All our live DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh Storytelling events have been recorded and are available in below so you can continue to explore the history of Pittsburgh’s remarkable landmarks, neighborhoods, and people.
Cost is $5 per story. Length is 45-55 minutes.
Virtual Storytelling On-Demand
Abandoned Pittsburgh: Gears & Ghosts
Join photographer Chuck Beard for a look inside some of Pittsburgh’s iconic and historic sites, including Duquesne Steel Works, Carrie Furnace, St Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church, Overholt Distillery, Hazelwood Brewery,
August Wilson’s Hill District
This virtual tour will provide a sense of what the Hill District was like during the era when Pulitzer prize-winning playwright August Wilson was growing up there and how this
Bayernhof Museum: Music Boxes & Other Obscure History
We invite you for an on-location peek inside one of Pittsburgh’s most unusual mansions – the Bayernhof Museum. This mansion contains a world-class collection of music boxes and other antique
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Behind the Beer: A Peek Inside Penn Brewery
Let us take you on a behind-the-scenes tour of Penn Brewery where you will learn the fascinating history behind our 19th-century building, as well as show you how we make
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BEHIND THE STAGE DOORS: Real Stories about the Pittsburgh Music Scene
Delve deep into Pittsburgh’s diverse music scene in this four-part series by DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh. First, learn about the Thunderbird Cafe & Music Hall, a historic music venue that has
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Behind the Walls: Western State Penitentiary
Western State Penitentiary is a former Pennsylvania state prison, originally constructed between 1878 and 1893 on the east banks of the Ohio River. The facility has been closed since 2017,
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City Stairs: Stepping Back into Pittsburgh’s History One Staircase at a Time
City steps were the first mass transportation system, designed to bring workers from the hills to the mills. Did you know that Pittsburgh has the most stairways of any other
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Clemente Museum: Telling the Humanitarian Story
We commemorate MLK Day 2021 by celebrating Roberto Clemente, a black Latino, known as The Great One. Incensed by the injustice, inequality and racism, Clemente extended his humanitarian activism to
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Culinary Journey from Portugal to Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh has evolved in all things having to do with food and culinary. With humble beginnings dating back to the produce terminal in the Strip District to Pittsburgh being a
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Daniel Burnham: Made No Little Plan in Pittsburgh
Did you know that, outside Chicago, no other city has more Burnham buildings? Learn more about this man and the buildings he built in Pittsburgh from local author and historian,
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Development of Oakland
Oakland is home to museums, universities, and medical centers, but do you know how it all started? You will learn how Mary Schenley’s land holdings, combined with major philanthropy of
Finding Solitude: George Westinghouse
What happened to the mansion called Solitude – the mysterious Pittsburgh home of one of the world’s greatest inventors and industrialists? Why can’t we visit it today…or can we? RECORDED 6/6/2020
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Frank Lloyd Wright in Pittsburgh
Frank Lloyd Wright was the most talked about “starchitect” of the mid-20th century and inventor of Prairie style architecture. He had a twenty-year relationship with Pittsburgh. Fallingwater was only the
Ghosts of Pittsburgh
Join Storyteller Alan Irvine for an evening exploring the darker side of Pittsburgh’s history with ghost stories from the City’s days as a frontier settlement up to modern times. Discover
H. J. Heinz—Secrets of a Pickle King
We all know about the ketchup and pickles. But what do we know about H.J. Heinz the man? Sunday schools and opulence, alcohol and purity, love, and betrayal. This is
Holiday Cheers! A Truly Unique Winery Experience
Join head vintner, Duane Rieder, on-location at the Engine House 25 Wines, a discreet and private wine cellar under the Clemente Museum. DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh gives you an on-location tour
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I Shall Always Love You Isaly’s
We will take a walk through Isaly’s history to learn why so many Pittsburghers have fond memories of the company, why its ice cream and chipped ham are still regional
Inside the City of Pittsburgh Vault
Get virtual access inside the City’s Vault. The City Vault is where hundreds of years of legislative records are stored and preserved. In 2016 the City hired the first-ever archivist
Jewish Squirrel Hill: 1907-1957
Squirrel Hill has been the “Jewish part of Pittsburgh” for nearly a century. How did that happen? To find the answer, we’ll follow the trail year by year, looking at
Jonas Salk Ends Paralyzing Summers
Everyone who is old enough remembers where they were on April 12, 1955 when the Polio Vaccine was heralded. Horns honked, church bells rang, people celebrated in the streets. It
Kennywood Behind the Screams
Kennywood Park has been Pittsburgh’s playground since the 19th century, when baseball games, track races and pony rides were more common than Potato Patch fries and amusement rides! One of
Lost Treasures of Pittsburgh
Get nostalgic and reflect on the lost treasures of Pittsburgh with local author Rossilynne Culgan who is writing a book about the lost treasures of Pittsburgh. Rossilynne will share her
