Friends of Arsenal Park

maintenance performed including mowing the grass, picking up garbage and dog waste and cleaning up fallen leaves. Second, repairing current problems in the park, including historic structures, playing surfaces, walking surfaces and bathrooms. Third, making improvements to the park to make it an even better place now and for future generations. HISTORY OF ARSENAL PARK
As early as 1814 the area would play a vital role in the defense of this nation. With the closing of fort Lafayette, the government recognized the need to establish a new base of supplies. Hence, Colonel Abram R. Woolley was commissioned to find a suitable site. On April 9, 1814, 30 acres of land were purchased from William Barclay Foster on the outskirts of Pittsburgh for this project. Benjamin Henry Latrobe, one of the foremost architects in the nation and the man responsible for the building of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., was given the task of designing a series of buildings to serve as an arsenal. The bulk of the arsenal grounds were contained in an area that spanned from the present 40th to 39th Streets, and from Penn Avenue to the Allegheny river. The Arsenal was divided by Butler Street, with the upper park containing brick stables, three small frame buildings, and a powder magazine with storage capacity for 1,300 barrels. The lower section below Butler Street was the heart of the arsenal, with the magazine of arms, officer's quarters, barracks, armory and shops. Prior to the Civil War, this installation employed between 100 and 200 hands, and stored between 50,000 and 80,000 small arms. Most of the buildings were completed by 1820, with the walls surrounding the lower park being finished in 1829. By 1828, cost of the construction of the arsenal was $300,000. At the end of 1818 the Allegheny Arsenal had about 12,000 stands of arms. This number was exceeded only by the arsenal at New Orleans that had some 20,000 stands of arms. It was here that Captain Thomas Rodman conducted many experiments that would lead to revolutionizing the method of producing cannon. On September 17, 1862, three disastrous explosions rocked the Arsenal. Seventy-eight persons were killed, making this tragedy the worst civilian disaster in the history of the Civil War. Proximity of the explosion was in the present ball field immediately behind Arsenal School in the park proper. Of historical note is the famous powder magazine, which was converted into a comfort station in the 1930's. The pond immediately in front of the powder magazine was vital in the fighting of the fires wrought by the explosion. This small, but vital, source of water should be preserved for its contribution to the preservation of life and property. It was under the initiative of James Francis Burke of the Lawrenceville area that a move was made to secure the Arsenal grounds for a park. Burke secured the land from the U.S. Treasury Department in an agreement signed March 12, 1907. Formal dedication of the park took place July 4, 1907, with Mayor Gunthrie presiding. It was not until the period of 1934-1941 that the city with W.P.A. completely rehabilitated the park. The park was again rehabilitated in 1993-1994 with the addition of a street hockey rink, new playground equipment and refinished tennis and basketball courts and baseball diamonds. In 1999 partial repairs were undertaken to the stone wall surrounding the park.