Last July, Riverview Park’s Valley Refuge Shelter wrapped up its rehabilitation project. This September, the state-wide non-profit Preservation Pennsylvania will honor these efforts with an award.

Riverview Park on the city’s North Side is one of Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy (PPC)’s four regional parks. The property contains miles of walking trails, a pool, tennis courts, a ball field and several gathering spots.

Work on one of these gathering spots, the Valley Refuge Shelter off Kilbuck Road, has earned PPC a Construction Award for Rehabilitation.

Built under the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s, the shelter has been used by the public for decades. While renovated in the 1960s, it has gone through wear and tear as the years have gone on.

By working with the city and Friends of Riverview Park (FoRP), PPC identified issues and began planning the project in 2024. According to Erin Tobin, assistant director of community engagement at PPC, the pavilion needed repairs, replacements and “a lot of love.”

“We mainly focused on restoring [the shelter] to what it once was when it was first built and improving what was already there.”

Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy

Valley Refuge Shelter

This restoration included: an entire roof replacement, two new accessible restrooms, an accessible ramp, masonry and flooring restoration, electrical upgrades, repaired and replaced water fountains and a full cleaning of the site — all the while preserving the shelter’s original character.

“Balancing the current modern needs with historic preservation can be very challenging, especially in these park settings,” said Tobin. “But with this project, it was fairly straightforward. We were able to keep that character of the original structure still there, while improving the amenities that people need today.”

The project’s funding came from the City of Pittsburgh’s Parks Tax Trust Fund, philanthropic donations to PPC and a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The total project cost $340,000.

According to Tobin, a year post-wrap, more and more people are using the shelter, renting the pavilion and finding the southeastern park entrance.

Now, the shelter is among the 21 individuals, organizations and preservation projects to receive a 2026 Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Award.

This is not PPC’s first accolade from Preservation Pennsylvania. According to Mindy Crawford, executive director of Preservation Pennsylvania, three other PPC projects have received recognition.

“The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy has received awards from us in the past because of their commitment to maintaining what’s there and to really caring for those resources.”

Preservation Pennsylvania, not to be confused with the State Historic Preservation Office, is an advocacy organization trying to make preservation of historic buildings in the state easier.

“People really connect to places and what we hope is to assist people to make sure those places stay vibrant and are cared for,” said Crawford.

The organization helps connect communities with resources for preservation projects. In their advocacy work, the group is supportive of funding efforts, policy changes and programs that facilitate historic preservation projects. According to Crawford, Preservation Pennsylvania is completely privately funded and “jumps in” to connect groups where state agencies can’t, including by playing “matchmaker” to share problem solving knowledge between projects.

“You don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” said Crawford. “If you can see how someone else did it, then it makes your job a little easier.”

The organization has three core programs. Pennsylvania At Risk, which calls attention to threatened historic buildings; the Statewide Conference on Heritage, which discusses pressing topics in historic preservation; and, finally, the Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards, an event recognizing individuals, organizations and projects committed to preservation.

Individuals and organizations are able to apply for an award up to five years after a project’s completion. Applications are then reviewed by a committee, usually consisting of an archaeologist, architect, preservationist and Pennsylvania historian. The group makes recommendations to Preservation Pennsylvania’s Board of Directors, then the board makes the final decision.

According to Crawford, this year’s committee had a few disagreements, but not on Riverview Park.

“That was an easy one,” said Crawford. “The committee was like, yes, this deserves an award.”

Preservation work continues in Riverview Park. The improvement project on Watson’s Cabin, the previous homestead of Riverview Park’s land donor Samuel Watson, just recently kicked off. While planning and engagement will happen over the next year, park officials are hoping this historic preservation project will be completed in the next few years.

As for Valley Refuge Shelter? FoRP will continue to host their meetings in the pavilion and the city’s Reggae at Riverview Festival will make its home there this Saturday.

To Crawford, preservation is important because you can’t have a “great future” without first looking at the past.

“People connect with places in ways they can’t even describe. You walk into a little town and you love it. Why do you love it? Is it the architecture? Is it the little coffee shop? Is it the bookstore? Is it just that it’s a beautiful day and there’s flowers blooming? It’s kind of hard to describe what it is that makes that place special. And so, we really see people tell us about buildings that they care about so much — in ways we might not even know.”

The Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards ceremony will take place in York, Pa. this September. Despite the stress such an event can bring, Crawford is looking forward to it.

“Every time I think, ‘Oh, I’m going to do this again!’ But, the day that it comes, it’s a really special day.”