It’s BACK, and better than ever! The Highland Park House Tour will take place from 10am to 3pm on May 10, 2025, offering a rare glimpse into the beauty and history of this vibrant neighborhood.
Highland Park House Tour – May 10th
Neighbors Cheer for HPCC’s 80 Years!
On March 7th, the HPCC hosted its 80th anniversary kick-off celebration, “Cheers to 80 Years!” Almost 100 community members and other HPCC supporters attended this sold-out, wine tasting fundraiser.
Held at the penthouse community room of the Highland House Tower, guests enjoyed wines curated by HPCC board member Jack Brice, and an assortment of fabulous appetizers and desserts from Jen Saffron’s Sprezzatura Community Cafe and Catering. Centerpieces were provided by Highland Park’s own Karen Toole (&flowers). Attendees included Mayor Ed Gainey, Councilwoman Deb Gross, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy President and CEO Catherine Qureshi, and Rivers of Steel Executive Director Mary Mirrin, as well as Lou and Kelley Iezzi. A special thank you goes out to the event’s planning committee – Jack Brice, Amanda Copeland, Howard Degenholtz, Beth Hutton, Elisa Lucke, and Randy Walsh – and to the event volunteers, which included the rest of our board, Sonia Degenholtz, and Kate Freed.
In addition to enjoying the food, friends, and libations, guests learned of the HPCC’s new fundraising campaign, “80 for 80.” Our goal of raising $80,000 to cover our increased programming and some one-time costs, and we are over 10% of the way there already! The HPCC is 100% volunteer run, and almost entirely funded by membership, which covers some but not all of our expenses. As many of you know, we’ve expanded what we do for the community in the past seven years, including:
- More free community events, like the neighborhood picnic, “the Highland Park Hullabaloo”
- The SOS – Senior Online Services – program, which provides tech support to neighborhood seniors in their homes
- Additional children’s activities, such as our Earth Day and Back-to-School events
- Maintaining the Bryant Street Parklet
These events and programs all cost – but don’t earn – money. Additionally, the fundraiser will help us cover some one-time costs:
- We’re purchasing the Bryant Street Parklet – an exciting step that will enable us to maintain it for the community in perpetuity – but the purchase and some basic improvements (like adding power and water) will tap our reserves.
- We want to replace our now tattered Bryant Street banners and consider other options for beautifying the business district.
If you appreciate all that the HPCC does to make Highland Park such a wonderful place to live, we ask you to please consider a generous donation so that we can continue to provide all of these activities and services in future years. To give, please visit our website and click “donate,” or mail a check to HPCC (PO Box 5036, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206).
PWSA at HPCC Community Meeting – March 20th
- What: Highland Park Community Council Community Meeting – Virtual
- When: March 20, 2025 @ 7:00 PM
- Register: Please use this link to register for the meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Agenda: At this month’s meeting, Pittsburgh Water (formerly PWSA) will provide an update on the Water Reliability Plan and their work at and related to the Pump Station at the north end of Negley Ave.
This is an important and time sensitive issue, and community input is essential.
Meeting Overview: We were recently informed that PWSA needs to run new electric lines from N. Euclid (where there are high capacity lines) to the new Pump Station. The most recent version of the electric plan included the following (note that some minor changes may be made between when the plan was presented to us and the meeting):
- Starting at the intersection of N. Euclid and Callowhill, new power lines would run down the north side of Callowhill to Negley, cross Negley and go north; at the stonework at the end of Negley, a utility pole would be installed and the lines would then go west along the base of the reservoir to the new building .
- Some utility poles on that route would be replaced (red circles in photo).
- A new utility pole would be installed at the northeast corner of Callowhill and N. St. Clair St. and new utility poles would run from the stonework at the end of Negley to the new facility along the base of the reservoir (yellow circles in photo).
- The new poles would be 5′ taller than the existing poles.
- There are trees that may need to be removed, including three street trees and trees along the base of the reservoir (green circles in photo). We talked to the owner of the affected trees on Callowhill and believe that the other tree is on city property; it’s the tree next to the driveway for the Pump Station.
[Sold Out] Cheers to 80 Years – HPCC Wine Tasting Event!
Mark your calendars for March 7th from 5:30 to 7:30 PM for a Wine Tasting Event at the Highland Park Tower. Enjoy a night of delicious wines and hors d’oeuvres while supporting our fundraising campaign. We’re raising a glass to 80 years of community, growth, and impact — and we want YOU to be part of the celebration!
Purchase tickets here –> Ticket Sales & Event Information Page
Tickets are $100 per person and include a selection of wines & gourmet hors d’oeuvres. All proceeds from ticket sales go directly to Highland Park Community Council, a 501c3 non-profit organization.
This is a perfect way to unwind, meet fellow community members, and contribute to the future of the Highland Park Community Council. Don’t miss out — get your tickets today and help us raise a glass to the next 80 years of community building!
HPCC Community Meeting – Jan 16th
Jan 16th @ 7:00pm on Zoom – Click here to register! Our meetings are returning to Zoom for the next few months so that folks don’t have to venture out in the cold. We hope you can join us.
The HPCC – the oldest continually operating neighborhood organization in the City of Pittsburgh – is excited to announce that 2025 is our 80th anniversary! We have exciting things in store this year and our board and volunteers are eager to tell you all about it. Come join us and learn more about:
- Our “Cheers to 80 Years!” wine tasting event
- The return of the Highland Park House Tour
- New projects & businesses coming to Bryant Street
- Exciting news about the Bryant Street Parklet
- Our 2025 Neighborhood Survey
- and more!