Frick Park Today

Frick Park Today. . , Frick Park is a place of wonder and enjoyment, thanks to its many strong partnerships and dedicated supporters. Chief among them are the City of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, Nine Mile Run Watershed Association, and scores of volunteers., All appreciate that Frick is an ideal landscape from the noise and bustle of the city. This 644-acre park has the most extensive areas of natural vegetation of any of Pittsburgh's large Regional Parks, thanks to the original plan which confines most facilities to its outer edges. As Pittsburgh's "Nature Park," its core area of woods and stream valley have been preserved for natural habitat and trails., The Frick Environmental Center is the gateway to that experience. In these four acres, you will find new structures that are designed to act in concert with natural processes, conserving water and generating power. You will discover how a sustainable site actually works. The surrounding gardens are a vibrant introduction to the park's native plants. And special features like the fountain and amphitheater express the park's heritage as a gathering place of delight., To the north, across Forbes Avenue, you can explore the rest of the park's original acreage, snugged in between Homewood Cemetery and Braddock Avenue. Follow the ridgeline trail until you emerge at the only public Lawn Bowling Greens in Pennsylvania. Here you will also find a circular stone seating area on the edge of the woods and the Reynolds Street Gatehouse, just across the street from the Frick Art and Historical Center at Clayton, once home to the Frick family., To the east lies the Braddock Avenue playground, designed by artists to stimulate a child's imagination. This popular area of the park also offers clay tennis courts, ball fields, and the historic Biddle Building, which serves Citiparks programs. A rain garden in front shows how rain water can be directed into absorbent garden areas rather than into pipes., The bulk of the park opens up to the south. Along Beechwood Boulevard, you will find the Blue Slide Playground, vast meadow vistas (a remnant of the former golf course), and an Off Leash Exercise Area for dogs. Just beyond from the top of Riverview Hill, is a spectacular viewing point of the Monongahela River Valley. Trails wind downslope into the lovely Fern Hollow and the reclaimed Nine Mile Run, leading to the Duck Hollow neighborhood and the Monongahela River.