For more than 30 years, one of Pittsburgh’s most charming landmarks has been closed and quiet. Now the North Park Observation Tower is finally getting its second act: a restoration of more than $3 million officially broke ground on August 31, 2026, and its first phase is under way this fall.
Built in 1937 as a water tower in disguise, the 102-foot tower hides a spiral staircase of 154 steps, a vintage terrazzo floor and a domed ceiling. From its top, the view sweeps 360 degrees — on a clear day, all the way to Downtown Pittsburgh. Crews are now repairing the structure, sandblasting and repainting it in its original silver, and making its railings and viewing platform safe for a new generation.
The comeback has been decades in the making: the county’s 2002 Parks Master Plan first recommended restoring the tower, the Babcock Charitable Trust committed $400,000 in 2020, and this spring the Allegheny County Parks Foundation’s $20,000 public campaign for the final phase passed its goal. A second phase will add native plantings, a stone seat-wall plaza, interpretive signs and a one-acre native wildflower meadow around it.
No reopening date has been set yet, but for everyone who grew up climbing — or wishing they could climb — those 154 steps in North Park, Allegheny County’s great green escape just north of the city, the wait is finally almost over.
Photo: Allegheny County Parks Foundation
