City's newest photo op

"Photography Park"
Jasmine Gehris/Tribune-Review

By Tony LaRussa
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, July 13, 2004

Jim West Jr., of O'Hara, on Monday points out the area on Mt. Washington that may be the future site of his sculpture, The Meeting Point. The spot, often referred to as Photography Park, is across the street from the Monterey Bay Fish Grotto. Jasmine Gehris/Tribune-Review

A trip to Mt. Washington has long been a must on the tours Jim West Jr. gives to out-of-town visitors.

So when West -- a developer by trade and a sculptor at heart -- envisioned creating a piece of public art that captured a slice of Pittsburgh history, he set his sights on a narrow bluff at Grandview Avenue and Sweetbriar Street.

West's idea has become the impetus for developing the city-owned property into what residents have long referred to as "Photography Park" because of the premier view of the city skyline.

The area -- across the street from the Monterey Bay Fish Grotto -- is a popular place to view fireworks or take photographs because it has a nearly straight-on view of the Point below.

Work is scheduled to begin by year's end to convert the roughly 300-foot tract, which is about 19 feet wide at its widest point, into a more inviting -- and safer -- place for visits, said Neil Morrow, president of the Mt. Washington Community Development Corp.

Critical to advancing the project is that the city already has most of the building material needed for the park and has agreed to use its own crews to do the work, Morrow said.

"The decorative fencing and stone that will be used has been salvaged from other projects in the city. Beyond that, the only major thing that really needs to be done is landscaping."

Railing will be placed along the edge of the bluff to keep visitors from falling down the steep hillside.

The plan calls for the use of cut stone to create three triangles -- one each pointing to the Allegheny and Ohio rivers, and a third in the direction of the Point, Downtown. The sculpture will be installed on the center triangle, which will be elevated by about 18 inches to provide seating for visitors.

The sculpture being developed by West depicts a historic meeting between George Washington and Chief Guyasuta following the French and Indian War.

"When I first started thinking of a piece, I went down the same road as everybody else and considered doing something that depicted the steel industry and our ethnic heritage," West said. "But I ended up in a completely different place and became very interested in the historic meeting between these two great men."

The characters in the bronze sculpture, tentatively named "The Meeting Point," will likely be one-fourth larger than life-size.

West also has been working with local historians to create a more historically accurate model of the two men -- especially Guyasuta, who often is depicted wearing clothing more appropriate to a Western Indian.

"The research we are doing will help us end up with as historically an accurate picture of these men as is possible," West said.

Lynn Squilla, vice president of the Mt. Washington CDC, said support for the proposed park and sculpture has been strong.

"What's fascinating is that this project seems to be the one thing people in this otherwise divided community have embraced," Squilla said, referring to the often contentious debate over development issues in Mt. Washington.

A public hearing already has been conducted on the project and a second is slated for later this month. The project also has received favorable reactions during a pair of CDC board meetings, Squilla said.

Squilla said a number of ideas, including casting miniatures, are being developed to raise the estimated $75,000 in materials needed for the sculpture. "Based on how this idea has been accepted, I don't anticipate having a great deal of difficulty raising the money."

Tony LaRussa can be reached at tlarussa@tribweb.com.