbes Field and the fountain.

(Photo credits: fountain by day - Jacqueline Marino; clay model - Pgh City Photographers Collection; turtle spit - Pgh Murals; fountain at night - Rich Tenney)

The fountain at night.

The Hollow Trail - Part 1: The Hiking Path

Panther Hollow Lake is an unpolished gem, the largest of three lakes (Lake Elizabeth, Lake Carnegie) we know of in the City. But equally impressive are Panther Hollow and Phipps Runs, the only "daylighted" (above ground) streams left in the 'Burgh aside from Frick Park's Nine Mile Run.

They're jewels in their own way. Both tumble down steep channels, cascading over stony beds between the trees until they meet in Hollow to feed PHL, a hiker and nature lover's dream splashing smack dab through the heart of the City.

If you enjoy a tranquil stroll through the woods beside a splashing stream, the Panther Hollow Run Trail is for you. The Run is fed from above Bartlett Street - you can see its headwaters as you cross the top Tufa Bridge - and several smaller streams that come down the Schenley Drive Ravine. It's a little rough, wet and narrow in spots, but it provides the best nature hike in the Park.

You get on from the Bartlett Street trail entrance. Hang a right on the main trail, cross the Tufa Bridge, and make a left a few yards later across from the Faloon Trail entrance, at a rock handily painted with an arrow. You'll cross another stone bridge, and there the trail begins to your right.

This section is a half mile or so long from that bridge to its crossover. It starts off flat and wide, but at points, the path twists with small but sharp rises and pinch points that only one person at a time can get by. As we say in da 'Burgh, some spots are slippy. But you'll have a sun-dappled creek crossed with fallen logs and stone beds running along side of you, a slice of nature seemingly out of place in the middle of the City.

The topper is that there are several magnificent stone bridges built by the WPA in 1939, zig-zagging across the stream, replacements for Edward Bigelow's 1908-09 wooden spans. You'll note a couple of more bridges above you on the main trail, and a number of aqueducts pouring ravine-fed streams into the Run on its way to PHL.

Though you're braced by the Upper and Lower Panther Hollow trails, both well-used park lanes, you'll be in a world of your own, surrounded by greenery and crevasse walls. While the isolation is an inspirational boon to the soul, the path is also well traveled by parents taking their children on a stroll, young couples and folk walking their pooches.

Finally, your reverie ends as you approach a set of steps that leads you to the trail crossover. Bear to the left from those steps across another small stone bridge, and you'll be on a wide path that's a straight shot to the lake.

That's the end of the road for the hiker's trek of the Hollow Trail, and now you're just a couple hundred yards away from the ultimate destination, Panther Hollow Lake. We'll lead you down that road in another post.

(photo credits: Rich Tenney & Ron Ieraci, FOPHL)

Our Focus: On the Lake & Working With Its Stewards

Our buds in the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy have done a pretty good job at remediation in the Panther Hollow watershed, tackling projects in the Hollow to the fringes of Bartlett Street and the Golf Course. And it's paid off; anyone that visits the lake can see the improved flow of both Phipps and Panther Hollow Runs.

They have a long range plan, first laid out in 2000. It has several phases, and the final step is lake work. They are 100% committed to that blueprint - first the watershed, then the lake. That's why we formed. The FOPHL want to provide a second front in the campaign, one that focuses on the lake itself as well as its feeder system.

PHL hydrant buried by erosion

We've had a couple of nice chats with the Conservancy folk, and they're OK with us tackling some lake issues. We're looking forward to the task of coming up with a two prong approach, and some formal organizing of FOPHL is already being formulated, a tedious and painful process for rookie activists. But in the meanwhile, we do have a couple of irons in the fire.

Part of the Conservancy work list is to fix up what is today's major feeder into PHL, Phipps Run, as part of the Lily Pond rehab. We poked a little into that, and lot of the heavy work and planning is in the hands of the City's Public Works engineers, who have designs to not only rejuvenate the pond but also the headwaters of Phipps Run that begin above the Westinghouse Memorial in the ravine that drops from the Golf Course. That's scheduled to begin in the late summer.

We've been in touch with Councilman Corey O'Connor, who represents the Park both by district and as Chair of the City Recreation Committee, and he's on board with us.

