Point State Park (locally known as The Point) is a Pennsylvania state park on 36 acres (150,000 m2) in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, forming the Ohio River. Built on land acquired via eminent domain from industrial enterprises in the 1950s, the park opened in August 1974 when construction was completed on its iconic fountain. Pittsburgh settled on the current design after rejecting an alternative plan for a Point Park Civic Center designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Recreation
Today the park provides recreational space for workers, visitors, and residents in downtown Pittsburgh. It acts as the site for major cultural events in the city, including the Venture Outdoors Festival, Three Rivers Arts Festival, and Three Rivers Regatta. The Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks operates the park.
Fountain
The fountain’s location at the tip of the Point previously served as a connector for two old bridges, the Manchester Bridge (over the Allegheny River) and Point Bridge (over the Monongahela). Both were removed in 1970 to make way for the fountain. This is the Point in 1951 Pittsburgh showing the Point Bridge II (right) and the Manchester Bridge (left). In April 2009, the fountain was turned off for a $9.6 million upgrade and refurbishment; it went online again at the opening of the Three Rivers Arts Festival on June 7, 2013.
History
The confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, creating the Ohio River, has dramatically impacted the history of Point State Park. This confluence was referred to as the Forks of the Ohio, which remains the official landmark-designated name for the site. It was once at the center of river travel, trade, and even wars throughout the pioneer history of Western Pennsylvania. During the mid-18th century, the armies of France and Great Britain carved paths through the wilderness to control the point area and trade on the rivers. The French built Fort Duquesne in 1754 on the foundations of Fort Prince George, which the colonial forces had made of Virginia. Bed Bug Exterminator Pittsburgh
The French held Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War, which became one of the focal points of that war because of its strategic riverside location in disputed territory. The French held the fort successfully early in the war, turning back the 1755 expedition led by General Edward Braddock. A minor attack by James Grant in September 1758 was repulsed but with heavy losses. Two months later, on November 25, under General John Forbes, the Forbes Expedition captured the site after the French destroyed Fort Duquesne the day before. The British built a much larger fort on the site and named it Fort Pitt.
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