On the last morning of August, Allegheny County leaders stood at the base of a 102-foot steel tower in North Park and brushed paint onto it. The tower was built as a water storage tank for McCandless and the surrounding area. It has been closed to the public for many years, and a restoration of more than $3 million will sandblast the rust and return it to its original silver-grey color, WESA reported.
Officials want the tower finished by next summer, when North Park turns 100. The tower dates from 1937, as do the lake and the Boathouse, a decade after the park was founded. Most of what people picture when they hear "North Park" belongs to that later year. For anyone in Richland, Pine or Hampton who uses the park as a backyard, the 1937 layer is where this winter's activity is concentrated.
Two Founding Moments, Ten Years Apart
The county's own history puts the start on February 11, 1927, when the Allegheny County Commissioners passed a resolution creating North and South Parks. Commissioner E.V. Babcock is credited with hiring landscape architect Paul B. Riis to design them. According to WQED, both parks opened on June 18, 1927, so the 100th anniversary falls on June 18, 2027.
The pieces with the most recognizable silhouettes arrived later:
| Year | What arrived | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1927 | County resolution in February, parks open in June | County history, WQED |
| 1933 to 1935 | Lake Marshall created to supply water for the golf course, park buildings and fire hydrants | Clio |
| 1937 | North Park Lake dedicated, stone-clad Boathouse completed | 2012 North Park Lake Area Master Plan |
| August 7, 1937 | The standpipe opens to visitors as an observation deck | Clio, from a county ranger's account |
The tower was a working piece of infrastructure built through the New Deal's Public Works Administration. It doubled as a lookout from the day it opened to visitors. So the park's centennial and the tower's return both depend on a single summer in 2027.
The Water Tank Holding the Centennial's Spotlight
The Allegheny County Parks Foundation says the first phase of the restoration is underway, and its project page expects the tower to reopen after more than 30 years. Between that page and WESA's report, the current work covers:
- Structural repairs, sandblasting and repainting in the original silver-grey
- Restoring the viewing platform at the top of the 154-step staircase, plus the historic terrazzo floor
- Safety upgrades to the stair railings and the platform
A second phase, which the Foundation describes as proposed, would add native plantings, a concrete plaza with stone seat walls, interpretive signs, a sidewalk circling the base, shade trees and accessibility improvements in the parking lot, and a one-acre native wildflower meadow on the hillside along the entrance drive.
Funding comes from Allegheny County, the Allegheny Foundation, the Babcock Charitable Trust, the Richard King Mellon Foundation and individual donors. TribLive counted more than 200 individual donors alongside matching county funds. The Foundation opened a public campaign on May 4, 2026, with a $20,000 goal for the final phase. Its campaign page now says donations have passed that goal, and further gifts will go toward contingency costs.
Joey-Linn Ulrich, executive director of the Parks Foundation, described the view to WESA: "When you get to the top, you can see all the way [to] Downtown Pittsburgh."
One detail matters for weekend planning next year. Park officials told WESA that once the tower reopens, it will initially be open Monday through Friday from dawn to dusk and closed on most weekends while the county studies how busy weekends get. Families who mostly visit on Saturdays should expect to fit the first climb into a weekday.
The Boathouse Keeps Serving While the Ice Cream Window Is Shut
The tower is the 1937 structure under construction. The Boathouse, finished the same year, is the 1937 structure still serving food. Over the Bar Bicycle Cafe operates inside it, according to the county's North Park page. Its posted hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
The park's warm-weather treat stop has shut for the winter. Millie's North Park shop posted "Closed for the Season! See you next spring!" in early October. That leaves the Boathouse as the park's place to sit down and eat this time of year. It also sits on the five-mile paved loop around North Park Lake, the same lake that was dedicated the year the Boathouse opened.
At the park's northern end, the grounds and marked trails at Latodami Nature Center are open from dawn to dusk. The barn opens only for scheduled programs. The Parks Foundation is working on a master site plan for the 12-acre site, including a feasibility study for the barn that covers access, parking, trails and buildings. That work is still a plan headed to funders, not construction.
Ice skating ties into the same history. County Executive Sara Innamorato told WESA that for her, as "a North Hills girl," North Park "was ice skating on Friday nights." The county's ice skating page lists a standard weekly schedule with Friday public skates at 1 to 4:30 p.m., 5 to 7 p.m. and 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Check that page for the current season's sessions before you load the skates into the car.
Two Dates Before December That Point Back to 1937
The tower will stay behind construction work all winter. The park's history is still easy to get close to this month, and two near-term dates are worth putting on the calendar.
- Tuesday, November 17, 7 p.m. The Allegheny County Park Rangers present "Historic Structures of North Park" at Hampton Community Center, 3200 Lochner Way in Allison Park. The township's notice says the talk covers features that "have faded into history but some still exist today," hidden in plain sight around the park, and that all are welcome. It runs five days after this post publishes, and it's the closest look at the park's 1937 layer anyone will get until the tower stairs reopen. Details from Hampton Township.
- Monday, November 30. Tickets go on sale for the county's 2026 Holiday Laser Show, a 40-minute drive-in show at North Park. Tickets are $30 per vehicle, and every vehicle needs one. The county's laser show page is where tickets and showtimes will appear.
The ranger talk is in Allison Park, a short drive down Route 8 for most of Gibsonia. Neither event needs the tower to be open. Together they make November an easy month to reconnect with a park you already use.
What a Year-Long Centennial Could Add
The county's plans for the anniversary go beyond the tower. Allegheny County's recommended 2027 fiscal plan, submitted for review and approval, proposes "Parks 100." It would be a year-long celebration of the county parks' centennial, with two new signature events at North and South Parks, a traveling history display shown year-round, new signage and limited-edition merchandise from a local artist.
TribLive reported that the tower's grand opening is expected to line up with North Park's 100th anniversary. The Parks Foundation's newsletter projects construction through spring 2027. If the schedule holds, a structure that opened to visitors on August 7, 1937, will greet the park's second century, with weekday-only hours at first.
Winter is also when a lot of North Hills households start thinking about spring plans, whether that's staying close to the park or finding a place nearer to it. If you'd like to talk through what's happening around Richland, Pine and Hampton this coming year, Nate Nieland is glad to sit down with you. Book an Appointment when you're ready.