Next, we've had a couple of brief exchanges with the Department of Public Works. Director Mike Gable is aware that PHL needs some work done, and says that the big jobs are waiting on heavy equipment access, which will piggyback on some planned Alcosan work. That's great news, even if the specifics are a bit up in the air.

Flotsam in PHL

Gary Sciulli is the Schenley Park foreman now, and that's more good news. In the past year, he's repaired the wooden steps leading to the lake, cleared the lake's diversion dam, cleaned out the overflow gutters and removed trees that dropped across the Hollow Trail, all decent sized jobs for a crew that's still two men short of being filled.

His guys have also done a good job of keeping the streets and sidewalks cleared during a brutally icy winter, going so far as to use a street brush on the trails to get them ready for the spring thaw, a thoughtful touch. That's a commitment that's been lacking in the past, when City involvement was little more than picking up the garbage and trimming, and we're looking forward to having DPW as an active partner going forward.

And there are no shortage of projects that we've discussed internally. There are some big jobs on the list - cleaning out & dredging the lake, controlling the runoff from the Upper Trail ravine, and working with the Phipp's Sustainability Center to rehab the cleared area on the ravine behind their area, to long-term items like improving access and imagining a new boathouse.

Sustainability Center's denuded ravine

There are lots of short term, completely doable projects, too - improving the grounds through greenery and amenities like picnic tables and benches, restocking the lake, some trail & approach work and just keeping up with the little cleanup and maintenance issues that every public grounds faces. We have a smorgasbord of potential service projects.

To that end, we've already staged a couple of small lake cleanups. Also, FOPHL has enlisted the talents of the Pitt Ecology Club, one of several local eco groups we're looking to partner with. They're already brimming with some innovative projects for PHL, and with their return to school in the fall, we're planning to whittle down the idea list hand-in-hand to prepare a presentation to green up (and spruce up) PHL.

In the discussion stage is outreach to the high schools, universities and non-profits. So we've been busy; there are a lot of pots to stir. At least now the folks involved with the grand scheme are aware that there is an open-eyed advocacy group that's willing to roll up its sleeves and get dirty with them to achieve everyone's goal of lake restoration.

The pace has been frustratingly slow, yet we have only been in existence since August and progress is being made. The players and their roles have been identified and the projects are forming. So hang in there with us; the lake is finally on the agenda again.

Schenley Park - Now You See It, Now You Don't...

Most of us with a little knowledge of the park have seen stories about major attractions that are no longer there - the Casino, Schenley Matinee Club Racetrack & Grandstands, Merry-Go-Round, the Band Shell & the Nature Museum. Melissa McMasters captured their history in her post "Stuff That's Gone" in the Parks' Conservancy blog.

But there are quite a few other items that have been swept into the Park's dustbin of history. You almost surely remember the Boat House & the City Stables, but how about the Zoo, Dancing Fountain of Flagstaff, the Viscaya Cannon, and St. Pierre Street/Bellefield Bridge? These and many other sights were once part of the Park fabric.

The Boathouse back in the day

The Boathouse: It was built during the Edward Bigelow lake expansion in 1909, and for decades sheltered boaters in the summer, skaters in the winter and lake visitors in all seasons. The building was spruced up by the WPA in the late thirties and renovated again in the late fifties during the David Lawrence lake rehab, when its boat harbor was taken down. Alas, time and minimal maintenance caught up to PHL's primo hang out spot, and it was demo'ed circa 1980, although its stone foundation remains lakeside.

The City Stables

City Stables: The park's beginnings were  in the horse era, and one of the first things the City did upon being gifted by Mary Schenley was build stables at the oval for the horsey crowd and business - the stables housed City police and public works horses. In 1907, evicted from their Forbes Field site, the Schenley Matinee Club built a sulky racetrack at the Oval, complete with grandstand. After their day passed, the trails and stables continued; many recall riding the park's lanes, working with the horses or lining up for the pony ride behind the stables. It ended in 1971 when a raging fire consumed the stables, killing several of the 30 horses, and it never reopened. Now a grassy field covers its ashes.

Viscaya Cannon

Viscaya Cannon: Naval artillery captured from the Spanish battleship Viscaya after the battle of Santiago (a victory that was wildly celebrated in the Park the following day) was donated to the City by Charles Schwab. It was braced by a pair of cannon and was located across from the Carnegie Library in Schenley Plaza at a spot called “Fountain Circle” by the Mary Schenley Fountain. (that's another bit of bygone history; the circle was a lane that ran around the Schenley Memorial until the plaza became a big honking parking lot) It remained, according to Papa Fagnelli, until it was melted down during WW2, a fate that befell many City memorials and monuments.

