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Hartwood Acres

Hartwood Acres Park is a 629-acre county park in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Hartwood is considered the crown jewel of the county’s 12,000-acre network of nine distinct parks. Established in 1969, its special feature is one of the largest and most spectacular country estates in the region. Hartwood consists of a stately Tudor mansion (erected in 1929), public gardens, a cottage, a stable complex, and a gate lodge (erected in 1927). The mansion, designed by Alfred Hopkins for John and Mary Flinn Lawrence, houses a collection of original English and American antiques. Hartwood is sited 10 miles northeast of Downtown Pittsburgh on largely forested land in both Hampton and Indiana townships. The park also offers a large-stage concert area for music and summer theater and 30 miles of trails—horse riding, walking, hiking, biking, and cross country skiing. Hartwood is especially well-known because of its now-defunct “Festival of Lights,” a large outdoor light display once held during the holiday season to benefit local charities. [Concerned citizens are trying to bring back the lights] Mary Flinn Lawrence, a Pittsburgh philanthropist, created Hartwood with money she inherited from her father, William Flinn. In the 1920s, she and her husband John Lawrence asked architect Alfred Hopkins to borrow design elements from a manor house the Lawrences had seen in Broadway, Oxfordshire, England. The result was a stately 31-room slate-roofed stone house constructed around a great hall. Mary transformed the grounds of her estate into an equestrian arts showcase, building riding trails that extend for miles, show rings, steeplechase layouts, and ivy-covered stables. The stalls of the stables are made of varnished oak. The Allegheny Parks Commission bought 400 acres of land and riding trails from the Lawrences in 1969. Mary’s death on October 29, 1974 permitted her Hartwood estate to open to the general public. To learn more please visit AlleghenyCounty.US/Parks/hwfac.aspx

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Hartwood Acres

Hartwood Acres Park is a 629-acre county park in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Hartwood is considered the crown jewel of the county’s 12,000-acre network of nine distinct parks. Established in 1969, its special feature is one of the largest and most spectacular country estates in the region. Hartwood consists of a stately Tudor mansion (erected in 1929), public gardens, a cottage, a stable complex, and a gate lodge (erected in 1927). The mansion, designed by Alfred Hopkins for John and Mary Flinn Lawrence, houses a collection of original English and American antiques. Hartwood is sited 10 miles northeast of Downtown Pittsburgh on largely forested land in both Hampton and Indiana townships. The park also offers a large-stage concert area for music and summer theater and 30 miles of trails—horse riding, walking, hiking, biking, and cross country skiing. Hartwood is especially well-known because of its now-defunct “Festival of Lights,” a large outdoor light display once held during the holiday season to benefit local charities. [Concerned citizens are trying to bring back the lights] Mary Flinn Lawrence, a Pittsburgh philanthropist, created Hartwood with money she inherited from her father, William Flinn. In the 1920s, she and her husband John Lawrence asked architect Alfred Hopkins to borrow design elements from a manor house the Lawrences had seen in Broadway, Oxfordshire, England. The result was a stately 31-room slate-roofed stone house constructed around a great hall. Mary transformed the grounds of her estate into an equestrian arts showcase, building riding trails that extend for miles, show rings, steeplechase layouts, and ivy-covered stables. The stalls of the stables are made of varnished oak. The Allegheny Parks Commission bought 400 acres of land and riding trails from the Lawrences in 1969. Mary’s death on October 29, 1974 permitted her Hartwood estate to open to the general public. To learn more please visit AlleghenyCounty.US/Parks/hwfac.aspx

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