PHOTO BY BRITTANY REILLY, PITTSBURGH MODERN COMMITTEE OF PRESERVATION PITTSBURGH.

After moving into his Mid-Century Modern home in Churchill in 1994, Michael O’Brian spent years serving on the Churchill Recreation Board trying to start a home tour to showcase the Mid-Century Modern design style heavily featured in the community.

He said the idea for the tour grew out of his love for the neighborhood — and a desire to share its architecture style with the greater Pittsburgh area.

“The amount of passion and friendship of the neighbors and the artistic nature of so many of the folks who have lived here have always inspired me,” O’Brian says. “People do not know what’s in Churchill. They don’t know these homes exist in Churchill.”

With the help of O’Brian’s zeal to make the home tour a reality, The Churchill Mid-Century Modern Home Tour Planning Committee will present the inaugural Churchill Mid-Century Modern Home Tour from Friday, Sept. 12 through Sunday, Sept. 14.

In collaboration with the Churchill Borough, the Recreation Board of Churchill and the Pittsburgh Modern Committee of Preservation, the event includes an opening soiree on Friday, home tours on Saturday and related talks on Sunday.

According to committee members, Churchill has one of the highest concentrations of Mid-Century Modern homes found between New York and Chicago.

The design style, outlined by planning committee member Brittany Reilly, is characterized by clean lines, natural light, open floor plans and indoor-outdoor living. It became popular in the 1950s through the 1970s to reflect a post-World War II optimism.

PHOTO BY BRITTANY REILLY, PITTSBURGH MODERN COMMITTEE OF PRESERVATION PITTSBURGH

Katie Salvi, whose home is featured on the tour, says the open-concept style of her property reflects key elements of Mid-Century Modern design.

“It always reminds me of a tree house because there’s giant windows and they’re overlooking the back; there’s a lot of trees,” she says.“The inside is very integrated with the outside.”

For Salvi, keeping the original integrity of the style alive in the house is very important.

When she bought the house, the wood walls were painted over by a previous owner. Salvi spent months working with professionals to restore the walls to the condition in which they were built.

Along with her home, eight other houses will be shown on Saturday’s tour. The event is now sold out, with Reilly expecting 300 to 400 guests in attendance.

A limited number of tickets are still available for Friday evening’s soiree, which features an exclusive house on Elm Hill Road. For more information, visit the
Pittsburgh Modern Committee’s website here.