Electric Fountain (Not Dancing)

Flagstaff Hill Electric Fountain: It measured 120', located at the bottom of the slope, and was famed for its nightly, hour-long “light shows.” Jets of water shot into the air, traced by underwater lights with revolving, multicolored lenses, creating some memorable night time performances much akin to liquid fireworks. It was modeled after the 1883 Chicago Expo fountain, and it's said that George Westinghouse was involved in its design. The last reference we found for it in action was in 1915, during the Fourth of July festivities. The $10,000 fountain was donated to the City by the owners of the Pittsburgh Traction Company, a trolley line that ran from town to East Liberty.

Bellefield Bridge/St Pierre's Ravine 1898

St Pierre’s Street & Ravine/Bellefield Bridge: St. Pierre Ravine, running across Schenley Plaza and splitting the Carnegie Library from Forbes Field, was leveled with the fill from various City projects (but not as popularly thought the Grant Street Hump excavations, which was used for riverfront fill) from 1909 until 1914. It was spanned by the Bellefield Bridge, which was buried along with it and became the foundation for the Mary Schenley Memorial, while some of Forbes Field was built over the former rift. The ravine (and now-defunct street, which ran from Forbes to the bridge) were named for Legardeur de St. Pierre, commandant of Fort Le Boeuf (near Erie). Washington met with him in 1753 with a demand to vacate the Ohio Valley, triggering the French and Indian War. In fact, St. Pierre was part of the force that whipped Washington at Fort Necessity.

Schenley Park Zoo 1894

Schenley Park Zoo: Pittsburgh’s first zoo was located in Schenley Park. Per Howard Stern’s 1943 Historic Data: Pittsburgh’s Public Parks, “Prior to the dedication of the Highland Park zoo, there existed a small zoo at Schenley Park. The exact day of its starting wasn’t recorded, but it was in existence shortly after the gift of the park by Mrs. Schenley to the City. This zoo was located at the top of Panther Hollow across from the Merry-Go-Round. It was quite a source of amusement. However, it was transferred to Highland Park in 1898.” The Oakland zoo exhibited more than 350 animals according to Boucher & Jordan’s 1908 A Century and a Half of Pittsburg, including an elephant named "Gusky" and of course a monkey exhibit.

Here's a checklist of other items that have disappeared over the decades:

• Bowling Green: Built in 1931, an illuminated bowling green was located by the Oval.
• Civil War Cannon: Circa 1900, the Westinghouse Corporation donated a pair of cannon to the City, which were placed at Flagstaff Hill.
• First Park Playground: In 1902, a shelter house between the park’s bridle path and race track (today's Oval) was turned into a playground with swings, athletic equipment, and a wading pool. The playground opened the park to many other children’s activities: Saturday fishing programs, day camps, picnics at Panther Hollow Lake, and visits to Phipps Conservatory.
• Greenfield Road Steps: In the early 1900s there was a whole neighborhood tucked in the old Saline Street valley where the Greenfield Bridge crosses the Parkway. The weed covered wall was part of a stone staircase and observation deck that led to the valley floor from Greenfield Road a few yards past the Greenfield (Beechwood Boulevard) Bridge. At street level where the sidewalks were, wooden planks covered open sewers, per Don Glunt of “Oakland Memories,” so we’re guessing the view was better from the deck than from street-level.
• Snyder’s Grove/Orchard: This was a popular spot in the Park’s early years through the twenties, hosting many social events. We haven't been able to pinpoint its location, but Snyder’s Cabin (better known as the Neill Log House) is on Serpentine Road, and so the grove may have abutted or been part of the current golf course.
• Tanachrison’s Tablet: This was a memorial stone commemorating British ally and Mingo leader Tanacharison (with many alternate spellings), better known as the “Half-King.” The tablet was dedicated to “perpetuate the memory of the white man’s staunchest friend among the Indians.” It was on the Bridle Trail, and existed at least into the 1920s per the Pittsburgh Public School’s 1921 “...Geographic, Biographic and Historic Pittsburgh: Teacher's Manual.”

