Observatory Hill House Tour

There are lots of house tours in the region, but this is consistently one of the best. There are great houses in Observatory Hill which are hidden treasures. There’s lots of history here, especially with the neighborhood’s connection to the former City of Allegheny.
The neighborhood stretches out along beautiful Riverview Park, so that makes the tours a bit of a trek, but well worth the trouble.

We love doing house tours all over Pittsburgh and we have a special affection for the Observatory Hill Tour because our daughter lives in the neighborhood. Homeowners open all or part of their homes for the afternoon to people interested in touring their homes by purchasing a ticket. Booklets of information are provided on all the open homes and neighborhood highlights. Typically the owners are present, along with several others stationed strategically throughout the home to provide information & also security for the homeowners.
This year’s tour was particularly easy because Molly’s Trolleys provided transportation to all the streets on the tour complete with a guide that pointed out interesting tidbits on the neighborhoods. Typically we have to move the car a few times, park, and walk and the trolley was definitely easier.
Most of the homes in this neighborhood were built anywhere from 1900 – 1930’s in a variety of styles from those periods — Victorian, Tudor, craftsman, California bungalow, Gothic revival, Pittsburgh four square, etc. Many have been lovingly restored to their former glory or updated to more of today’s style with walls removed to provide an open concept during the renovations and many of the homes are quite large and grand. Some homeowners even decide to show the raw almost ramshackle house they are in the process of renovating. Most homeowners proudly display their before and after photos of what they’ve accomplished and are anxious to share their personal stories.
Once you get on Observatory Hill’s mailing list, you receive a postcard and/​or email notifying you of the next tour so you never have to miss out. It’s a great way to get a true feel of what it’s like to live in the neighborhood and discover which sections appeal to you the most.

We like the Observatory hill area and look forward to the house tour every year. Often the houses are spread a little further apart and require driving and parking a couple times in order to catch all the houses. This time, the organizers arranged for Molly’s Trolleys to provide free shuttle service to the homes at the far reaches of the tour which proved to be an excellent idea! We never had to wait more than a few minutes for a trolley to stop by and the air conditioned transport was a welcome bonus!
It’s always a blast to see what people have done to either restore or modernize these classic homes and we always walk out with opinions — some good some not so good! But it’s evident that those who are generous enough to open their homes to parades of strangers are proud of what they’ve done and should be commended for their generosity and hospitality. This tour included a stop at the Chapel in Riverview Park where much of the history of the area was on display. The organizers and volunteers were absolutely fabulous and made this event another winner. We’ll be back again next year!

Great neighborhood event I look forward to every summer. So thrilled so many of my neighbors open their doors to the lines of curious home lovers and nosy lookieloos that go trampling through their personal spaces. Observatory Hill is mostly homes built from the 1890’s to the 1940’s so there are loads of different styles of homes on the tour every year. It’s interesting to meet people who have such a vast knowledge of the neighborhood and such a passion for restoring these homes. Who knows, maybe next year our Tudor will be on the tour?