- Hartwood Acres Park
Hartwood Acres Park is a convert|629|acre|km2|sing=on county park in
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania ,United States . Hartwood is considered the crown jewel of the county's convert|12000|acre|km2|sing=on network of nine distinct parks.Established in 1969, its special feature is one of the largest and most spectacular country estates in the region. Hartwood consists of a stately Tudor mansion (erected in 1929), public gardens, a cottage, a stable complex, and a gate lodge (erected in 1927). The mansion, designed by
Alfred Hopkins for John and Mary Flinn Lawrence, houses a collection of original English and American antiques.Hartwood is sited convert|10|mi|km northeast of
Downtown Pittsburgh on largely forested land in both Hampton and Indiana Townships. The park also offers a large-stage concert area for music and summer theater and convert|30|mi|km of trails—horse riding, walking, hiking, biking, and cross country skiing. Hartwood is especially popular in winter because of its annual "Festive of Lights" large outdoor light displays.History
Mary Flinn Lawrence, a Pittsburgh philanthropist, created Hartwood with money she inherited from her father,
William Flinn . In the 1920s she and her husband John Lawrence asked the architect Alfred Hopkins to borrow design elements from amanor house the Lawrences had seen in Broadway,Oxfordshire, England . The result is a stately 31-room slate-roofed stone house constructed around a Great Hall.Mary transformed the grounds of her estate into an equestrian arts showcase, building riding trails that extend for miles, show rings, steeplechase layouts, and ivy-covered stables. The stalls of the stables are made of varnished oak.
The Allegheny Parks Commission in 1961 bought convert|400|acre|km2 of land and riding trails from the Lawrences. Mary's death on October 29, 1974 permitted her Hartwood estate to open to the general public.
A large part of the 1996 TV film
The Christmas Tree directed bySally Field was filmed at Hartwood.Some scenes in the 2006 film
10th & Wolf were filmed in the Hartwood Mansion's great hall. [cite web | url = http://www.county.allegheny.pa.us/parks/10th-wolf.aspx | title = Hartwood and the Movie: 10th & Wolf | work = Allegheny County Parks Department | accessdate = 2007-07-01 ]culpture
11 large, outdoor sculptures by nationally known artists co-exist with visitors to the park as part of the permanent collection.
*"Coronet", 1978, Lila Katzen
*"Monumental Holistic Image IV", 1980, Betty Gold
*"Ring Series #5", 1983, Fletcher Benton
*"Cloudt", 1982, Ron Bennett
*"Stretch", 1980-81,Charles Ginnever
*"Hence", 1977,Clement Meadmore
*"Manly", 1980,Lyman Kipp
*"Large Escargot", 1982, David Hayes
*"Mobius", 1966-83, Peter Forakis
*"Large Snail", 1965, Tillie Speyer
*"Totem, Lamina, Limbus", 1979, Jack YoungermanReferences
*cite book | author=Kidney, Walter C. | title=Pittsburgh's Landmark Architecture: The Historic Buildings of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County | location=Pittsburgh | publisher=Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation | year=1997 | id=ISBN 0-916670-18-X
External links
* [http://www.county.allegheny.pa.us/parks/hwfac.aspx Hartwood Acres Park website]
* [http://www.friendsofhartwood.org/index.html Friends of Hartwood website]
* [http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=12167R457V885.1262&profile=ariall&uri=link=3100011~!210205~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=Browse&menu=search&ri=1&source=~!siartinventories&term=Hartwood+Acres+Park%2C+Pittsburgh%2C+Pennsylvania&index=OWNER#focus Smithsonian Inventory of American Sculpture]
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