Photo Credits:

• Boathouse - Bruce Cridlebaugh via Bridges of Allegheny County, undated
• Stable - Pittsburgh City Photographers Collection via Historic Pittsburgh 1927
• Viscaya Guns - Pittsburgh Press August 13, 1931
• Electric Fountain - Brady Stewart Studios, undated
• Bellefield Bridge - Stone & Illustrated Magazine 1898
• Schenley Zoo - Western Pennsylvania Exposition Program 1894

The Murdoch Entrances

In its early years, Schenley Park was a rustic tract of rolling hills and ravines still being tamed by the City. Some folks in Squirrel Hill had to take a roundabout route to enjoy its tranquility because of the rugged layout until the Murdoch’s came to the rescue.

The Murdoch family, who were downtown florists with a thriving regional business, lived and grew their flowers in Squirrel Hill nurseries and greenhouses. They owned 60 acres that stretched from the park border to Wightman Street running between Forbes and Forward. The area is still known as Murdoch Farms today.

According to George Fleming’s 1894 “History of Pittsburgh and Environs,” John Murdoch had begun the operation in 1845 in Peebles Township (the area was unspecified; perhaps it was Prospect Hill), and it grew enough that by 1859, he bought some Oakland property, the Schenley Park nursery. It was located at Forbes and St. Pierre Street - today’s Schenley Plaza - and we believe it was absorbed in part by William Falconer, the park’s first horticulturist, for his massive parks nursery. Shortly thereafter, the family added their blooming Squirrel Hill nursery.

Murdoch Entrance 1924 (Polk Co "Progress in Pittsburgh")

The Murdoch clan was noted as community-spirited people, and when the park opened, they donated some property for use as a park entrances. The original and more noted Murdoch Entrance to Schenley Park was by the golf course, just below Aylesboro, connecting Forbes and Darlington Road. It was 3,000' long and 100' wide, lined with locust trees. Now it’s the tail end of Schenley Drive as it goes past the Golf Course parking lot. The entrance lasted for quite awhile; it’s specifically identified on both 1911 and 1939 maps and probably dates to the genesis of the Park.

Hopkins map 1911 (entrance top right above #17)

In addition, the January 23, 1911 edition of the Pittsburgh Times Gazette made a big to-do about a newer Murdoch entrance, this one connecting Beacon Street to the Park. It seems that the Murdochs had also generously donated a right-of-way to connect Beacon to the Park at Bartlett Street along with the site of the their golf course entrance. At the time, it was nothing more than a footpath, and eventually that was blocked off by a fence.

It seems the City had sat on its hands for a couple of decades for financial reasons before deciding to unwrap the Murdoch’s gift, when City Council voted to grade and add curbs to the lane. “Residents of the Squirrel Hill district are elated…” that the City decided to loosen their purse strings and open up the Park to them was the paper's lede that fine day. A few years later in 1923, the Boulevard of the Allies and then Panther Hollow Road opened, making the Beacon Street connection a big deal.

So remember to give the Murdoch family its just due in making the park accessible to Squirrel Hill. Their contributions may not be recalled by name today, but they played a big role in connecting the Park to the folk in the 14th Ward with links that still remain.

(Caveat emptor: this was put together using maps, an newspaper article, one citation from an old history and the odd detail or two from other sources. So we pieced it together, and think we have it right. If you have something to add or dispute, please give us a yell.)

George Westinghouse Memorial & the Lily Pond

This was where we were headed last post before taking a little side trip to the WW1 groves. But we made sure we stopped at the headline act before we headed home. Now it's time for a little bit of history, past and present, regarding the George Westinghouse Memorial and the equally renown Lily Pond.

Architects Henry Hornbostel and Eric Fisher Wood designed the monument and landscaping, including pond improvements, newly planted trees, and even the location of black granite benches. They chose sculptor Daniel Chester French (he also did the Abraham Lincoln Memorial statue) to design the sculptures, including the bronze “The Spirit of American Youth,” with the panels created by Paul Fjelde, who used them to illustrate Westinghouse’s achievements.

Masaniello Piccirilli’s name is included as one of the sculpture's artists on the back of the Memorial, along with French and Fjelde. The Piccirilli Family, father and six sons, were renowned artists who often collaborated with French. Exactly what part of the Westinghouse Memorial work was performed by Piccirilli isn’t known; their work records were lost when they closed their shop.

