Building Tours

Sunday, September 19 | 9:30 am – Noon

Senator John Heinz History Center and Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum (Half Day)

The History Center is an educational institution that engages and inspires large and diverse audiences through programs that enable links to the past, understanding in the present, and guidance for the future by preserving regional history and presenting the American experience with a Western Pennsylvania connection. This work is accomplished in partnership with others through archaeology, archives, artifact collections, broadcast and electronic media, civic engagement, conservation, educational programs, exhibitions, events, library, museums, public outreach, performance, preservation, publications, products, research, technical assistance, and virtual programs.

This is a walking tour. Additional fee applies. This tour is limited to 30 people and is listed as an option when you register.

Sunday, September 19 | 10:15 am – 4 pm

Wright at Polymath Park Tour (Full Day)

Frank Lloyd Wright’s signature style and ongoing influence have long inspired architecture around the globe, and continues to today. The materials used, unit systems, and harmony between the structures and the environment seen in these examples make a clear connection with Wright’s design principles. This ever-present influence on architecture decades after Wright’s passing is also a testament to the timelessness of his designs and ideas. This three-house tour allows interior photography of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Duncan House and Mäntylä, as well at the Balter House, designed by Wright apprentice Peter Berndtson. Frank Lloyd Wright's philosophy of organic architecture – uniting design with nature – formed the basis for over 1,100 built designs during his career and extended on to his apprentices. Enjoy lunch at our onsite Treetops Restaurant.

Bus transportation and lunch included. Additional fee applies. This tour is limited to 30 people and is listed as an option when you register.

Sunday, September 19 | 12:30pm – 3:30 pm

Clemente Museum (Half Day)

The Clemente Museum is housed in historic Engine House 25, located in the revitalized Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh. Executive Director and Curator, Duane Rieder, has meticulously renovated Engine House 25 to showcase the world’s largest exhibited collection of baseball artifacts, works of art, literature, photographs, memorabilia, and related materials which focus on Roberto Clemente, his teammates, his personal life, and his humanitarian causes. Learn how the International Codes played a role in the conversion of this Engine House to a Museum.

Bus transportation included. Additional fee applies. This tour is limited to 50 people and is listed as an option when you register.

Tuesday, September 21 | 9:00 am – Noon

Phipps Conservatory (Half Day)

Tour the first LEED-certified visitor center in a public garden. For over 125 years, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens has showcased nature’s wonders. Today our history of excellence provides a platform for exploring the intersection of the built and natural worlds and how it relates to both human and environmental wellness. We approach this work by showing that people, plants, health, planet and beauty are all interconnected and that sustainable actions – from constructing the world’s greenest building to planting a home vegetable garden – are the key to ensuring a healthy future for all life on Earth.

Bus transportation included. Additional fee applies. This tour is limited to 50 people and is listed as an option when you register.

Tuesday, September 21 | 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Gateway Clipper (Half Day)

The only way to see the City and truly learn about her past, present, and future is aboard one of our Pittsburgh river cruises. Your tour begins on the Monongahela River and continues on both the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers, all while our captain and narrator relay the interesting facts, tales, architecture and design, and river history that make Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania so special!

Buffet Lunch and non alcoholic beverages are included. A Cash Bar is available. Also, the first floor of the boat is ADA accessible but does not have access to the second or third floor via elevator.

Board boat from Convention Center Dock and lunch is included. Additional fee applies. This tour is limited to 75 people and is listed as an option when you register.