A new master plan for Point State Park calls for a new visitors center and cafe, a subtly redesigned fountain and new entrances -- all part of a $35 million first phase that would be completed in time for the 250th anniversary of Pittsburgh's founding in 2008.

	An artist's rendering of how Point State Park might change under a park development plan. Click photo for larger image.

"We'll be working with the state to develop funding strategies," said Lisa Schroeder, director of the Pittsburgh Riverlife Task Force, at yesterday's unveiling of the plan at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

The Point State Park Planning Committee, formed in 2001 by Riverlife and the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, presented the plan to a group of state officials that included Sen. Jack Wagner, D-Beechview.

The park is "very significant as it relates to our history and our future. We want to make sure it's a focal point," Wagner said. "We need to do everything we can at the state level to fund it, but we can't do it overnight."

The final draft plan elaborates on a preliminary plan outlined in August 2003. It establishes a "city side" of the park for big events like concerts, and a "water side" for passive use, separated by the bridge ramps that bisect the park.

The first phase includes filling in the sunken walkway that contains a replica of Fort Pitt's Music Bastion, which was part of the park's original design. Filling in the walkway would allow the city side of the park to become an active space for informal games as well as concerts and other public gatherings.

One of the goals is to remove concerts from the water side of the park, which was not designed to accommodate vehicles needed to support such events or the crowds they attract. The Point Park Stage would be torn down as part of phase one.

Plans for the first phase also include:

*Running and biking paths built on platforms that cantilever over the river, eventually connecting the park with riverfront trails along the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers.

*A tunnel under the Fort Pitt Bridge ramps that would lead from the park's parking lot on Commonwealth Place to the visitors center. The center would be linked to the Fort Pitt Museum by another tunnel under the ramps, this one holding a gallery telling the story of Pittsburgh's first Renaissance, when the park was built.

*Water steps to the rivers at the confluence, near the fountain.

*New access ramps to accommodate bikes and wheelchairs.

*At the new Monongahela River entrance, a water taxi plaza and a "Paddlers Landing" with kayak and canoe racks.

*At the new Allegheny River entrance, the existing circular overlook will feature an interpretive and interactive exhibit, perhaps in the form of a labyrinth.

*Boat tie-ups along the Allegheny and Mon as well as known anglers' "hot spots" that will be identified as fishing holes.

*Replacing underground utilities.

Landscape architect Marion Pressley of Cambridge, Mass., who prepared the master plan, showed plans for raising the Point's fountain and creating a low waterfall over its edge, with the overflow held in a small, shallow basin accessible to children. Raising the fountain also would prevent people from jumping into it and make it more visible from the city side of the park.

The park's 4,200-square foot visitors center and its two lawns all would have wireless Internet capability, allowing visitors to bring their laptops.

In April 1754, the French began construction of Fort Duquesne. The 250th anniversary commemoration of the French and Indian War will begin April 17, when the Fort Pitt Museum reopens with new exhibits. The museum will close on Sunday for the work.

"The French and Indian War commemoration is an opportunity to focus attention on the park," said Laura Fisher, senior vice president of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, which co-sponsored the park master plan with Riverlife. The war's national commemoration continues through 2010.

As the location of several colonial forts, the park is "a prime location for explaining the birth of our nation," Fisher said.

"This is for Pittsburgh what Independence Hall is for Philadelphia," said Riverlife co-chair John G. Craig Jr. "The history of the place is important and under-promoted and underappreciated."

In addition to colonial history and Pittsburgh's Renaissance, the park also will interpret its natural features -- rivers and vegetation. Native plants were part of the late landscape architect Ralph Griswold's original plan and will again be planted under the trees.