Construction of Mellon Square Park

1954/1955

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Title
Construction of Mellon Square Park
Creator
John R. Shrader
Identifier
MSP285.B014.F10.I04
Description
On April 22, 1949, The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Sarah Mellon Scaife, and Richard King Mellon Foundation announced a gift to the City of Pittsburgh of $4 million (later boosted to $4.3 million) to build the 1.37-acre Mellon Square. The square was designed by architects Mitchell and Ritchey of Pittsburgh. The final five layers are a rustic Venetian terrazzo consisting of unpolished marble granules set in mortar. The chips in four colors came from Belgium, Italy, and Maryland and provided the multi-shaded pattern of the pavement. The garage (center right) opened partially in January of 1955 and could easily accommodate 1,000 vehicles. The granite, which faces the park, the planting boxes, and benches, is the hardest formed by nature and was transported from Minnesota. It is impervious to water, will not mark nor stain from within or without. The total cost of the Mellon Square project was $7.8 million.
Subject
Mellon Square (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Construction workers--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
Sixth Avenue (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Downtown (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Contributor
Detre Library & Archives, Heinz History Center
Collection
Allegheny Conference on Community Development Photographs
Rights Information
The copyright and related rights status of this Item has been reviewed by the organization that has made the Item available, but the organization was unable to make a conclusive determination as to the copyright status of the Item. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.
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