Built on land that was acquired via eminent domain from industrial enterprises during the 1950s, this park opened in August 1974[4] after construction was completed on its iconic fountain.

In April 2009, the fountain was turned off for a $9.6 million upgrade and refurbishment; it went online again at the opening of the Three Rivers Arts Festival on June 7, 2013.

[7] The fountain also serves as the western terminus for the Great Allegheny Passage, a 150-mile hiker-biker trail beginning at the 184.5 milepost of the Cumberland, MD terminus of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, which begins in the Georgetown area of Washington, DC, thus forming in total a 350-mile recreational trail between DC and Pittsburgh.

On October 11, 2006, Michael DeBerardinis, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, announced a $25 million plan to renovate Point State Park.

The plans called for improving the green spaces within the park, expanding recreational opportunities, preserving historical installations, and updating outdated amenities.

The project was scheduled to be completed within four years, with the majority of the work to be finished in time for Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary celebration in 2008.

[8] Plans for the 2006 improvements to the park included installing new pumps and pipes in the fountain, establishing a seating area around the fountain and a wading area for children, restoring the river walk with steps that lead into the river, building kiosks for information and concessions, renovating the rest rooms, water taxi landings and surrounding docks, and installing wireless internet access hubs.

On January 25, 2007, thirteen members of two local labor unions were arrested for blocking access by contractors to the work sites at the remnants of Fort Pitt.

During the mid-18th century, the armies of France and the Great Britain carved paths through the wilderness to control the point area and trade on the rivers.

The French held the fort successfully early in the war, turning back the 1755 expedition led by General Edward Braddock.

American Indians, primarily Delawares and Shawnee, made this agreement with the understanding that the British military would leave the area after the war.

The use of blankets to spread smallpox was discussed and approved the next month between British General Jeffery Amherst and his subordinate Colonel Henry Bouquet, who was marching to Fort Pitt with a force of 460 soldiers.

[14] Smallpox was highly contagious among the Native Americans, and — together with measles, influenza, chicken pox, and other Old World diseases — was a major cause of death since the arrival of Europeans and their animals.

[16][17][18] On August 1, 1763, most of the Indians broke off the siege to intercept an approaching force under Colonel Bouquet, resulting in the Battle of Bushy Run.

[13] A small brick building called the Blockhouse—actually an outbuilding known as a redoubt—remains in Point State Park, the only intact remnant of Fort Pitt.

At the point, rarely used railroad facilities included 15 acres (61,000 m2) of yards (60000 m2) and half a mile (800 m) of elevated train tracks.

Edgar Kaufmann, a Pittsburgh department store owner, sat on the board of the Conference and became chair of the 28-member committee convened to look into the Point Park problem.