Downtown Walking Tour: Daniel Burnham’s Pittsburgh

Friday, May 17
10:00 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

$20.00 per person

This tour is limited to 20 participants.
Tickets will not be available after 11:30 p.m. on May 16.

Purchase a ticket below.

Daniel Burnham was one of America’s most important architects in the late 19th and early 20^th centuries. As a designer of early skyscrapers in Chicago and the architectural mastermind behind the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition (also in Chicago), Burnham had a major influence on architecture and planning throughout the U.S. for several decades. In 1898, he received the first of many commissions for projects in Pittsburgh—the city in which, apart from Chicago, he designed the most buildings.

Although the exact number of commissions is unclear, seven buildings are known to survive. This tour features the six buildings located Downtown (the seventh is in East Liberty). From the original Union Trust building, which now houses the Engineers’ Society of Western Pennsylvania, to The Pennsylvanian, which occupies the former Union Station of the Pennsylvania Railroad, these structures highlight different aspects of Pittsburgh’s history, as well as Burnham’s diverse talents.

Tour meeting point: Outside the Times Building, 336 Fourth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 (across the street the Engineers’ Society of Western Pennsylvania)

Tour ending point: The Pennsylvanian, 1100 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Please arrive 15 minutes before start time in order to ensure that the tour gets underway on time. Dress for the weather (PHLF tours proceed rain or shine!), and wear comfortable shoes. By purchasing a ticket for this tour, you acknowledge that you are physically able to undertake the tour, assume all personal risk during the tour, consent to being photographed during the tour, and permit PHLF to use your image in our communications.

This tour is handicap accessible. Please notify us of your needs two business days in advance of the tour.