The Memorial is dazzling at sunset (photo via Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy)

The Memorial was was largely financed by small donations from over 55,000 Westinghouse employees. Located near the entrance to the Hollow's Steve Faloon Trail, the Memorial was dedicated on October 6th, 1930. On that day, nearly 15,000 people crowded the memorial site, entertained by the speeches and bands. There was also a banquet at the William Penn Hotel the night before to fete the movers and shakers who came to honor Westinghouse.

The keynote speaker was James Frances Burke, general counsel of the Republican National Committee. After Burke's address, the unveiling took place to the accompaniment of the combined Westinghouse bands, followed by the Westinghouse and Union Switch & Signal Company choruses belting out the “Star Spangled Banner” and “America.” The Right Rev. Alexander Mann, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, gave the invocation, per Westinghouse Memorial.org. US Rep James Beck also spoke, and messages from nabobs like Calvin Coolidge and Andrew Mellon were read as part of the ceremony. The entire affair was broadcast by KDKA and Westinghouse radio stations, carried on the air in Chicago and Boston.

The Memorial in its early days (1937 photo, Pittsburgh City Photographers Collection)

At the monument's dedication, all the bronze figures and reliefs had been covered in gold leaf. After the festivities, Hornbostel said that finishing touch, "will be enhanced by the smoky atmosphere of the city, [and] will endure for thousands of years, as is shown by traces of gold still to be seen on the monuments of the Roman Caesars." He was a better architect than seer. The work of vandals forced the removal of the gold leaf in 1941 according to the blog Above Bellefield.

Westinghouse came to the rescue once again in 2010. “American Youth” was tarnished and sprayed with graffiti, and WE came through with a grant to get the bronze burnished and shiny again; they sparkle like new now, along with the American Flag Memorial stone at the edge of the Lily Pond.

Before there was a Westinghouse Memorial, the site was the Lily Pond, a feeder for the Phipps Run stream on its way to Panther Hollow Lake. The memorial was built at the site of a wooden overlook bridge and the pond, fed entirely by the Phipps Run arm, became a sort of reflecting (and reflective) pool.

Lily Pond Postcard from 1909; the image is a colorized 1903 photograph.

The Lily Pond’s history dates back to 1896 as a feature designed by Schenley Park’s first horticulturist, William Falconer. By 1897 the lily pond was in full bloom and described as a gorgeous water garden full of white, pink and yellow waterlilies, while just above it a large garden of flowering shrubs and perennials was planted, per art historian Barry Hannegan of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.

But frequent storms deteriorated the pond, so the stream was eventually piped beneath the pond (you can find the headwaters a few yards away in the ravine) and City water was used to fill the basin. Somewhere along the line, a fountain was installed to aerate the pond and prevent algae growth, flipping the pond from an entirely natural to artificial water feature.

The pond was drained in 2009 due to multiple malfunctions (both the piping system and the foundation sprung leaks) that required big-time repair, and the monument and its grounds were left desperately in need of restoration. The Parks Conservancy is working hand-in-hand with the City on a plan to restore the pond, landscaping, lighting, etc. The sculptures have been treated, but the fountain, pond and grove are still in need of some serious rehab.

The Lily Pond minus the lilies and pond (photo: Melissa McMasters/Pgh Parks Conservancy)

We've talked briefly with the Parks Conservancy about its condition, and they told us after they shake the money tree hard enough (and they hoped that would be soon) that they are looking at a two-prong water solution: they will continue the City feed to the pond because of the hit-and-miss flow of the natural stream (the original plan called for the stream to return to the Pond), but still want to daylight (return above ground) parts of the creek.

So that's were it all sits today. The monuments are still stunning, but the pond is waiting for a stream to call its own.

Phipps Run & the Service Star Legion Memorials

Panther Hollow Lake is the collection point for Panther Hollow Run, of course, the stream that's fed from the backside of the Oval and Great Meadow areas. But contributing mightily to the cause is Phipps Run, which is formed from the slopes of the Phipps Conservatory - Flagstaff Hill area, then stretching around CMU and the Golf Course. The pair merge under the stone bridge that overlooks Lake Schenley and then splash into its waters.

Phipps Run cascading down a ravine.

