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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
