Pittsburgh’s Frick Park is a step closer to receiving historic designation.
The city’s Planning Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to recommended granting the historic designation.
Located in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill South, Regent Square, Point Breeze and Swisshelm Park neighborhoods, the 644-acre Frick Park is a “visual landmark” in the community, said Sarah Quinn of the city’s Department of City Planning.
Industrialist and Pittsburgh native Henry Clay Frick donated the first 151 acres of the park to the city when he died in 1919, Quinn said. He left $2 million for future park land acquisition and maintenance.
The park has seen several expansions and changes to park design in the years since.
The historic designation would apply only to city-owned parkland, Quinn said. It would not include any privately owned property near the park and would not change how people can use the park, she said.
Other Pittsburgh parks — including Mellon Park — already have been designated historically significant.
Frick Park was nominated for historic designation by Preservation Pittsburgh, Friends of Frick Park, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, City Councilwoman Barb Warwick and other community groups.
The Historic Review Commission previously supported the move. The proposal now moves to City Council for final approval.