One of Phipp's arms is fed by the Westinghouse Memorial Lily Pond, although its flow has been piped underground. If you follow Flagstaff to the Memorial, there are a pair of stone steps between Schenley and Circuit Drives just below GW that lead you to a Phipps headwater. It's a cool place to do a little exploring in the summer, although it's not part of a path and requires some trampling about with a jeans and boots combo to get around comfortably.

That little area is home to an array of memorials - Westinghouse, the Flag stone, plus the Service Star Legion and World War One Groves. Everyone knows about the popular Lily Pond and Westinghouse Memorial, and the eagle eyed are aware of the Flag Memorial at the same site. But the Service Star/WW1 groves are largely out of sight and out of mind.

After stopping to say hi to George and American Youth, visit the Flag Memorial and take a short stroll up Circuit Drive, across from the Westinghouse Picnic Shelter. There, you'll spot a grove with a solitary monument, dedicated in 1920 by the Legion, a patriotic women's group that was formed during the First World War.

Service Star Memorial Grove

The stone and bronze memorial was created by an unknown artist and dedicated to the WW1 servicemen in 1920. It has a pine tree beside it with a flowering bush at its front, and is a contemplative spot set in the middle of a gently sloped meadow. (Although for a period it burst with color - the ladies planted a pair of gold stars in the grove in 1921, consisting of 1,600 tulips.)

If you walk just past the grove to the small strand of oaks beside it, you’ll find a collection of ground plaques memorializing old vets known as the World War One Memorial; back in the thirties, it was a thing to plant a tree and erect a small marker. Dedicated in 1931 by the Ladies Auxiliary of the Ascalon Commandery #59 of the Knights Templar (the formal name for the group's Allegheny County chapter), it's one of the park's hidden marvels.
Some of the stones are dedicated to those who returned; others to those who didn't. At last visit, the markers were peeking up from under leaves and snow; the Service Star Legion has long since faded, assimilated into VFW and American Legion auxiliaries, and no one is left to care for the plot.
Still, time has been kind to the memorials even if man hasn't been. The stones and their brass plates are in pretty good shape considering they've been out in the Pittsburgh elements for the past 85 years.

Next time you're in that end of the park, spend a couple of restful minutes among the secluded and all but forgotten monuments; the Park is full of surprises, both natural and man-made.
(Note - the FOPHL are in the process of putting together a 2015 "to-do" list. Freshening up this grove may be one of the projects we tackle. If you have some ideas, visit us at https://www.facebook.com/pantherhollowlake and give us your thoughts.)

- Photo credits: Ron Ieraci -

Up, Up & Away...The Oval As An Airport

Schenley Oval and Flagstaff Hill are nearby neighbors of the Lake as the crow flies and integral parts of the Panther Hollow watershed. So today, we're heading uphill from Lake Schenley to revisit a little airborne park lore from the fringes of the Hollow.

Pittsburgh has a secure place in aeronautic history. Pitt prof Samuel Langley did some early heavier than air flight physics that helped lay the groundwork for aviation, Clifford Ball's "Miss Pittsburgh" was the first regional air mail carrier, winning national Post Office Contract #11, and the area was littered with airfields. Heck, Amelia Earhart even crash landed in one, O'Hara's Rodgers Field. Schenley Park was one of those fields, too, although it was more of an off-the-books plane pasture than official air strip.

We know that the Oval hosted a variety of activities - various meets and exhibitions, the horses and stable, auto races, softball games, tennis matches, joggers, dog walkers, soccer contests and all sorts of play, but it was also once the first flight site in the City.

Undated studio post card by Colonial Studios

According to the County of Allegheny sesqui-centennial (sic) program of 1938, in the early 1900’s “occasional flights were made from a field in Schenley Park...During the world war flying activities were moved to Schenley Oval which was the scene of Pittsburgh aeronautics until 1920…” Schenley Oval also served as an airfield during WW1 and in the post war years, pilots trained during the conflict flocked back to it, hooked on aerial thrills. 

Annie Kulina, in her Millhunks and Renegades book, wrote “Barnstormers...lit at the Oval to perform their ‘flying circuses.’ The gathering crowd, many of whom had never seen an airplane before, gasped at the planes loop-the-loops through the sky. Adventurous spectators could pay a few dollars for their own trip to heaven, climbing in behind the pilot in his two seater flying machine for a birds eye view of the park.”