Mapping: From Pittsburgh to Middle-Earth
Maps change how we see the places where we live. For the past seven years, local cartographer Stentor Danielson has been drawing maps of Pittsburgh and other real cities in
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Multi-stories: Skyscrapers and the Tycoons That Built Them
Back when skyscrapers were a new invention, business tycoons in Pittsburgh and across the country invested in this new form of high tech to proclaim their power. Learn about some key
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Nationality Rooms: Uncover a Connection
Join DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh as we visit the Nationality Rooms in Oakland’s Cathedral of Learning. These rooms were created to celebrate the cultural diversity of Pittsburgh. Learn about the thematic
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Nellie Bly: How a Sassy Girl from Pittsburgh Became a Legend
This is the story of a girl from Pittsburgh who proved her mettle one front page headline after another. She took on prickly social issues. She went undercover when undercover
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Obscure Pittsburgh
Did you know the ball in Pittsburgh goes up instead of down? Join DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh and storyteller Chris Whitlatch as he shares the obscure holiday traditions of Pittsburgh along
Painting Pittsburgh Neighborhoods, by Artist Ron Donoughe
Join DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh for a virtual visit to the studio of artist Ron Donoughe. He has been painting Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania for the last 30 years. RECORDED 6/20/2020 Get
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Pittsburgh Astronomer’s Tiny Abode
Ever wonder what it might be like to live in a “tiny house?” DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh invites you into a Pittsburgh astronomer’s tiny house. This 500-square-foot house was built by
Pittsburgh Jazz: Home of the Innovators
The Pittsburgh jazz community has fostered diversity across sectarian lines of race, gender, age and socioeconomic factors for decades. Learn about the depth of the jazz scene of the 60s
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Pittsburgh: America’s Glass City
For more than 200 years, Western Pennsylvania has been a center for the production, design and marketing of glass. It is also home to an internationally-known education center and studio,
Pittsburgh’s First Pandemic: The White Plague
Join DOORS OPEN Pittsburgh for the inside story behind the White Plague that ravaged Pittsburgh at the turn of the century. Little was known about tuberculosis and we can learn from
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Pittsburgh’s Lost Chinatown
In the early 1900s, Pittsburgh’s Chinatown was thriving. With more than 20 restaurants, bakeries, import shops, and food markets, it was a lively center for commerce. This story reveals why, how,
Secrets of Pittsburgh’s Bridges
Think you know Pittsburgh’s bridges? Think again. Join author and engineer Todd Wilson for a virtual tour of Pittsburgh’s bridges where he will point out many of the secrets of
Significant African-American Buildings in Pittsburgh
Let’s kick-off Black History Month 2021! Explore the region’s historically-significant buildings documents the accomplishments of Pittsburgh’s African American Community. We share the architecture and more importantly the pride, perseverance, and perspective
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The Hidden Jewish Neighborhoods of Pittsburgh
On this fast-paced virtual tour, we will visit 12 city neighborhoods. With an eagle eye and help from archival records, we will find Pittsburgh’s Jewish history hidden in the cityscape.
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Theatres of Downtown: A 100-Year Story
Did you know that Pittsburgh represents the birth of the “movie theatre?” This story begins in 1896, on the day that an image first flickered on a screen on a
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Theatres of the Old Northside
Do you ever wonder what happened to the old Garden Theatre ticket booth? How about the nickelodeon theatre on Spring Garden Avenue? Join storyteller, Jim Kastner, as he takes you on a
To Pittsburgh, from Germany with love: Holiday Markets
German Christmas markets date back to the 1400’s. Did you know that many of our beloved Christmas traditions evolved from these markets? We uncover the stories and magnificence of these
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Votes for Women in Western Pennsylvania
Join us as we explore women’s battle for the election ballot in Western Pennsylvania. Meet little-known Pittsburgh suffragists who paraded, protested, and rallied their way to the ballot box. RECORDED 8/17/2020
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Western Penitentiary: Life and Death Inside the “Wall”
This is a story of life and death inside Western Penitentiary, also known as “Western Pen” and “The Wall.” Thousands of convicted persons through the years have lived and worked in
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When George Washington Almost Lost His Head
One July 4th proved to be nightmare morning for George Washington. The Virginia soldier was just 22 years old when he inadvertently started what is often called the first world
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When George Washington Defeated Death…Again
George Washington played a critical role in what turned out to be the worst British-American defeat during the French and Indian War. That disaster–Braddock’s Defeat–took place less than 10 miles
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