MuseumLab Transformation––Free Guided Walking Tours

Exterior view, photo caption:  MuseumLab. Design Architects: KoningEizenberg; Architect of Record: PWWG. Photo © Eric Staudenmaier

Interior view: MuseumLab. Over View by FreelandBuck. Design Architects: KoningEizenberg; Architect of Record: PWWG. Photo © Eric Staudenmaier

This walking tour is intended for adults who have memories of visiting the former Allegheny Regional Library and are eager to see its transformation into MuseumLab, a museum for older youth created by the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. You’ll hear how the Richardsonian Romanesque landmark from 1890, first renovated in the 1970s and then vacated in 2006, has become a vibrant, dynamic, nurturing, and sustainable educational center. You’ll see the colorful “Over View” installation in the Grable Gallery, created by FreelandBuck and inspired by the original stained-glass ceiling. You’ll find a steel beam in the Tech Lab stamped with the word “Carnegie,” an amazing climbing structure winding through library stacks, original arches, columns and ceilings revealed, and a 36-foot-long mural extending over a doorway in the Manchester Academic Charter Middle School.

After exploring major areas on all floors of the former library building, the tour will end outside, where your docent will highlight the architectural significance of three more architecturally distinctive buildings that complete the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh’s campus on Pittsburgh’s North Side. With the opening of MuseumLab on April 27, 2019, the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh became the largest cultural campus for children in the nation.

This free guided walking tour does not include admission to MuseumLab, and participants will not have time to explore the exhibits.

Advance reservations are required: marylu@phlf.org; 412-471-5808, ext. 527

Registration is limited to 30 people. Docents will lead groups of 10 people.

Meeting location: MuseumLab (main lobby). 6 Allegheny Square East, #101. Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Ending location: Allegheny Square, outside the MuseumLab building

Please note: Please arrive 5 minutes before the tour time so groups can begin promptly at 3:00 p.m. The first 70 minutes will be inside the MuseumLab Building, which is handicap accessible. The last 20 minutes of the walking tour will be outside (weather permitting). Please dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. Before the tour begins, each participant will be asked to sign his/her name on a form indicating that he/she is “fully able to participate in this PHLF tour and assumes all risk of participation.” This tour is handicap accessible, although we appreciate knowing your needs 48 hours in advance. Please contact Mary Lu Denny: 412-471-5808, ext. 527; marylu@phlf.org

Parking: Options include the lots adjacent to the Children’s Museum, on-street parking, or the Nova Place Garage. Parking fees for each option apply.  For more information visit https://pittsburghkids.org/visit/parking

Port Authority bus lines stop near the meeting and ending points. Call PAT for fares and schedules: 412-442-2000.

Special thanks to Chris Cieslak, PE, LEED AP, Senior Director of Facilities & Special Projects at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, for inviting PHLF to lead these tours and for providing much of the information.