{"id":1110,"date":"2013-12-23T05:01:44","date_gmt":"2013-12-23T05:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=1110"},"modified":"2015-01-09T15:44:50","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T20:44:50","slug":"ice-and-glass-at-ppg-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/12\/23\/ice-and-glass-at-ppg-place\/","title":{"rendered":"Ice and glass at PPG Place"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gusky <\/a>
Gusky department store once sat on the location. (Photo credit: Unknown) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Architect <\/a>
Architect Mike Marcu uses a model to show where a ice skating rink will be installed in 2001. (Steve Mellon\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Brian <\/a>
Brian Boitano performs at the opening of the rink on Dec. 18, 2001. (John Beale\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A family of skaters in 2009. (John Heller\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The rink at PPG in December 2006. (Steve Mellon\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

The towering Christmas tree and ice rink at PPG Place have become so much a part of Downtown Pittsburgh\u2019s \u00a0holiday celebration that it\u2019s easy to forget how stark this space was when the complex of six glass buildings opened in 1984.<\/p>\n

Anchored by a single rose granite obelisk, the elegant plaza was often empty. Only a few brave souls ate their brown-bag lunches at the base of the obelisk. After the Hillman Company bought PPG Place in 1999, the owners decided to animate the plaza by installing an ice rink and a fountain.<\/p>\n

In December of 2001, the ice skating rink was unveiled and opened to the public with great fanfare. Olympic figure skating champion Brian Boitano performed and the day ended with a Zambelli fireworks display.<\/p>\n

The rink typically opens in November and closes at the end of February. Designed by IKM, this recreational space measures 104 feet by 104 feet and has an ice surface of 9,586 square feet, larger than the rink in New York City\u2019s Rockefeller Center.<\/p>\n

In 2002, a computer-controlled fountain that uses recycled water opened in the plaza. Additional landscaping softened the space. Even Philip Johnson, the famous architect who designed the buildings and plaza with John Burgee, approved of the additions.<\/p>\n

In 2005, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette architecture critic Patricia Lowry observed that these additions made PPG Place \u201ca better neighbor, where children in bathing suits flirt with the water columns of the fountain, office workers lunch under broad market umbrellas and skaters take on a warm glow in the lights of a 65-foot Christmas tree \u00ad\u2014 and all are reflected in the faceted glass walls of this giant fun-house mirror of a building.\u2019\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In December of 2001, the ice skating rink was unveiled and opened to the public with great fanfare.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesIce and glass at PPG Place<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1111,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[945],"tags":[972,982,1033,1221,1046,1052],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/tumblr_my4gseyUki1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=936%2C551&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9302,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2018\/12\/24\/pittsburgh-christmas-photos-old-traditions\/","url_meta":{"origin":1110,"position":0},"title":"Photos from Pittsburgh’s Christmases past","date":"December 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Christmas is a holiday of traditions, and every city has its own. 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