Observatory Hill

MEMBERSHIP

Vibrant neighborhoods don’t just happen. They’re the result of years of hard work and effort. Investing time and money is an important part of strengthening our stellar neighborhood.

Join OHI today!

Learn More

Summer 2017 Newsletter
Learn More

2012 House Tour

On Sunday, June 3, 2012, we are hosting a spring house tour that features ten houses and two churches. All of the homes included this year have beautiful views: of the park, of the city, or of the streets where we live.

Starting at Riverview United Presbyterian Church on the corner of Riverview Avenue, you will drive north to Garvin and Franklin streets then continue south to Waldorf, Baytree, and Orleans streets; finally closing the tour with visits on Oak Park, Norwood, Marshal Road and nearby Perrysville Avenue. The tour focuses on Observatory Hills architecture of the 1890-1940 period at its best. While the lower Northside’s historic district features nineteenth-century row houses, the majority of homes in Observatory Hill are detached, single-family residences.

The neighborhood developed along Perrysville Avenue’s winding turns and the rolling terrain with its many hills and bluffs ultimately determined the layout of our streets. Stately Victorian-style homes were built in the neighborhood in the decade prior to 1900 when trolley lines connected Observatory Hill with other parts of the city and made living in a hillside neighborhood less isolating and more convenient for homeowners. Victorian-style homes dominated the neighborhood until around 1910, when the less ornate Craftsman or Arts & Crafts style buildings became popular.

Two-story Craftsman four square and upright cottage-style bungalows were well suited to compact city lots. Occasionally one- or one-and-a-half story Craftsman bungalows were built on lots that could accommodate their larger first-floor footprint. During the 1920s American and Dutch Colonial, Tudor, and English Cottage Revival styles became increasing popular in the neighborhood. The Acorn Hill section of the neighborhood, northwest of the Perrysville and Marshall Avenue intersection, showcases an especially attractive assortment or pre-1940 Craftsman and Historical Revival styles. As you drive and walk through Observatory Hill, you will want to keep an eye out for the small, surprising details that make our neighborhood unique.

Tickets are priced at $10.00 through May 31, and $15.00 on tour day.
3131 Perrysville Avenue

3131 Perrysville Avenue


Home of Allan Byers & Mick Rizzo This handsome 1920s stone house on the edge of Riverview Park sat empty for several years before Bill Oberst, an Observatory Hill neighbor, completely renovated it in 2010. Mick and Allen had been researching houses online in prepa... Read more...
 
3200 Orleans Street

3200 Orleans Street


Home of Joseph Skoski and Lisel Virkler Otto Greenawalt built this traditional California--style Craftsman bungalow sometime before 1920. From the street, this most prominent feature of the house is its sprawling front porch. All bungalows have large porches, but ... Read more...
 
3244 Orleans Street

3244 Orleans Street


Home of Jessica & Jason Wrona The house at 3244 Orleans Street, built in 1911, is in the Dutch Colonial Revival style. Jessica and Jason chose this lovely house because of its original architecture and its proximity to Riverview Park. They also enjoy their easy co... Read more...
 
3505 Perrysville Avenue

3505 Perrysville Avenue


Riverview United Presbyterian Church Watson Memorial Presbyterian Church got its start on Easter Sunday in 1891 as Watson Mission, organized by 45 people. During the next few months, the group erected a chapel on ground donated by Miss Watson. They held their firs... Read more...
 
3755 Baytree Street

3755 Baytree Street


Home of Paul Homick & Ed Lewis This charming home is most likely a Sears Craftsman-style "kit" house. Built in the mid-1920s, it features an enclosed back porch emblematic of Pittsburgh builder E.B. Hulley. Its Arts and Crafts style is nearly identical to the Sear... Read more...
 
Page 2 of 3First   Previous   1  [2]  3  Next   Last