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Sunday, March 1, 2009
We asked some well-known Pittsburghers to weigh in on their favorite pieces of public art in the city. The answers ranged from iconic architecture to famous statues and structures, and even a painting. Most of them are things people pass by every day. It may be time to give them a second look.
Bill Strickland stands by the Willie Stargell statue outside of PNC Park.
Joe Appel/Tribune-Review
Pirate passion: Bill Strickland
Bill Strickland says he likes the Willie Stargell Statue at PNC Park as public art mostly because of the man it represents.
"He was very supportive of the arts and what we do," says the CEO, president and founder of the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild and Bidwell Training Center on the North Side. "Plus, he was a great athlete, and, finally, he was a great person. Not arrogant or anything like that."
The statue on Federal Street on the North Side was created by Susan Wagner of Shadyside, the same sculptor who made the Roberto Clemente statue a half-block away.
Strickland talks with enthusiasm and fondness about meeting Stargell and having good conversations about the work being done at the Manchester site. He says Stargell's openness to the arts elevates him above athletes of today, who probably wouldn't care about such matters.
The image Wagner presented is a good one, he says, because it captures the power and dedication Stargell brought to the Pirates.
"The statue represents what he was," Strickland says.
— Bob Karlovits
Bingo O'Malley stands in the foyer of the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland. O'Malley is a fan of the opulent design and architecture of the room.
Joe Appel/Tribune-Review
Music man: Bingo O'Malley
The opulence of another era and how it's showcased is what Bingo O'Malley loves best about the Carnegie Music Hall Foyer in Oakland.
The Carnegie Music Hall Foyer opened in 1907 as an addition to the 1895 Music Hall that was part of the Carnegie Institute's expansion program.
Hoping to create a public space as luxurious and impressive as the Paris Opera House, architects Frank Alden and Edwin Harlow employed teams of Italian craftsmen to embellish the foyer with garlands and other baroque details, many of which were covered with gold leaf.
"It's definitely the opulence," says O'Malley, a Bethel Park resident and prominent local actor who has appeared in countless locally produced plays and movies.
Among the features that please O'Malley are the thousand light bulbs that illuminate the electric chandeliers, an impressive scientific marvel from the early days of electricity.
Enthroned at one end of the huge, rectangular foyer, Andrew Carnegie continues to watch over the myriad of weddings, private receptions and intermissions that fill the hall each year.
"The architecture of the room and its adornments are so indicative of the opulence of the era," O'Malley says. "They put it to best use in there."
— Alice T. Carter
Playwright and filmmaker Melissa Martin of Mt. Lebanon has chosen Judy Penzer's "The Bride of Penn Avenue" mural on a house on Penn Avenue in Garfield as her favorite piece of public art.
Justin Merriman/Tribune-Review
Lady in white: Melissa Martin
She floats across the side of a row house on Penn Avenue in Garfield, her long white gown trailing after her.
The "Bride of Penn Avenue" as she is known, is the central figure in a mural painted in the trompe l'oeil style by the late Judy Penzer.
Fans of the mysterious lady in white include playwright and filmmaker Melissa Martin, who wrote and directed "The Bread, My Sweet," a film shot in Pittsburgh in 2001.
"The formality of the wedding gown is a stark contrast to the background," Martin says. "She's almost part bride, part angel. There's something not of this world about it."
The bride's ascendant beauty also strikes Martin as optimistic in a neighborhood that is struggling to regain its stride.
Penzer, whose large-scale sports murals were common sites on Pittsburgh buildings, died in the crash of TWA flight 800 in July 1996. She also painted a sports mural on the side of a building at 500 Wood Street, Downtown. The painting, which depicted Bill Mazeroski, Roberto Clemente, Jack Lambert and other Pittsburgh sports heroes, was demolished in 1997. The Bride, however, lives on.
— William Loeffler
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra french hornist Bob Lauver stands in front of his favorite public art element in Pittsburgh, the Smithfield Street Bridge.
J.C. Schisler/Tribune-Review
Bridge work: Robert Lauver
Affection for the Smithfield Street Bridge began with a "kind of silly" coincidence, says Robert Lauver, hornist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. "Our uniform is bow tie and tails, and it's the bow-tie bridge."
The current Smithfield Street Bridge was designed by Gustav Lindenthal, erected from 1881 to 1883 and subsequently modified, including broadening. It is one of the first bridges in the United States to be built mainly with steel and may be the oldest steel bridge still standing in the country. It is an official National Historic Landmark.
Lauver says one of his family's favorite memories of the Smithfield Street Bridge "is walking across it while the Gateway Clipper came underneath. The girls (Madeline, 11; Lily, 8 and Sophie, 8) really got a kick out of it."
"I think the Smithfield Street Bridge is one of those bridges that draw you because of its beauty. It is majestic and graceful," Lauver says.
— Mark Kanny
David Newell, aka Mr. McFeely from "Mister Rogers Neighborhood," stands in front of Mellon Arena, one of his favorite pieces of public art.
Heidi Murrin/Tribune-Review
Symbol on the Hill: David Newell
Years before his defining days as Mr. McFeely on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," David Newell watched many Civic Light Opera performances at the Civic Arena. He also spent three summers as a 20-something working at the arena, as an assistant stage manager for the CLO.
Ever since those youthful days, Newell has held a special fondness for the place now called Mellon Arena.
"It's always intrigued me," Newell says. "I'm not saying it's a work of art like Notre Dame Cathedral or something. I'm saying that it speaks of ... an era. It may be corny, but I like the arena look. I like the way it looks sitting on that hill. It just defines the hill for me."
The arena, which opened in 1961, has hosted many memorable acts, including the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and the Rolling Stones.
