Mellon Square Groundbreaking

1953-09-28

View this item

Mellon Square Groundbreaking
  • Title
  • Mellon Square Groundbreaking
  • Creator
  • John R. Shrader
  • Identifier
  • MSP285.B014.F09.I01
  • Source Identifier
  • MSP285.B014.F09.I01
  • Description
  • On September 28, 1953, at 12:15 p.m. ground was broken for the 1.37-acre Mellon Square. It was a brief ceremony that included Mr. Mellon and Mayor David L. Lawrence. 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 Mellon Square. The square was designed by architects Mitchell and Ritchey of Pittsburgh at a total cost of $7.8 million. Enough material was hauled out of the square to fill the equivalent of 540 boxcars and enough concrete was poured into the hole to pack 90 boxcars solid. At the peak of construction several hundred Pittsburgh workers were employed on this project.
  • Genre
  • photographs
  • Subject
  • Mellon Square (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    Downtown (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
  • Source
  • Allegheny Conference on Community Development Photographs, 1892-1981, MSP 285, Library and Archives Division, Senator John Heinz History Center
  • Contributor
  • Detre Library & Archives, Heinz History Center
  • Collection
  • Allegheny Conference on Community Development Photographs
  • Rights Information
  • Copyright Not Evaluated. The copyright and related rights status of this Item has not been evaluated. 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.
    http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/