Doors Open program to unveil unseen Pittsburgh

Development Corp.

Louise Sturgess, executive director of Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, said this event offers a lot of opportunities — for people curious to see more of their city, for building owners to show off their real estate and for Downtown businesses that may see an uptick in sales because of the increased traffic in Downtown.

“I hope a lot of people attend,” she said. “Bonnie Baxter has put a tremendous effort forward in bringing this event to Pittsburgh. There are wonderful art collections, vaults and beautifully created spaces that will amaze people.”

Landmarks gave Ms. Baxter connections to their docents and helped her sign up volunteers and acquainted her with some buildings that have been renovated and historically restored.

The otherwise private Allegheny Harvard Yale Princeton Club will open its doors both days so that you can get a taste of how Pittsburgh does Ivy. You will have access to the 17th floor of the Arrott Building and its amazing windows and views. The Pennsylvanian, which used to be a train station and one of the grand ones in the country, is now a residential building, and you will get to see one of the residences.

One of the most tantalizing sites is the Fairmont Pittsburgh hotel, where you can see the 19th-century artifacts that were dug up during its construction. If you choose to visit the beautiful First Lutheran Church on Grant Street, you can also ring its bells. And weather permitting, you can go onto the green rooftop of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Ms. Baxter said Doors Open has a few behind-thescenes opportunities, but that the larger purpose is to give people a chance to get a new take on a familiar site or to see a place for the first time.

Variations of Doors Open are held in several U.S. cities as well as Toronto and London. It’s a great way for people to see their cities in a new light, from different vantage points, and for companies and other building owners to unbutton a little and get some attention for what they’re doing.

Many of these buildings are ones we have passed hundreds of times and never set foot inside, and yet these buildings say so much about Pittsburgh and it’s history.