Renzie Park: The crown jewel of McKeesport’s city parks

By the MVI

You might be sitting at a picnic table at International Village or perhaps you’re planning to head to Renziehausen Park.

You likely want to grab some of your favorite ethnic foods prepared by local church parishioners or those running local small businesses, and you’re probably a fan of the music and dancing that takes place throughout the three-day festival.

But while you’re at the festival, don’t forget to look around because the event takes place before a beautiful backdrop — the place adoringly known locally as “Renzie Park” or simply “Renzie.”

“Our employees work hard to keep Renzie Park beautiful, and we work with a lot of volunteer groups who also want to beautify this space,” said Tom Maglicco, McKeesport’s city administrator and the director of parks and recreation.

The city works hard with various nonprofit organizations or foundations, as well as corporate volunteer groups and community service groups from local service unions to plant trees, shrubbery and other foliage, pull weeds, spruce up facilities, pick up litter and more.

“A quick look at the landscape reveals a unique variety of trees from maple to shingle oak and bald cypress,” Maglicco said.

The parks and recreation director, who is really enthusiastic about his job and the park, said Renzie Park is frequently alive with activity, but that it can be a serene place.

“Even with all the activity on our park on a daily basis, you can easily relax by taking a leisurely stroll on the newly renovated walking trail,” Maglicco said. “Take time to enjoy the simple things in life that we often overlook.”

Renzie Park has long been a hub in the Valley for recreation, but it’s also been a place for making memories.

It’s not uncommon to meet a couple who will tell you they had their first date at International Village — the most popular event at the park — and are still married decades later.

The sprawling park is also home to several baseball/ softball fields used by McKeesport Tigers, the Little Tigers and others — and attracts large baseball tournaments each year. Generations of athletes from the Tube City covet Renzie Park as their stomping grounds — the place where they made their coaches proud and learned about teamwork.

There’s also a full-size deck hockey rink on site, as well as basketball, tennis and bocce courts and more.

The Allegheny Regional Asset District, locally known as RAD and “RAD works here,” annually contributes operational funding to Renzie Park, which is one of its contractual assets. RAD also frequently awards capital improvements awards for the park. Those funds allow for the upkeep of facilities, but also make events like The Village and other popular summer events possible.

RENZIE • 13 See full coverage and photos from the 2024 International Village in print, online and in our photo gallery at monvalleyindependent.com RAD funding has helped with a lot of improvements in recent years, including revamping the walking trail, making improvements at ballfields and playgrounds, the current improvement work being done at the Lions Bandshell, and more.

The city uses the funding to ensure the park continues to be a destination where memories are made and a centerpiece of the city.

Mayor Michael Cherepko said International Village is a great opportunity to share the regional asset with folks who might not visit McKeesport everyday.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t hear positive feedback about Renzie Park — a favorite location or a fun experience had there,” the mayor said, adding that his sentiments are especially true in the summer months.

“We host everything from family gatherings in our many pavilions to large-scale baseball and softball tournaments that bring thousands of people to the park.”

At multiple city council meetings, Cherepko has explained to council that he often meets people who have attended tournaments, festivals or other events at Renzie Park and have remarked that they were not aware of its size, amenities and beauty, and who say they’re excited to attend the next event.

The park, which is larger than 200 acres in size, has access points along Eden Park Boulevard and is easily accessible from U.S. Route 30 and state Route 48. When traveling for an event, it is also not too far from I-376 (Parkway East), Route 51, the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Mon-Fayette Expressway.

Do as the locals do

Local folks value the park a lot.

Adults who grew up playing on Renzie’s playgrounds now bring their kids to the park to play on playgrounds or in the Renzie Spray Ground. And grandmas and grandpas often tag along or take the youngsters to the park when they’re babysitting.

Nearly every Sunday during the summer, the air at Renzie is filled with music as the McKeesport Lions and the city work together to present the Summer Concerts in the Park Series at the Lions Bandshell.

And in those Sunday music- loving crowds, you will sometimes come across folks who can recall when Aerosmith played on the bandshell stage.

They’ll be sure to tell you that it’s just one of the things that puts McKeesport on the map.

