Walled garden

Pattern Scale: Neighborhood

Description of the Pattern:

Mellon Park in Pittsburgh, PA, is a beautiful oasis in a busy area, with its Walled Garden and expanse of trees. If you visit at night, though, it is a whole new experience. When the sun starts to set, the lawn within the Walled Garden in Mellon Park turns into a map of the stars at night. Hidden in the lawn are a hundred tiny granite discs, each with an LED, that at night illuminate the ground like a grassy planetarium. A memorial to a local young woman, the constellations in the lawn reflect the night sky from her birthday in 1979. Altogether, the park, the stars in the sky, and the stars on the ground create an experience in nature that is ethereal and wholly grounding. The park sits on the corner of 5th Avenue and Shady Avenue in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

Contact: Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, Susan Rademacher, Parks curator srademacher@pittsburghparks.org

Web page: https://www.pittsburghparks.org/mellon-park

Who Submitted this Pattern:  Maria Wheeler-Dubas, Phipps Conservatory