
The fountain and formal gardens in Highland Park, seen from the stairs to the reservoir. Beyond is the grand entrance to the park, with Giuseppe Moretti’s “Welcome” group.
Camera: Canon PowerShot S45.


The fountain and formal gardens in Highland Park, seen from the stairs to the reservoir. Beyond is the grand entrance to the park, with Giuseppe Moretti’s “Welcome” group.
One of Pittsburgh’s two most famous and most prolific sculptors (the other being Frank Vittor), Giuseppe Moretti decorated the entrances to Highland Park with extraordinary bronzes. Note that these two opposite figures are matching but entirely different: Moretti sculpted them from two different models and posed them differently, thus making literally twice as much work for himself as an ordinary sculptor would.
This 22-story International-style apartment block looms over Highland Park, a mostly residential neighborhood with no other tall buildings. It is a fine place to live, according to residents: it is well maintained, and it has glorious views unobstructed by the looming bulk of the Parklane, which dominates most other views in the area.
Addendum: The architect was Tasso Katselas.
This splendid Second-Empire-style mansion in Highland Park was the home of Alexander King, whose family married into the Mellons, adding “King” to the repertory of Mellon middle names. Here we see it from Morningside.
Frank Vittor gave us these striking classical dolphins for Pittsburgh’s parks, and a number of them remain in place and working. Some kindhearted soul has set out a water dish for the many dogs who come to walk their people in Highland Park.
Giuseppe Moretti, one of Pittsburgh’s two favorite sculptors (the other being Frank Vittor), gave us the statuary on the Highland Avenue entrance to Highland Park. Moretti loved Pittsburgh, and predicted it would be the Athens of America; Pittsburghers probably laugh when they read that, but if they counted the number of priceless sculptures and great works of architecture they passed every day, they might realize that Moretti was closer to right than they thought.
If you know where to look (up the hill by the educational buildings) you can find a pair of bronze griffins among the exotic fauna at the Pittsburgh Zoo.
The elaborate entrance portal to Highland Park at the end of Highland Avenue could never be made today. Think of the protests! It would be called a waste of money, an exploitation of women, or even obscene. In Victorian times, it was probably called “beautiful,” but that is an outmoded form of discourse.