Empty Nest -Whimsical Journey to Survive and Self Actualize : Day 153 Trains & House Tours/Allegheny West

Holmes Hall

The Allegheny West Neighborhood consists of only eight blocks on the North Side of Pittsburgh but it’s rich in history with several restored Victorian homes from the 1800’s. I learned some new things about Pittsburgh’s past and discovered a vast private toy train collection when I helped as a guide for my friend whose home was part of the Old Allegheny Victorian Christmas House Tour. A house tour is an intimate way to explore architecture and lifestyles of the past and present.

Calvary United Methodist Church

Reflection

There were mansions to modest homes on the tour. The tour started at Calvary United Methodist Church with its French Gothic deign and its impressive Tiffany windows. Some homes preserved the Victorian historical décor and others, in contrast, had a modern design. Nevertheless, what struck me the most was that the home owners appreciated the home's past. Although their renovations changed the interior, they realized that they were just the caretaker of these historical buildings that were standing long before they owned them.

White and Black Scandinavian Design

The last mansion, Holmes Hall, had beautiful walnut woodwork, a carved walnut staircase, hand painted ceiling murals and a ball room! Notwithstanding all this, it housed a private train collection. There were two (2) floors of rare toy trains from floor to ceiling. You saw trains, trains and more trains! My father who builds model trains appreciated this rare collection, confiding that many of the trains in the collection were ones that he had only read about in his train books! This private collection is open to the public two (2) times a year- on the Christmas tour and on the up-coming Allegheny West Home & Garden Tour in June 2016.

Enjoying the Toy Train Collection at Holmes Hall with dad

House tours are a visual of the past and their 100 year survival is a reminder that we are just passing through the time line. Try one of these up- coming tours in 2016: Allegheny West Home and Garden Tour (June 2016) Observatory Hill (June 6, 2016), Brighton Heights (June 12, 2016), Manchester (August, 2016), Mexican War Streets (September,2016), Deutchtown (Fall, 2016) and the next Allegheny West Victorian House Christmas Tour (Dec 9 & 10, 2016).