The Point Park Civic Center was a proposed civic center for downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, where the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers forms the Ohio River. Frank Lloyd Wright designed the structure on a commission from Edgar J. Kaufmann in the late 1940s. Wright initially envisioned a circular building more than 1,000 feet (300 m) in diameter and 175 feet (53 m) tall. The structure, containing an opera house, sports arena, three movie theaters, and a convention hall, was wrapped by a spiraling strip of road. The plan expressed Wright's insistence on bringing the automobile into the social setting. It did not find favor with Pittsburgh authorities.
A bird's eye view of Wright's first scheme for the Point Park Civic Center, done in 1947
Pittsburgh today. The tip of the Golden Triangle, with its fountain, is in the lower right. At center is the Allegheny River, one of the two rivers that Wright's bridges would have spanned (the Monongahela River is at the extreme lower right).
A sketch of Wright's second scheme for the Point Park Civic Center
Point State Park is a Pennsylvania state park which is located on 36 acres (150,000 m2) in Downtown Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, forming the Ohio River.
Point State Park in fall
The fountain in Point State Park, which sprays water up to 150 feet (46 m) in the air at the head of the Ohio River.
This is the Point in 1951 Pittsburgh showing the Point Bridge II (right) and the Manchester Bridge (left).
The underpass under Interstate 279 in the park
