Emerald View Park facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Emerald View Park
Famous view of downtown Pittsburgh from Emerald View Park on Mt. Washington
Type	Park system
Location	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Operated by	Mount Washington Community Development Corporation

Emerald View Park is a big city park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It used to be called Grand View Scenic Byway Park. This park wraps around the neighborhoods of Mt. Washington, Duquesne Heights, and Allentown. It offers amazing views of the city, which attract over 1 million visitors every year!

The park officially opened on Earth Day in 2007. It covers about 280 acres (1.1 km²) of land. Emerald View Park is the sixth large park in Pittsburgh's park system. It joins other well-known parks like Frick, Schenley, Highland, Riverview, and Three Rivers Park. Before it became one big park, this area was a mix of smaller parks, green spaces, wooded hills, sports fields, and unused land. The city of Pittsburgh and a local community group work together to manage the park.

How Emerald View Park Started

A Tornado's Impact and a Community's Idea

In 1998, a rare tornado hit the Mount Washington neighborhood. After the storm, some people in the community had an idea for the park. They wanted to fix the damage and prevent new buildings from taking over the green spaces. This group called themselves "Green Is Good." They were worried that the damaged land might be seen as "blighted," which could lead to new houses and apartments being built.

Even though the views from Mount Washington are very popular, the "Green Is Good" group argued that the real treasure was the continuous 264 acres (1.07 km²) of green, hilly, undeveloped land around the mountain. Eventually, "Green Is Good" got support from the Mt. Washington Community Development Corporation, other local non-profit groups, and the city government.

Becoming a Scenic Byway Park

In 2003, the state of Pennsylvania named three roads in Pittsburgh as Pennsylvania Scenic Byways. These roads were Sycamore Street, McArdle Roadway, and Grandview Avenue. This inspired the park's very long former name: Grand View Scenic Byway Park.

Wide-angle view from Emerald View Park on Mt. Washington

More Information About the Park

You can learn more about Emerald View Park from these articles:

• Tom Barnes (2002). Project would improve Mt. Washington greenway: story from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
• Diana Nelson Jones (2006). Grand View Scenic Byway Park: story from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved May 12, 2007.
• Diana Nelson Jones (2007). Ilyssa Manspeizer is the new park manager in Mount Washington: story from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved June 11, 2007.