The Oval and Flagstaff were also magnets for hot air balloonists, who often performed during popular park air shows and holiday festivities. In fact, Pittsburgh journalist Gertrude Gordon became the first local female to ride a hot air balloon, taking off from Flagstaff Hill in 1908. The park may have even been the birthplace of flight.

Per Wikipedia “...according to an affidavit given in 1934 by Louis Darvarich, a friend of aeronautic pioneer Gustave Whitehead, the two men made a motorized flight together of about half a mile in Schenley Park in the spring of 1899, four years before the Wright Brothers flew into fame. Darvarich said they reached a height of 20-25’ in a steam-powered monoplane and crashed into a three story brick building. Darvarich said he was stoking the boiler aboard the craft and was badly scalded in the accident, requiring several weeks in a hospital. Reportedly because of this incident, Whitehead was forbidden by the police to perform any more experiments in Pittsburgh.” 

Gustav Whitehead; the plane is a 1901 model.

While this tale has been taken with a grain of salt (there is no photographic evidence or even a newspaper article for support), it does confirm that Pittsburgh and Schenley Park were part of the early American aerial scene. There was even serious consideration given to making the Oval an auxiliary air strip (with Neville Island to serve as a full-fledged airport) in 1928. 

The idea was championed by the Post Gazette and several county and US politicians, including future PA Supreme Court Justice Michael Musmanno, who told the PG that the Oval was ideal, being in the heart of the City's business community. Even Oakland development mastermind Franklin Nicola was in favor of the project. The proposal got as far as City Council, but it ultimately failed to gather support after a series of protests tarred the notion.

1928 Post Gazette

Soon afterward (1931), the County Airport opened in West Mifflin, and the Oval settled back into the recreational hub that we so enjoy today.

The only flying objects spinning through the Oval and Flagstaff Hill now are frisbees or soccer balls. And while the lure of stunt pilots walking on wings and doing figure eights through the Oakland skies or taking a hot air balloon trip is tough to resist, we kinda like the serenity of the park as it is. Now about those drones...

Panther Hollow Bridge

Perhaps the most iconic view of Schenley Park is Panther Hollow Lake framed by the Panther Hollow Bridge. The span has been featured in everything from Victorian era postcards to today's Flickr pages. The landmark bridge has carried on through the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, but was built as an afterthought; it was first planned as a second-hand trestle!

Panther Hollow Bridge outdates the Lake (Postcard via Annie's Attic)

In 1890, a temporary wooden bridge stretched across Junction Hollow (replaced by the Schenley Bridge). Plan A was to remove the timbers and rebuild it over Panther Hollow. According to lore, the 1896 fire which destroyed the Casino squelched that notion; a wooden span didn't seem like such a bright idea after the Casino was reduced to ashes.

So City Engineer Henry Rust was tasked with erecting a pair of new bridges, the Panther Hollow and Schenley Bridges. Not too surprisingly, given the timeline, the arches are near clones that were built concurrently, opening in 1897.

Some casual visitors even have trouble telling the difference between the two hand-in-hand spans, but it's easy enough - the Panther Hollow Bridge is guarded by Giuseppe Moretti's prowling bronze panthers (Pitt would choose them as mascots, but not until a dozen years later) while the Schenley Bridge has a chain link fence that's slowly being engulfed by love locks.

Guiseppe Moretti's panthers are the bridge's guardians (via Pgh Murals & Art)

The Panther Hollow Bridge has a main span of 360 feet, a total length 620 feet (it has three arches), and the crossway rises 120 feet above the Lake. It has a couple of observation decks, making it a natural stop for photographers and sight-seeing folk roaming the Phipps/Flagstaff neighborhood. The view from the platforms takes the eye over the lake and into Oakland; the bridge is an underrated overlook. The arches underneath are equally awesome in their own right.

One stone arch forms a cool (in both senses of the word) little tunnel over the Upper Panther Hollow Trail, not far past the Anderson Grove steps to the Lake. The other end shelters the cobblestone lane that runs behind the Visitors Center on the road to Loch Schenley. Generations of kids have hooked up Tarzan rope swings to the span, too, a tradition that is carried on to this day (can't say if the view or the rush is better!).

Under the arches on the trail (Steve Dines via Flickr)

The bridge began showing its age in the 1990's, after a century of constant traffic. The City came to the rescue when it restored the crossing in 1999. The Panther Hollow Bridge even has its own bike lane now. It was designated historical by the PH&LF in 2000 and won City historical status in 2002.

