One hundred years ago, the Panther Hollow Lake in Schenley Park was a Victorian idyll beneath the arched Panther Hollow bridge, complete with genteel boats for rent from the genteel boathouse.
But that idyll was also an example of Victorian earth-moving hubris, and eventually the disrupted earth got its revenge, easing down the slope and silting the man-made lake almost full. Panther Hollow Lake, once six feet deep, is now a two-foot puddle, often covered over with slimy green algae. The boathouse did not fare better, and was demolished years ago.
Restoring Panther Hollow Lake and Boathouse is a tall order, but the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy says that its restoration is a high priority on their Regional Parks Master Plan, and they’ve retained West Chester-based environmental consultants Cahill Associates to study the possibility.
“Healing the water means healing the land,” Tom Cahill told a crowd of about 40 last week at a lecture at the Schenley Visitors Center. The lake itself is a disruption of the natural watershed – it was built by damming Four Mile Run – but stabilizing the wooded slopes and adding features to catch runoff would help.
Help will come from a local academic study team that will gather data, and from the good people of Pittsburgh, who can volunteer by calling 412-682-7275. Volunteer days are April 8, 22 and 29.
Source: Meg Cheever and Alice Enz, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy
www.pittsburghparks.org, www.thcahill.com