Schenley Park () is a large municipal park in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

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. It is located between the neighborhoods of

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, Greenfield, and

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. It is also listed on the

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as a

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. In 2011, the park was named one of "America's Coolest City Parks" by '' Travel + Leisure''. The park is made up of donated by Mary Schenley in 1889 and another that the city subsequently purchased from her. Another were acquired at a later date, bringing the park's total size to , and making it the second largest municipal park in Pittsburgh, behind Frick Park. The park borders the campuses of

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

and the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

, and technically Carnegie Mellon University is actually within Schenley Park.

Facilities

Schenley Park features a grand entrance, Schenley Plaza, and several miles of hiking trails and a large pond in Panther Hollow. Across from the Phipps Conservatory is Flagstaff Hill, a popular place to watch outdoor movies in the summer. In the early days of Schenley Park, the area known as "The Oval" was used for horse racing. Today, it has 13 tennis courts, an all weather running track, and a soccer field. There is also an ice skating rink, public swimming pool, and an 18-hole disc golf course nearby. Schenley Park also contains the Bob O'Connor Golf Course. The golf course includes an indoor practice facility where golfers can play a " virtual" round on Pebble Beach and other famous courses. Cross country running meets are held in the park. It is the home course for the

men's and women's cross country teams. The 1921 USA Cross Country Championships were held in the park.

Annual events

Since 1983, Schenley Park has been home to a vintage motor sports car race, the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, that takes place annually in mid-July. Additionally, since 1993, the park has been home to the Komen Pittsburgh

Race for the Cure Susan G. Komen (formerly known as Susan G. Komen for the Cure; originally as The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation; often referred to simply as Komen) is a breast cancer organization in the United States. Komen works on patient navigation ...

, an annual fundraising event for breast cancer and

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in Mar ...

tradition with more than 35,000 participants.

's annual Spring Carnival contests its Sweepstakes, a buggy race, on Tech Avenue, Schenley Drive, and Frew Street.

History

In 1842, Mary Elizabeth Croghan of Pittsburgh, who was 15 at the time, eloped with 43-year-old Captain Edward Schenley. The couple moved to England. Mary's father attempted to terminate her inheritance in a lawsuit, but was unsuccessful. Mary's maternal grandfather, General James O'Hara, bequeathed to her a parcel of land known as the "Mt. Airy Tract." Mary's wealth attracted the attention of several land developers in the Pittsburgh area as well as Edward Bigelow, the Director of the Department of Public Works in Pittsburgh. In 1889, Bigelow learned that the agent of a land developer planned to travel to London to attempt to purchase the land from Mary. Bigelow sent an East Liberty lawyer by train to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

where he then boarded a steamer bound for England. The lawyer beat the real estate agent by two days. After negotiations with Mary, Bigelow's lawyer entered into an agreement to give of the Mt. Airy Tract to the city of Pittsburgh with an option to purchase more, under the conditions that the park be named after her and never be sold. The city agreed and immediately purchased the additional land. Bigelow began to develop the newly renamed Schenley Park for recreational uses. He hired William Falconer to lead the Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens which was built in 1893. In 1895,

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

built the Carnegie Museum and Music Hall, establishing Oakland and Schenley Park as a cultural icon.

Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the fir ...

, the home field of the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

, was adjacent to Schenley Park during its lifespan (1909–1970).

Recent developments

*In 2001, after extensive renovations, the Schenley Park Visitor Center opened in one of the park's original buildings. The building had previously served as a tool shed, the home of the Pittsburgh Civic Garden Center, and a nature museum, until closing in the late 1980s. *In spring 2006, the Schenley Plaza area was converted to its original use as a grand entrance to Schenley Park. Although it was originally designed as a grand entrance, it had been used as a parking lot for many years. The new park area features a carousel and several small food stands. *In 2022, Judge John McVay approved the removal of the Christopher Columbus statue in Schenley Park. The bronze and granite statue is 13-feet tall, and has stood in the park since 1958. City of Pittsburgh officials decided to remove the statue in 2020 due to Columbus’ association with racism and colonialism. The Italian Sons and Daughters of America challenged this decision, but McVay’s 2022 ruling stated that the city was free to take down the statue.

Gallery

File:Westinghouse Memorial Schenley Park 2.jpg, The Westinghouse Memorial in Schenley Park File:Panther Hollow Bridge.jpg, Panther Hollow Bridge seen from Panther Hollow Lake in Schenley Park File:Christopher Columbus monument in Schenley Park 2.JPG, Statue of Christopher Columbus File:Bob O'Connor Golf Course.jpg, Bob O'Connor Golf Course clubhouse

Notes

References

*Patricia Lowry (2006)
Schenley Plaza Dedication: story by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Retrieved June 4, 2006. * *Ben Muessig (2006)

Retrieved February 17, 2007.

External links

*

* {{Pittsburgh Panthers football navbox Carnegie Mellon Tartans College cross country courses in the United States Cross country running courses in Pennsylvania Defunct college football venues Historic American Buildings Survey in Pennsylvania Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Motorsport venues in Pennsylvania Parks in Pittsburgh Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks Pittsburgh Panthers football Urban forests in the United States Urban public parks Works Progress Administration in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Pittsburgh 1889 establishments in Pennsylvania Protected areas established in 1889