Dani Gundlach, Shadyside House Tour chair and real estate advisor at Piatt Sotheby’s International Realty, has lived in Shadyside for 25 years. She still gets tripped up over the neighborhood’s bounty of beautiful homes — literally.
“I am prone to [tripping] because my eyes are looking at roof lines and not where my feet are,” she said.
Now it’s your turn to fall for some of Shadyside’s historic homes and spaces. The Shadyside House Tour returns on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., for the first time since 2019. The self-guided tour visits seven private Shadyside homes and one house of worship.
And trolley service between stops reduces the chance of ogling-related stumbles.
According to Gundlach, these homes are “near original,” meaning tourgoers will experience them as they were built — and learn their history through docents and even the homeowners themselves. Tourgoers will also receive a take-home booklet outlining each home.
“There’s so much variety here when it comes to different architectural styles,” she said.
The Shadyside House Tour Returns After a 7-Year Break
The Shadyside House Tour was founded in 1980 by Shadyside residents and supported by the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. It ran for four decades under the Shadyside Action Coalition. When the Coalition disbanded during the pandemic, the tour was placed on indefinite pause. Gundlach was involved with the tour — as a docent, advertiser and house nominator — for over a decade before its hiatus.
“As the years passed. I just felt like it was such a shame to see that tradition not reinstated,” she said.
She first spoke with the tour’s former chairs, “whose experience and encouragement were enormously meaningful.” She then expanded to Shadyside homeowners, business owners and community leaders.
“I called on some folks in the community and said, ‘Hey, if we brought the house tour back, would you support it?’ And I got [an] overwhelming response.”
The Shadyside Community Partnership — the volunteer-led nonprofit that has since taken on SAC’s role as Shadyside’s neighborhood group — leads the tour’s return with the Shadyside Chamber of Commerce. The two organizations have spent more than ten months planning the comeback.
What to Expect From the 2026 Shadyside House Tour
In past years, guests have toured late-1800s homes built for prominent industrial-era leaders and seen modern upgrades — like solar installations and refreshed kitchens — integrated into historic homes.
The seven homes featured on this year’s tour span a range of architectural styles and design choices: The Garden House at 704 Amberson is a meticulously maintained English cottage with ornate mantels and stunning hardwood; Fisher House at 928 South Aiken Ave. is a 2007 contemporary home with a living roof; 5874 Ellsworth Ave. is Steve Mendelson’s art gallery-meets-home, where he has resided for 40 years.
“It’s a gestalt of my travels and my collections, and what I think goes together,” he says. “It’s not decorated; it’s imbued with my spirit.”
A Chance to See Beauty and History
Mendelson’s home, like most homes on the tour, is as full of history as it is art: It’s a 19th-century farmhouse-turned-bordello purchased from the IRS at auction; his gallery has shown works from Patrick Hughes, Vik Muniz and Justin Giunta, a Pittsburgh native; and illustrator Robert Crumb recently stopped by for a visit.
“He’s been here twice,” Mendelson said. “The first time he was here, he started a drawing. The second time, I got him to finish it and sign it.”
Mendelson’s gallery is currently appointment-only. He now considers his gallery a gathering place, but, “anytime anybody rings the doorbell, I’m happy to spend as much time as they want to spend looking at art, whether they buy it or not.”
According to Mendelson, tourgoers can expect to see “a labor of love” when they explore his home.
“I think it’ll be a powerful lesson to people about how they could live with their experiences and art and objects,” he says.
According to Gundlach, the tour mixes craftsmanship, creativity, and lived-in warmth.
“People can expect to see a sampling of that wide variety of architecture that exists here in Shadyside,” Gundlach says.
How to Still Go, Even With Tickets Sold Out
Tickets are sold out, but you can still take part by entering the tour’s ticket giveaway or signing up as a volunteer to get a complimentary ticket for off-the-clock use.
Proceeds from the Shadyside House Tour will go toward beautification projects around the neighborhood, starting with installing hanging planter baskets along Shadyside’s business corridors. According to Gundlach, these projects aim to give back so that “everybody that shops, lives, works, and plays here will be able to enjoy [the neighborhood] for decades to come.”
“It’s amazing to see a neighborhood come together for an effort like this,” she said.
Story by Amanda Reed
Photos by Steve Mendelson