An unforgettable land and water experience unlike anywhere else in the region.
Pittsburgh’s bridges are the great connectors. When our community utilizes bridges as convenient foot and bike paths, the city opens up – and so do the possibilities. Riverlife’s Sister Bridges Experience will transform the way Pittsburghers experience the rivers and connect with one another.
In the Completing the Loop vision plan, Riverlife and its partners examined two parks on the Allegheny River, Allegheny Landing on the North Shore, Allegheny Riverfront Park along Fort Duquesne Boulevard Downtown, and the surrounding assets. Riverlife envisions a repositioning that honors the history of these spaces and introduces elements that will meet the expectations, needs, and preferences of a 21st Century city.
This area has plenty of attractions: The Andy Warhol Museum and its burgeoning Pop District; the stadiums on the North Shore; the Cultural District Downtown; and three iconic bridges connecting the neighborhoods, used intermittently for community events.
This location has historically not been thought of as a true experience destination. Each existing institution operates within their own boundaries. The Sister Bridges Experience has the potential to transform two beloved but separate spaces into a renowned destination that functions like no other open space in Pittsburgh– connecting Pittsburghers and visitors to a curated cultural experience to be enjoyed by generations to come.
Completing the Loop
Since 1999, Riverlife has worked to create, activate, and celebrate Pittsburgh’s riverfronts, overseeing a $150 million investment that has transformed decaying and abandoned spaces along the riverfronts into 15 miles and 1,055 acres of award-winning, nationally recognized parks, trails, and green space.
While today’s riverfronts boast world-class moments, challenges, and gaps remain in creating a world-class experience that is enjoyed equally by everyone. The Completing the Loop plan is Riverlife’s award-winning vision for filling those gaps and creating a cohesive riverfront experience that contains thriving spaces and can be accessed and enjoyed by all. Learn more at riverlifepgh.org/loop.
A Cohesive River Solution: River Rooms
The Confluence River Room
The Loop covers 15 miles of riverfront space between the West End, Hot Metal, and the 31st Street Bridges. It is adjacent to 15 neighborhoods, with more than 41,000 people within a 15-minute walk of the riverfront. A great riverfront is more than the sum of its parts, and Pittsburgh’s rivers need a holistic approach.
“River Rooms,” a term coined in the Completing the Loop plan, are stretches of riverfront that act as cross-river connectors, where visitors can gather and spend time exploring. Designed for experiences on both land and water, River Rooms position the rivers at the heart of the Loop and create places where people come together to enjoy activities near to, next to, and on Pittsburgh’s three rivers.
On the landside, Riverlife envisions overlooks, parks, festivals , and fishing places. On the water, Riverlife imagines water trails and boat access, whether human powered, small craft, or larger passenger or commercial boats. River Rooms provide places where you can play, view public art up and down the river, and enjoy easy access from trails and bridges.
No space in the City is better suited for the “River Room” than Allegheny Landing and Allegheny Riverfront Park. Suspended across the Allegheny River, the Sister Bridges (Roberto Clemente, Andy Warhol, and Rachel Carson) are the world’s only identical trio of bridges. They connect downtown Pittsburgh with the North Shore, located at Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Streets. Riverlife seeks to create a seamless world-class experience that celebrates our history, connects people to destinations and each other, brings world-class attractions that cannot be found anywhere else in the region, and embraces our connection to the water.
Everything that Riverlife does moving forward at both locations will be to inscribe and re-inscribe this idea of a cohesive and shared experience, where the riverfronts belong to everyone.
