History
In May of 1999, Riverlife was appointed to develop a compelling grand vision for the city’s waterfront, a huge and defining area that stretches for miles along the rivers as they pass through the city. Forty-eight community leaders came together to make up Riverlife, representing a broad range of interests and expertise from both the public and the private sectors.
When Riverlife assembled for the first time in October 1999, historian David McCullough urged this group of community leaders to seize a “once-in-a-century” opportunity. “As you think of the Pittsburgh waterfront,” he challenged, “build on its heroic past, the confluence of the hills and rivers, the port, the steel town that at full throttle was ‘Hell with the Lid Off’; and build as well on its new spirit and vitality… make this a place where you want to bring the people you love.”
In 2000, the Task Force set out to engage the services of some of the nation’s premier design experts to study models around the world to determine how to successfully reinvent the Pittsburgh waterfront. Chan Krieger & Associates of Cambridge, Massachusetts, an urban design and architecture firm was chosen to create the master plan after an initial request for qualifications.
At the same time, the Task Force also set about listening to the community and worked to set a new paradigm for including the community in the planning process. Over 18 months, more than 120 public meetings were held with neighborhood and community groups, river users, professional associations, arts organizations, government agencies and non-profits, environmental groups, garden clubs, and faith-based organizations. Three citywide open forums were also held to solicit ideas from the community. The goal of these meetings was to arrive at a vision that would reflect the desires of a diverse populace and not just of a small committee.
On October 22, 2001, Riverlife presented A Vision Plan for Pittsburgh’s Riverfronts to the people of Southwestern Pennsylvania. The Vision Plan offers a specific proposal: to create in the heart of Pittsburgh a great urban, river park that will open the rivers up to the community, bring people back to the water, bring life back to the city and transform the region’s image. Three Rivers Park was born.
With the creation of Three Rivers Park already underway in the form of a series of projects planned for construction, it’s an ambitious, yet achievable, idea that will require a generation to realize in full.
The story of Pittsburgh began at the confluence, and the future of the city will continue to unfold in relationship to the three rivers. The Riverlife Task Force is dedicated to helping the citizens of Pittsburgh seize the economic potential of a new river park system, enhance the urban experience, reconnect the city to our rivers at the heart of the region and fuel a resurgence in the new century.