Welcome Back, Point State Park fountain!

Invitation to the reopening ceremony on Friday night. 

I think it's fair to say that all of Pittsburgh is rejoicing now that the Point State Park fountain is finally complete! After a project that went into the planning stages in 2001, yesterday brought to close a highly anticipated and historical event. The fountain is not only fully renovated, but it's bigger and better than ever. The water from the fountain rises in a column up to 150-feet with smaller columns on the sides. A ceremony, dedication and the first 'official' flip of the switch happened last night to mark the beginning of the Three Rivers Arts Festival and the beginning of a new Pittsburgh.

Although the ceremony started about a half hour late and then at least seven people were asked to speak on behalf of the organizations who made this restoration happen, the fountain went off without any difficulty and made quite the splash on said speakers and other dignitaries thanks to a big gust of wind. Clearly the fountain was just showing them all who everyone really came to see. Good show, fountain.

Entrance way to the Point.

Brass band playing during the beginning of the ceremony.

Color guard during the National Anthem, sung by the CLO Mini-Stars.

In case you wondered what 150 feet of water looks like.

After the ceremony, the Arts Fest, also being held through the rest of the week at Point State Park, officially started. More to come about that on Tuesday. And as the sun went down over the city, a light show on the fountain began.

The Pittsburgh-based company, Lightwave International, debuted "Pittsburgh: Spectral Ascending" a collaboration with artist, Yvette Mattern. The light installation consists of six laser projectors on the top of PPG Place, aimed right to the center column of the fountain. The light installation will be show again tonight and Sunday night, so you still have a chance to make it out and see the new plaza area around the fountain, as well as the fountain itself and the light show, all while enjoying all of the fun that comes with the Arts Fest as well.

Photo by my beautiful friend, Breanna Elison.

Waiting for the light show to begin. Photo by Breanna Elison.

Isn't this such a fantastic photo? Lights on top of PPG Place beaming down to the fountain. Photo by Breanna Elison.

Lights on the fountain. Perfect ending to a beautiful night. Photo by Breanna Elison.

For my out of town readers, you may be asking why a fountain is so important. But it's not just any old fountain. Point State Park, and this fountain specifically, are the point were the three iconic rivers of Pittsburgh meet. Basically, where all the rivers merge into each other is the spot where the fountain is placed. The layout of Pittsburgh is obvious because of this point and the scenery of the city just didn't look complete for the past few years without the fountain adding to the view. It's a tourist attraction and a local favorite.

And as one of the speakers said, Pittsburgh is no longer a city in transformation, it is a city transformed. Or something close to that. The rebuilding and unveiling of the Point fountain just brings that idea home. We've waited for this to be back and now we can enjoy it for many years to come. It is as iconic as our bridges and adds that missing element to our landscape. Welcome back, fountain!