N a t u r e i n t h e P o s t - I n d u s t r i a l L a n d s c a p e

Nine Mile Run was so named because it runs nine miles from the city to the Monongahela River.

When he was formulating a plan for Pittsburgh’s downtown, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. noted Nine Mile Run and its surrounding valley as being a place of remarkable beauty and unspoiled nature, and he recommended its preservation.  

“Perhaps the most striking opportunity noted for a large park is the valley of Nine Mile Run. Its long meadows of varying width would make ideal playfields; the stream, when it is freed from sewage, will be an attractive and interesting element in the landscape; the wooded slopes on either side give ample opportunity for enjoyment of the forest, for shaded walks and cool resting places; and above all it is not far from a large working population…” (Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., 1910)

Despite his recommendation, the City of Pittsburgh, when it created its zoning ordinance in 1923, designated the Nine Mile Run area as a residential zone. However, Duquesne Slag purchased a portion of the site just prior to its zoning as residential (1922) and managed to continue to acquire the adjacent property and dump slag due to “grandfather” status. Duquesne stopped dumping in 1972, but illegal dumping continued on the site until its redevelopment.