Conference Extras
Before the Conference
This page provides a summary of optional conference extras. For more detail on these activities, click the links to the left for Pre-Conference Tours, Conference Tours, and Mobile Workshops.
Activities & Tours
Arrive early to join escorted bus tours to destinations such as Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece, or Vandergrift, the Olmsted-designed model industrial town. Jump into a kayak to explore the Allegheny River, or hop on a bike and go for a ride along Pittsburgh's riverfront. And there’s much more.
During the Conference
Walk & Talk
Start the day with a guided walking tour of historic Point State Park, located adjacent to the conference hotel. Tours will offer a variety of perspectives on the recent $25 million restoration of the park, which sits at the tip of Pittsburgh’s “Golden Triangle,” marking the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers. The park, originally designed by Ralph Griswold, is a National Historic Landmark commemorating the heritage of the area during the French and Indian War. Point State Park was a centerpiece of the early renaissance of Pittsburgh, and it underwent further restoration under the direction of Simonds and Simonds. Marion Pressley oversaw recent renovations which included a new lawn, pathways, landscaping and benches; new irrigation, drainage and electrical systems; lighting; vendor hookups; a new stage and renovations to the reflecting pool.
Ride the Rivers
The steel industry abandoned Pittsburgh's riverfronts in the 1980s, resulting in contaminated industrial waterfront sites and a staggering loss of employment and population. For two decades, the City has embarked on a campaign to reclaim and revitalize brownfield sites. As a non-profit civic leadership organization, Riverlife was established in 1999 to step up the pace and create a holistic vision and masterplan for Pittsburgh's riverfronts. The central undertaking is to open up 12 miles of riverfront in the urban core, to create a metropolitan-scale waterfront park, called "Three Rivers Park." With numerous projects underway and $3.5 billion of investment, the city is reconnecting to its three rivers, with the effect of rejuvenating the economy and quality of life for its citizens. Join this river tour to see how, with funding from the major Pittsburgh foundations and with the involvement of elected officials, public authorities, private business and real estate interests, the public and private sectors are coming together to transform Pittsburgh with dramatic results. Climb aboard the Gateway Clipper riverboat and view the city’s riverfront parks from the vantage point of the rivers themselves.
See the Green
A bus and walking tour will take participants to some of Pittsburgh’s most unique parks and reveal how they fit into the city’s plan for urban redevelopment. Stops will include Simonds and Simonds’ Mellon Square, the oldest surviving park built atop a parking garage. Other stops include the bold new Cultural District Riverfront Development project.
Registration and an extra fee will be required. Tours will be conducted rain or shine. Rain ponchos will be available.
Mobile Workshops in the Parks
These two-hour field sessions will take attendees into the community for a first-hand look at specific park issues, sites, and projects. Mobile workshops are a unique opportunity to interact with the "insiders," to experience place, and to learn lessons that can be applied in one's own community.
