The President’s Annual Review
Newsletter December 2025
Dear Friends of Mellon Park,
The board of directors of Friends of Mellon Park sends our warmest wishes for the holiday season and all good things in 2026.
Our work focuses on three areas: maintaining the beauty of the park’s elements, encouraging activity in the park, and engaging with the community.
We are deeply grateful to you for your commitment to Mellon Park. We look forward to continuing our relationship in the coming year.
Cindy Berger, President
Friends of Mellon Park
Terraced Garden Restoration
Restoration of the Terraced Garden is a top priority for Friends of Mellon Park, even as we continue to support and advocate for the entire park on both sides of Fifth Avenue.
Ultimately, it will take in excess of $5 million dollars to complete the entire project, and it will then take several years to complete the project. Public funds are scarce and private foundations are challenged in these difficult times, but we are committed to the Terraced Garden. Friends of Mellon Park and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy (PPC) are exploring funding opportunities. We will provide updates as progress is made.
While it may be difficult to see the efforts being made, with your help we are diligently working on moving through the necessary steps to make restoration of the Terraced Garden a reality.
Want to learn more about the history of the Terraced Garden? Check out our history recap.
Pathways and Lighting Project on the North Side of Mellon Park
Just this week, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy (PPC) was notified that they were awarded a $200,000 grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the Pathways and Lighting project. Congratulations!
The project is a Tier 1 community priority identified in the Mellon Park Action Plan and will correct problems with pathway flow and deteriorated pathways on the north side of the park. A new entrance on Fifth Avenue will allow visitors to enter the park without having to walk or bicycle through the parking lot, and new, energy-efficient lighting will make the park safer for all.
Construction is slated to begin in 2026.
Friends of Mellon Park is excited about these improvements to the park and will continue to work with the PPC and the City to improve Mellon Park.
Arboretum News
City Forestry has installed 50 permanent tree tags on the Mellon Park arboretum trees. These tags give visitors a quick overview of the trees and some interesting facts about them.
Each tag is attached with special nails and springs to allow the trees to grow without damage. The trunk of a tree grows wider every year, while new growth at the top of the tree increases its height. The springs are placed between the tag and the tree so that as the trunk grows, the springs will compress and the tree will not grow over the tag. Without springs behind a tag, the signs would eventually be "swallowed up" by the tree.
Many thanks to the Fox Chapel Garden Club, whose generous donation covered the cost of the tags, and the City of Pittsburgh Forestry Department for their ongoing support of the Mellon Park arboretum.
Arbor Day
The Arbor Day celebration in Mellon Park was great fun this year, and it came with an impromptu kids’ karaoke performance. We celebrated the fifth anniversary of the creation of the Mellon Park Arboretum. Rick Sebak emceed and we honored the Western Pennsylvania Unit of the Herb Society of America, which created and maintains the Elizabethan Herb Garden in the Terraced Garden. A proclamation from Pittsburgh City Council was read and a tree was planted in recognition of the group’s 45 years of dedication to educating the public and providing the community with a unique horticultural treasure.
Fall in Love with Mellon Park
This year marked the second annual Fall in Love with Mellon Park, made possible by Citiparks.
There was a lot happening for kids on both sides of Fifth Avenue – basketball and tennis at the courts on the north side and soccer and games in the oval on the south side. There were family-friendly activity booths with a wide variety of crafts and games, all free and fun for everyone.
One of the goals of the Mellon Park Action Plan, developed by the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, is to find a way to connect the two sides of Mellon Park that are separated by Fifth Avenue. Citiparks is building on that plan and has made it a priority to unify the park.
Gardening in the Park
Friends of Mellon Park and a group of volunteers maintain most of the flower beds in the park outside the Walled Garden. This year the group racked up nearly 250 volunteer hours. The beauty of the flower beds attested to those efforts.
Friends of Mellon Park volunteers began a collaboration with Phipps volunteers to clean up, weed, edge, and mulch the garden area by the Terraced Garden. On a hot summer day in July, volunteers pulled up untold amounts of nasty weeds, ivy, and invasive grasses, then put down cardboard and a truckload of mulch. It was hard work, but absolutely worth it. The area was vastly improved. Great teamwork!
Earlier in the summer, volunteers planted flowers at the main Fifth Avenue gate of the park. The flowers welcome visitors to the park, and folks walking along Fifth Avenue will enjoy them too. Thank you to Phipps for providing the plants, which blossomed into colorful and friendly flowers.
We’re happy to be working with Phipps as a gardening partner to keep Mellon Park beautiful.
Collaboration with The Ellis School
Friends of Mellon Park collaborated with a group of seniors at The Ellis School on a project to site a camera and observe wildlife in the area outside the Terraced Garden.
What You Can Do to Support
Mellon Park Right Now
Stay informed about Mellon Park and write letters and emails of support as needed.
Spread the word about Friends of Mellon Park and help us expand our email list.
Join us at the Arbor Day celebration on April 25, 2026. We’ll send out more information early next year.
Visit the park and enjoy it in every season.
Don’t forget to make a year-end donation to help us continue our commitment to care for Mellon Park. Become a Friend of Mellon Park!
Become a Friend of Mellon Park
Friends of Mellon Park is a 100% volunteer-run organization. We are able to help care for the park because of your support. You can become a Friend of Mellon Park.
Please join us and donate today.