ABOARD THE DOORS OPEN BOAT TOUR | PHOTO BY SEAN COLLIER

With all due respect to local tourism companies past and present, some tours of Downtown can tend toward the same old highlights. Inclines, stadiums, the Point — yes, us locals know the general history.

It’s understandable; many tours have to cater to tourists and thus have an obligation to keep things broad. Fortunately, though, there’s an alternative for locals looking to dive deep. If you want the blow-by-blow of local history — from railroad wars to historic curiosities, from pre-Revolutionary scuffles to modern makeovers — sign up for one of the boat tours offered by Doors Open Pittsburgh.

This tour is one of six featured in our Visitors Guide. Explore the other tours here.

Detail is the name of the game for the nonprofit organization. Normally, they bring tour groups into off-limits spaces such as private homes and businesses; their signature Downtown tour draws large crowds eager for a peak behind the Golden Triangle’s ornate facades.

With the Boat Tours, however, Doors Open takes the opportunity to reveal the hidden stories behind the city’s grand structures — with plenty of detail for architecture buffs.

It even answers the eternal question: Why, exactly, do we have so many bridges?

31ST STREET BRIDGE | PHOTO BY SEAN COLLIER

You’ll line up at the Gateway Clipper dock at Station Square for one of the tours as you await the arrival of your expert tour guides. There’s a respectable concession stand on the docks, but only snacks on board. Beverages — including beer, hard seltzer and cocktails — are available both dockside and aboard, so you won’t go thirsty at any point. (You could also grab lunch in Station Square if you don’t like to cruise on an empty stomach.)

Arrive early and angle to be one of the first folks aboard; the best views are found on the top deck, but seats are first-come, first-served.

GATEWAY CLIPPER DOCK | PHOTO BY SEAN COLLIER

No matter where you sit, you’ll be able to hear the amplified narration of your expert guides. Todd Wilson, a transportation engineer and author who has written books on Pittsburgh’s bridges, is part of every cruise. He’ll point out details you’ve never noticed about spans you’ve crossed every day. A pair of architecture specialists — preservationist Justin P. Greenawalt and Paul Tellers, a former university architect at CMU — split co-hosting duties with Wilson.

Each tour departs from Station Square, but the routes diverge from there; on the five-date 2024 schedule, each river gets its own dedicated tour (“Secrets of the Ohio River” is scheduled for Aug. 17, while “The Mighty Monongahela” gets the spotlight on Oct. 19) while the more general “Bridges, Buildings and Architecture of the Three Rivers,” next scheduled for Sept. 28, covers a bit of everything around the confluence.

PNC PARK | PHOTO BY SEAN COLLIER

On a tour of the Allegheny — already in the past for 2024, but likely to return next year — Wilson said we’d focus on “how the built environment has shaped Pittsburgh.” It was a subject that offered both intriguing specifics and big stories; one moment, he was giving the detailed history of bygone spans identifiable by architectural relics in the water, and the next, he was explaining the fascinating merger of Pittsburgh and Allegheny City — the once-separate municipality now known as the North Side.

That blend of information makes the Doors Open journey an excellent choice for groups that contain both locals and visitors. You’ll learn the answers to questions you never thought to ask, while your guests get an overview — and have the chance to see a dozen breathtaking vistas, from the fountain framed against the skyline to the Three Sisters bridges towering overhead.

It’s a great way to spend an afternoon — and it’ll likely make you hungry for more history and secrets. Fortunately, Doors Open has more secrets to show you … on dry land.

Tours, most of which depart at 1 p.m. (some at 11:30 a.m.), are $40; guests under 18 are $15. Tickets are available at doorsopenpgh.org.