Washington’s Landing, Troy Hill: 285 Waterfront Drive
As Halloween and Election Day are right around the corner, a trip to Washington’s Landing is in order. Where else can you commune with nature on a former brownfield site rich in Founding Father lore and the remains of long-deceased zoo animals?
As the story goes, in 1753, while traveling on the Allegheny River to Fort Le Boeuf (present-day Waterford, PA), George Washington’s raft capsized, and he spent at least one night sheltering on this island. For the next century, the locale, known as Herr’s Island, was relatively pastoral and tranquil. But industry arrived after the Civil War, and the island soon became known for its “smelly” occupants: oil works and storage, stockyards for animals destined for nearby slaughterhouses, a city garbage dump, a soap manufacturer that processed animal fat and bones into tallow, fertilizer works, and a railroad salvage yard. And yes, when animals died at the Pittsburgh Zoo, they were shipped to Herr’s for rendering (the small ones like foxes and monkeys) or burial (think elephants and giraffes).
Is it any wonder real estate developers and city officials embraced the name change to “Washington’s Landing” in the 1980s? If there was ever a place that needed a rebrand, this might be it. George Washington landed here, and that’s the story we’re sticking with!
Today, the gruesome and unsavory history has all but disappeared. The autumn leaves pop against the uncharacteristically blue Pittsburgh skies, the Three Rivers Heritage Trail has dog walkers and joggers, nearby office workers eat lunch on the green grass, and several pickleball matches are playing out on the courts. If the players are aware of the animal graveyard (now encapsulated in concrete) below them, it’s clearly not a concern.
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