The Mount Washington Community Development Corporation will introduce a new landmark and tourist attraction with two events scheduled for Oct. 25.
First, there will be a 2 p.m. unveiling of a new statue at a parklet located at Grandview Avenue and Sweetbriar Street, across from the Monterey Bay Fish Grotto. The sculpture, called Point of View, depicts the meeting of George Washington—then surveying land for European expansion—and Guyasuta, leader of the Seneca Indians, who wanted tribes to inhabit the area.
This event is free to the public.
Then, at 6:30 p.m., there will be a gala fundraiser celebration at the LeMont Restaurant on Grandview featuring the mayor and VIPs. Tickets will cost $75 per person and $140 per couple.
Attending both events will be the sculptor, Pittsburgh-born Jim West, history experts, and a host of costumed 18th-century reenactors, including members of the Seneca Nation.
The statue will be a new attraction for the Grand View Pennsylvania Scenic Byway and Byway Park.
City Councilman Dan Deasy is scheduled to introduce a resolution on Oct. 17 “commending artist Jim West, his historic consultants, and the board and staff of MWCDC for creating this work of public art, bringing to light the history and significance behind it, and providing a worthy new landmark attraction for the City of Pittsburgh.”
MWCDC board president Lynne Squilla said the idea for the project was sparked by a meeting between her and Mr. West two years ago. At the time, she was researching the French and Indian War for a WQED documentary called The War That Made America.
She said Mr. West works as a developer but “his passion is sculpture.”
Both were inspired by the two known meetings between Guyasuta and Washington, whose actions profoundly impacted Pittsburgh and the surrounding area. The men had differing points of view on the fate of the region yet remained on friendly terms following the 1770 meeting depicted by the statue.
They were originally allies but later fought on opposite sides in the French and Indian War.
Research has shown that “Pittsburgh in 1770 was the original wild frontier, an untamed wonderland full of colorful adventurers, soldiers, militia, traders, slaves, freemen, missionaries, and a variety of Indigenous people,” according to an MWCDC press release. At the time, fewer than 200 white settlers lived at the forks of the Ohio where Fort Pitt stood.
The MWCDC hopes the afternoon unveiling on the 25th will become “an annual signature event” each fall, featuring living history presentations where the public can interact with historical reenactors “to discover more about all eras in Pittsburgh and American history.”
The statue and parklet are the first new landmark visitor attractions for the Grand View Scenic Byway, one of only a handful of such roadways in urban settings. The byway includes all of Grandview, McArdle, and East Sycamore streets, and recently received a $240,000 grant from PennDOT for the addition of interpretive signage.
The gala celebration at the LeMont will feature light fare and drinks, short history presentations, a chat with the artist, and a silent auction of reproduction items.
Call MWCDC at 412-481-3220 to order tickets.