Mt. Washington's Grand View Scenic Byway Park, which was created in December 2005 and deemed the city's fifth regional park in April 2007, is working to reinvent itself.
The park is currently being promoted in a five-episode short film series that's screening at
Cinema in the Park and
online, and is the subject of a
"Name that Park!" competition through VisitPittsburgh. The contest ends in August, and a new name will be released this fall.
"One of the problems in creating a new park is helping people identify the space as a park," says Ilyssa Manspeizer with
Mt. Washington Community Development Corporation (MWCDC). "Grand View Scenic Byway Park says a lot about the front end, but doesn’t really speak to all the park's aspects. We don't want to be known as that forgettable park with the long name on the hill; we want to be known as that jewel in Pittsburgh's crown that we really are."
The distinctive view-side of the park sees more than a million visitors a year, says Manspeizer. The challenge, then, is to get some of those visitors into other parts of the park--a goal of short film series
The Grand View Scenic Byway Park: One Wild Urban Adventure, created by
Glee Club Productions with
Pittsburgh Filmmakers, MWCDC and the
Department of Parks and Recreation.
Glee Club Productions is a new multimedia production company that includes members of band
The Jilted Brides, who moved from Australia to Lawrenceville last year.
MWCDC recently launched a
website redesign, which features a very cool panoramic photo of Mt. Washington, including the expansive Grand View Scenic Byway Park, by
Pop City photographer
Brian Cohen.
To receive Pop City free every week, click here.Writer:
Caralyn GreenSources: Ilyssa Manspeizer, Ph.D., Parks Manager, Mount Washington Community Development Corporation; Nicole Skeltys, Glee Club Productions
Picture:
Mount Washington Park, part of the Grand View Scenic Byway ParkPhotograph copyright Brian Cohen