Project Description: 

Vertical Parks / Vertical Parties was an installation and event series designed as part of BikePGH’s and the Office of Public Art’s #StepsWeTake initiative. Steps We Take was a city-wide initiative to activate Pittsburgh’s publicly-owned city steps. Merritt Chase was competitively selected to work with the Polish Hill Civic Association to design and install a 2-week temporary installation on steps in the Polish Hill neighborhood in October 2019. The project solicited public and stakeholder feedback from the community through walking tours, mapping exercises, feedback cards, interactive models, and group meetings. The feedback resulted in an installation and event series combination entitled Vertical Parks / Vertical Parties begging the question: What if Pittsburgh’s steps were vertical parks? Places to meet a friend, share a snack or listen to local music? The project temporarily transformed Polish Hill’s city steps into vertical parks, activated by vertical parties between multiple sets of steps.

Vertical park furniture, including seating, gateways and signage, was fabricated and installed creating public gathering spaces throughout the neighborhood and locations for the vertical parties. The vertical parties included an evening Vertical Block Party along the Harding Way steps that included food trucks, drinks, and a steps parade led by local marching band, May Day Marching Band. A Vertical Pierogi Brunch between the Phelan Way and Paulowna Street steps included locally made Polish pierogi and a visit from the Pittsburgh Pirates Pierogi mascot Sauerkraut Saul. Self-guided tours will also invited exploration of the neighborhood’s steps and individual documentation of city step conditions. Vertical Parks / Vertical Parties becomes a playful reminder that the city steps are Pittsburgh’s most unique public infrastructure and deserving of continued civic investment. 

The design of the vertical park furniture, imagined in collaboration with Polish Hill artist and musician Gina Favano, was inspired by Pennsylvania symbolism, Polish folk art tradition, and neighborhood flora and fauna. The overall forms reflect a keystone shape, referencing Pennsylvania’s nickname as “the Keystone State.” The intricate cutouts, etchings and reliefs are inspired by the folk art tradition of polish paper cutting or wycinanki. Wycinanki is a form of Polish paper folk craft that became popular in the mid-1800s and traveled with Polish immigrants to Pittsburgh’s Polish Hill neighborhood. Traditional wycinanki imagery includes birds, flowers and holiday themes such as Christmas and Easter. Polish Hill artist and musician Gina Favano put a contemporary, localized twist on the motifs incorporated into the vertical park furniture. In her own words,

“One of the facets that makes Polish Hill such a special enclave is the abundance of wildlife and botanica that can be seen on any casual stroll through the neighborhood. Crows are particularly emblematic of Polish Hill, especially in the Fall, when miles-long swathes can be seen snaking over the rooftops, making their way to roost in trees as the autumn nights grow longer. Another bird familiar to Polish Hill is the mourning dove, represented here in distlefink form. Looking through the heart cutouts, one may notice the eyes on the opposing panel line up, so it appears as though the heart is staring back. This image was inspired by a cast metal “eye votive” that I found years ago when paging through a book of Polish folk art at the Carnegie Library. It’s an image that has stuck with me, and taken on different incarnations in my work. To me it has come to represent seeing clearly with one’s heart. Pokeroot, crocuses, little brown bats; all serve as common reminders of the magic that exists outside our doorways. And of how it’s our duty to preserve and protect it.”