Grand View Scenic Byway Park

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Famous view of downtown Pittsburgh from Grand View Scenic Byway Park on Mt. Washington

Grand View Scenic Byway Park is a large municipal park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It encircles the neighborhoods of Mt. Washington and Duquesne Heights and offers scenic views of the city that draw more than 1 million visitors annually.

The park, officially created on Earth Day 2007, is 280 acres. It joins Frick, Schenley, Highland, Riverview, and Three Rivers Parks as the sixth in the city's network of regional parks. Until consolidated, this land was an assortment of existing smaller parks, greenways, forested hillsides, playing fields, and neglected land parcels. It is jointly managed by the city of Pittsburgh and the neighborhood's community development corporation.

[edit] History

In the aftermath of a rare tornado in 1998 that touched down in the neighborhood, the park was conceived by community activists as a way to address the damage. They called themselves "Green Is Good". They feared a post-storm "blighted" designation would spur the city to allow housing and condominium development. Although Mount Washington's vista points are a high profile attraction, they argued, the true amenity was the continuous 264 acres of green, hilly, undeveloped land that rings the Mount. Eventually "Green Is Good" won the support of Mt. Washington Community Development Corporation, other local nonprofits, and the city government.

In 2003 the state designated three Pittsburgh roads—Sycamore Street, McArdle Roadway, and Grandview Avenue—as Pennsylvania Scenic Byways, inspiring the park's very long name.