"The fact that it was designed for the Civic Light Opera, and the fact that the roof opened to duplicate the feeling you had when you were watching something outside at Pitt Stadium -- you could have your cake and eat it too," Newell says.
Newell says he is sad to see Mellon Arena's impending demise, due to the Penguins building a new stadium. He says he hopes the arena will stay up, and maybe still be used as an ice-skating rink or concert venue.
"It gives Pittsburgh a personality," Newell says.
— Kellie B. Gormly
Former Pittsburgh Steeler Randy Grossman with his favorite piece of Pittsburgh art — "A Song to Nature" by sculptor Victor David Brenner by the Frick Fine Arts building.
Sidney Davis/Tribune-Review
Oakland's Pan: Randy Grossman
You might expect a handsome football hero to admire a guy like Pan, the mythological Greek god of fields and forests.
Pan stars in "A Song to Nature," the 15-foot bronze-and-granite fountain sculpture at the Frick Fine Arts Building in Oakland.
A big fan of the work is former Pittsburgh Steeler tight end Randy Grossman.
"Unless you spend time in Oakland, not many people know of it," he says about the sculpture.
Grossman, 56, played in four Super Bowls and now works for Edward Jones Financial Services.
"A Song to Nature" -- restored in 2008 -- features a female figure as Pan's pipe.
"It's an amazing combination of an extremely masculine component, and an extremely feminine, beautiful component," Grossman says about "A Song to Nature." "It's really pretty spectacular, and attention grabbing."
Sculptor Victor David Brenner created the work -- placed in 1918 -- as a memorial to Mary Schenley, who donated land in 1889 to create Schenley Park.
An inscription on a "A Song to Nature" explains "Pan the Earth God Answers to the Harmony and Magic Tones Sung to the Lyre by Sweet Harmony."
— Deborah Deasy
Suzie McConnell-Serio stands with her favorite public art piece called "Fredosaurus Rex Friday XIII," by artist Karen Howell, outside of WQED-TV in Oakland.
Jasmine Goldband/Tribune-Review
Favorite neighborhood: Suzie McConnell-Serio
For Duquesne University women's basketball coach, Brookline native, and two-time Olympian Suzie McConnell-Serio, it was easy to choose her favorite piece of public art in the city.
"It had to be something with Mister Rogers," says McConnell-Serio, who was a guest on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" in November 1988 after playing on the gold-medal winning U.S. Women's Olympic basketball team. "He was an unbelievably awesome guy. Being on his show is one of my favorite memories of Pittsburgh."
McConnell-Serio's favorite is the statue named Fredosaurus Rex Friday XIII, created by artist Karen Howell, outside the offices of WQED Multimedia in Oakland. Featuring the famous sweater and a pair of grandiose tennis shoes, Mister Rogers' Jurassic persona is highlighted with Henrietta Pussycat and King Friday XIII. A Neighborhood Trolley adorns the dinosaur's tail.
McConnell-Serio says it is important to keep the late Rogers' memory alive because of everything he meant to the people of Pittsburgh and beyond.
"Whenever I think of him, I smile," she says. "He always made you feel good about yourself. And I can't help but think about how many lives and generations he's touched. He's a Pittsburgh icon."
— Joanne Klimovich Harrop
Filmmaker Carl Kurlander stands in front of the statue of Mayor Richard Caliguiri at the City-County Building, Downtown.
Andrew Russell/Tribune-Review
Model mayor: Carl Kurlander
After building a successful career as a movie writer and producer ("St. Elmo's Fire") in Hollywood, Carl Kurlander decided to start over in the place closest to his heart, his hometown of Pittsburgh. But mostly, he just wanted his daughter to grow up in "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," instead of the la-la land of Britney and Paris.
The transition was so transformative and traumatic, he decided to make a movie about it. "My Tale of Two Cities," a charming, funny, low-budget documentary-comedy.
Since returning to the city, he's found his favorite piece of public art is the Mayor Richard S. Caliguiri statue at the City-County Building, Downtown.
"I don't have the best posture. Caliguiri, what I loved about him was, he seems slumped, casual, hands-in-the-pockets. I don't know why, it seems very human, very Pittsburgh," Kurlander says. "It's funny, it made me feel like, 'There's a friendly guy.'
"When I was growing up, Mayor (Pete) Flaherty drove my car pool. He always had the same phone number, his door was never locked, he always walked down to Walnut Street. What other big city do you have a mayor who drives a car pool and hangs out on the same street as everyone? Caliguiri seemed like he was the same way, and Bob O'Connor. And Dan Rooney."
— Michael Machosky
Author Jane Bernstein of Point Breeze with her dog Barry at her favorite public art piece, the council ring in Frick Park.
Jasmine Gehris/Tribune-Review
Council ring: Jane Bernstein
Jane Bernstein thinks of herself as an urban person, but Frick Park is the place where she connects with the natural world. The Carnegie Mellon University English professor runs on the lower trails of the park for "the illusion of being somewhere remote," she says.
Her favorite piece of public art lies near the entrance to the Homewood Trail, near the lawn bowling courts across from the Frick Art & Historical Center.
"I've been fascinated by the semi-circular stone structure above the entrance to Homewood Trail," says the author of "Rachel in the World: A Memoir," and "Bereft: A Sister's Story." "I thought it was a fort, though I knew it made no sense."
From park curator Susan Rademacher, Bernstein learned that the "fort" was designed and built from 1935 to 1940 by the landscape architecture firm of Innocenti & Webel as a council ring, a place where people could gather to learn about nature. According to Rademacher, council rings usually are built at a woodland edge with a view to a meadow or lake. Drawing from both Nordic and Native American traditions, council rings serve as a meeting place for conversation, song, dance, storytelling, poetry and campfires, linking humanity and nature.
— Rege Behe
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