Lake Elizabeth, Pittsburgh, PA
Landslide

Marvels of Modernism: Lake Elizabeth

Reborn as a part of Pittsburgh’s 1967 urban renewal project, John Ormsbee Simonds’ Lake Elizabeth sits within the city’s oldest mapped parkland, Allegheny Commons, and signifies the place of Modernism on the 200-year-long timeline of that landscape.


Today, a master plan for Allegheny Commons will help renew its signature features, including Lake Elizabeth, which have suffered from neglect and accrued deferred maintenance. Representing a century of landscape design, the master plan aims to reveal and educate the import of design elements from the recent past such as Lake Elizabeth, allowing them to take their place alongside their picturesque ancestors.

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