That's only fitting for a bellwether that's gone from the horse-and-buggy era to become one of today's beloved City landmarks.

Panther Hollow Bridge (Bruce Cridlebaugh via Pgh. Bridges)

Hot Fun In the Summertime

Last week, we looked at the ways to pass the wintertime on the Lake. But now that a couple clippers and nor'easters decided to drop in for the weekend, it's time to change focus. Grab a hot chocolate, put your feet up and warmly recall summer in Panther Hollow.

The lake was configured in 1907-09 by Public Works Director Edward Bigelow and Parks Superintendent George Burke. But Oaklanders knew of it way back when it was a relative puddle. It was a boating and picnic site from at least post-Civil War days, and the City wasted no time putting up a rec area in 1892, shortly after Mary Schenley gifted her woody acreage to Pittsburgh.

Panther Hollow Picnic Area 1894 (Exposition program)

It didn't take long for the hard working folk of the East End to figure out that the Hollow and its lake was a pretty fun place to loaf, and they packed the ravine. Married couples and their kids had a cool hang out, and it was even better if you were wooing.

“So many members of the pioneer class in the Margaret Morrison Carnegie School (the all-female school of the college, opened in 1907) were seen strolling in Schenley Park with masculine escorts that the authorities were prompted to issue certain pronouncements to quell romance. It was a labor lost...” according to Arthur Tarbell’s 1937 “The Story of Carnegie Tech.” He noted that many “Carnegie couples” had their introductions via those park strolls, and we're sure it was the same for Pitt pairs. 

It was even better in the moonlight...

Anyway, with that kind of beginning, it was no wonder the Lake was a magnet to kids young and old. Not all of us were holding hands with stars in their eyes. We rode horses in the Hollow. We strolled the trails. We brought baskets with food and wine. We swam, boated, fished, goofed.

Riding the Ponies in the Hollow (photo via Walter Kennedy's "Oakland")

So hey, forget the snow flakes. Close your eyes and remember the hot fun in the summertime that Panther Hollow Lake doled out year after year. It's right around the corner again...

PHL by Melissa McMasters via Flickr

Winter Wonderland - Free Skate!

Yah, we know, enough of winter already, even with this brief respite from below-freezing temps. If you're thinking of the lake right now, it's no doubt toasty recollections of fishing, swimming, skipping stones or otherwise catching some languid rays in the Hollow during the sun drenched summertime.

Fast forward those thoughts to wintry PHL scenes. You, me and the other kids used to pour onto the icy pond, cutting down by the Columbus statue, slipping down Red Clay hill, charging down the Anderson Grove or Nature Center steps, crunching down the trail or more likely joining the crowd on Boundary Street with skates, brooms and hockey sticks in hand. PHL was finally frozen, and Jack Frost's nip wasn't going to keep us home!

PHL frozen in the twenties (photo from Jean Chess via Parks Conservancy)

Everybody was there. Most of the gang groomed the ice and socialized, while the non-skaters headed for the Boathouse and its hot chocolate. The skaters joined a hockey game or spun in leisurely loops, often catching their breath at the end of the lake by the stone semi-circle, where a 55 gallon drum of blazing wood shared its warmth. The gals were teen-age flirty, and the guys responded with a little chest thumping in between slap shots. It was a real life Happy Days.

They skated in the fifties...(photo by Panther Hollow on Flickr)

They skated in the sixties (Pittsburgh City Photographers Collection via Historic Pittsburgh)

And they kept on skating through the seventies (photo from Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy)

And guess what? They're still skating, though the body count has dropped considerably, victim of progress and the times. The Skating Rink on Overlook Drive opened in 1974, the Boathouse was demolished in 1979, and the Oakland residential community with its mob of kids has by-and-large been displaced by students. But some plucky folk still appreciate the Schenley ice sheet.

A few hardy souls are still skating in 2015 (photo by Ron Ieraci)

So don't curse our far north buds in Canada for shooing their cold fronts toward us. Root through the closet, dig out those old blades, and spent some frosty Pittsburgh wintertime where it's meant to be spent - at PHL. A spin or two around the lake and a couple of old memories, capped by a toddy at the Visitors Center, should keep you plenty warm.