The annual Observatory Hill house tour in Pittsburgh’s North Side will take place this weekend on Sunday, June 25. Observatory Hill has been hosting their house tours since the early 1990s to shed light on the historic homes in the neighborhood.
This year, the tour will feature 12 homes including some dating back to the Civil War era. Select homes will offer beer tastings and local food trucks and vendors will be stationed nearby. In addition, VIP ticket-holders will have the chance to tour Allegheny Observatory, the crown jewel of the neighborhood, according to president of Observatory Hill Incorporated Jeremy Lawler.
Lawler said the tours are important in keeping the community alive.
“It really allows Observatory Hill, Incorporated to further fulfill its mission of improving the quality of life for residents through the preservation or restoration of homes and buildings and the conservation of community resources,” Lawler said. “The most recent examples of this are the complete redevelopment of our Five Points Business District, which really offers commercial and commerce spaces in addition to affordable rental options.”
Houses featured on the tour include a former bank with a history of bank robberies that now boasts an art studio and a house with an authentic Japanese roji garden.
“House tours not only give you something wonderful to look at and maybe perhaps ideas of what you want to do in your own home, but they also give you a sense of the amazing community in which we live,” Lawler said.
