Center planned at former Uniontown railroad station

Stacks of sod were lined up along the tracks last week like a row of boxcars at the old Pennsylvania Railroad freight station in Uniontown.

About 8,000 square feet of the sod was laid at the Pittsburgh Street location in the first step to creating a community art center at the facility. The landscaping also included 380 tons of new topsoil, 4,000 square feet of mulch and and a selection of shrubs.

The center is the dream of David DiPietro, a well-known area artist and associate professor of art at Penn State University's Fayette campus. "It will improve the quality of life in Fayette County by making art more accessible," DiPietro said.

By beautifying the outside of the station, DiPietro said he wants to draw attention to the structure and to the art center that he hopes will open in the spring - right about the time the new dogwoods bloom.

Plans call for the nonprofit art center to be housed in a 3,800-square-foot section of the former freight building. The high ceiling and open space are perfect for art classes and exhibits, according to DiPietro. The light that streams in through large picture windows is also good, he said.

The block-long structure was restored by Connellsville native Tim Grindle and his father, Archie Grindle, using paving stone from the parking lot for the building's front. The Grindles also opened the T'eaz Tanning Salon and the Crystal Cupboard gift shop in the building.

Jeff DiMaio, who established the Highland House restaurant and tavern in Uniontown's historic Titlow Hotel, plans to open an Italian deli in the station around St. Patrick's Day. The former station could also one day be the starting point for a tourist excursion train long-planned by the Fay-Penn Economic Development Council.

DiPietro is the driving force behind the art center project, but he has won support from a wide range of groups, business professionals and individuals. "It's a community effort," he said.

Among those attending a recent center organizational meeting were representatives from Fayette campus, Fay-Penn, Community Action of Fayette County, the Uniontown Art Club, Touchstone Center for Crafts, Young Inspirations and Communities In School.

To help the effort along, the Frank L. Melega Art Museum at the Flatiron History Center in Brownsville signed on as the official applicant for a small grant to help fund the landscaping.

Molly Kantorik, an environmental specialist with Fayette Engineering, volunteered to work on the successful grant application submitted to the Appalachian Regional Commission. (Tim Grindle paid for most of the landscaping.)

DiPietro said one rationale behind the funding was to spur economic development thorough beautification. He pointed out that the former train station is one of the first city structures encountered by motorists traveling on Route 51 from Pittsburgh.

The landscaping has already attracted a lot of attention, according to DiPietro. "It's turning some heads," Kantorik agreed.

The volunteer group DiPietro has organized plans to file for nonprofit status so that they can apply for more grants in their own right. DiPietro said he would like to attract as much funding "externally" as possible before making a local appeal. Once the center is established, he said it would be self-supporting.

DiPietro would like to have Touchstone, the renowned crafts center located near Farmington, use the proposed Uniontown center during the winter. He said a center located in the city would also be more accessible to the city's young people, who have no place to go for art programs.

A number of individuals with no direct economic stake in the building helped with the landscaping. One prominent example is Mark Byers, the president of Uniontown's Planet Wireless, who brought earth-moving equipment to the site.

In a race against approaching winter weather, volunteers quickly placed the top soil, mulch and sod. DiPietro noted that the crew was "working with the Bobcat in the dark."

Kantorik said representatives from the Appalachian Regional Commission were amazed at how quickly the project got under way.

Although he may be more comfortable with an artist's palette than a gardener's trowel, DiPietro was in the thick of the hands-on work.