The time frame of when the Village itself is held is a part of the memories of McKeesporters — for generations, it’s served as the end-of-summer event that all young McKeesporters look forward to before heading back to the halls of McKeesport Area School District schools.

During each Village, you’ll also find Tigers alumni who are holding an impromptu class reunion.

The park’s pavilions, including the Jacob Woll Main Pavilion, vary in size and have served as the venue for many life occasions for people from McKeesport and the Valley — baby showers, weddings and wedding receptions and showers, graduations and birthday parties, anniversary celebrations and more. They’re available to be rented by city residents and those who don’t live in McKeesport.

The Main Pavilion is also home to the annual Festival of Trees, which is presented each December by the city recreation board and is a strong Christmastime tradition in the city that brings together local businesses, school and student groups, nonprofit organizations, community organizations and clubs, churches and more. They combine their energy to decorate or craft Christmas trees with different themes.

Other holiday memories are made at Renzie Park as well.

The park is packed each Fourth of July with folks who are having barbecues and awaiting the annual Independence Day fireworks display at the park. There are also multiple other fireworks displays at Renzie each year — including the one slated for the first night of this year’s festival.

Over the long Labor Day weekend, the annual Renzie Rib Fest will be taking place at the Lions Bandshell and the fields next to it. It’ll be staffed by various barbecue vendors with menus featuring items like brisket, ribs, cornbread, pulled pork sandwiches and more, and the McKeesport Lions will be on hand volunteering throughout each day.

Bring a chair or a blanket so you can plop down in the bandshell’s lawn and enjoy entertainment that will be going on daily during Renzie Rib Fest. A line up of the bands currently slated to play can be found on the McKeesport Bands Facebook page, and the City of McKeesport Mayor’s Office Facebook page typically posts information about the concerts.

Inside the park is also a place where memories and history are recalled by way of the McKeesport Regional Heritage and History Center — a center for local genealogical research and to learn about the history and people of McKeesport and its surrounding Mon-Yough area communities.

The center hosts a living-history tour that features actors portraying people who are either from McKeesport or made an impact on the city and gave tour goers a chance to see park assets such as the Renzie Rose Garden and Arboretum, the park’s goldfish pond and fountain, Lake Emilie, the McKeesport fire station in Renzie, the city’s first one-room schoolhouse and more. It will host a similar tour in the fall at the nearby McKeesport and Versailles Cemetery.

Renzie Park abuts the campus of Penn State Greater Allegheny, is across from MASD’s main campus and is just a hop, skip and a jump away from the Auberle campus.

That has allowed it to be a destination for the area’s youngest and brightest to either find a quiet place to study — or to have some fun with friends after classes — whether it be walking on the park’s walking trail system, playing ultimate Frisbee on one of the park’s lawns or fields or just sitting around on a bench catching up.

In fact, if you wander onto PSUGA’s campus you can sit on a bench and take a selfie with the Nitany Lion.

The park is also home to several monuments, a military tank and amenities dedicated to McKeesporters who made their mark and have since passed away. For example, there’s a field dedicated to Helen Richey — an aviation pioneer who took flight in an era where many pilots were men — and a road dedicated to late Skyliners front man Jimmy Beaumont.

There’s even a senior citizens center/ club in the park — a place where stories and memories of the days of McKeesport gone by can be heard. But also a place where longtime McKeesporters find time to spend with the friends they’ve known for decades.

If you’re an architecture buff, look around the park’s edges to see a few old, beautiful churches (near the high school and PSUGA campus).

And if you’re in the park on a day where there is no festival or a concession stand isn’t open, take a stroll across the street to Lampert’s for a sandwich, some beef jerky or a selection of other deli items. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, you can head over to Scotty’s Ice Cream Delights.

If you’re in the park over the next few days, you’ll stumble upon International Village. The event draws in folks from around the Mon Valley, the reaches of Southwestern Pennsylvania and numerous other states, and it has been a Pittsburgh-area tradition for more than a half century.

It’s estimated that The Village draws 20,000 people to McKeesport each year.

It’s a great time to see Renzie Park in full bloom.

But if your schedule is pressed as you’re wandering at or heading to the Village, don’t worry — you still have plenty of time to see the park. It’s open daily.

And if you want to make some memories at Renzie, this summer still offers some chances to do so via the concert series and Renzie Rib Fest.