Tuesday, October 5, 2010
For Chelsey Engel, the notion that Pittsburgh continues to develop more green and sustainable space is a good way to draw people into different areas and make them feel more welcome.
That is why, as the president of the Student Alliance for Vitalizing Earth, Engel believes the greening of the rundown Allegheny Center on the city's North Side holds promise for positive change in the area's future.
"It would sway me to go somewhere if they had more green aspects in the community," Engel said.
The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh has launched its plan to turn the current Allegheny Center Plaza into a new green space to give the plaza a welcoming look.
The current plaza, to be renamed Allegheny Public Square, is a sunken cement area featuring large planters and some trees that lead to an in-ground fountain that has not run for years.
In its early years, the plaza was a large green space at the center of Allegheny City, but in the late 1960s it was turned into a mall that was once filled with retail outlets and other businesses. The last of the retailers moved out of the mall in the mid-1990s and the area, which includes apartment and office buildings, the Hazlett Theater and the Allegheny Middle School, has fallen on hard times.
A few years ago, the plaza's decay prompted the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, which has been the area's anchor for the past decade, to hold design competitions to return the plaza to its original green purpose.
The new square will consist of a large green space featuring more than 70 trees, a bioswale to collect runoff from the pavement area and a sculpture made of pipes at the center of the new plaza. The new design will look more welcoming to draw more people into the North Side.
"I think it's definitely a good growth opportunity for that part of town," Engel said. "I'm sure more people would enjoy that space."
Point Park University students agree the North Side is not somewhere one should be late at night. Engel says a friend that lives there does not talk about the area much, but will joke about it being "not the best place to live." Rent for a studio apartment in Allegheny Center starts at $600 a month and a one bedroom, one-bathroom apartment starts at $815 a month.
Junior musical theater major Ben Wetzel attends the nearby Couuminty College of Allegheny College Community Center for tests and also frequents the North Side for groceries. He is familiar with the plaza.
"You don't always feel safe walking up there," Wetzel said. "Sometimes, late at night, they have policemen patrolling, but it's still kind of a sketchy area."
Wetzel thinks the renovations will make the area look and feel less rough.
"If it looks more appealing, maybe it'll feel more comforting or more safe to the people who walk through there, live there, or visit there," Wetzel said.
Most of the funding has been raised, but the Children's Museum still seeks funds to complete the project. One way the museum is raising funds and awareness about the project is their "Yard of Yard" sale.
The sale allows people to purchase a yard of the plaza for $50. Museum development director M.J. Meenan said the sale may continue indefinitely, but will last at least one year.
"It's a way for the whole community to be part of the project," Meenan said.
Meenan also said the sale will have a page on the Children's Museum website for those who would like to donate online, and a plan to donate via text message is also in the works for the project. For now, donations are being accepted by mail. Checks can be mailed to the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, 10 Children's Way, Pittsburgh PA 15212. "Yard of Yard" sale should be included on the check's memo line and on the outside of the envelope.
