2024 Old Allegheny Victorian Christmas House Tour

Guided tours leave every 12 minutes! 

Friday, December 6  |  5:00 pm - 8:00 pm  ~  Saturday, December 7  |  10:00am - 8:00 pm

Experience a By-Gone Era

We are excited to welcome you to the 41st Annual Old Allegheny Victorian Christmas House Tour. 

These personally guided tours afford a rare opportunity to glimpse a by-gone era and experience the warmth of the season in a truly old-fashioned style. Most homes in Allegheny West are over 100 years old and Victorian in architectural style. Lavishly decorated for the holidays, they recall the late 19th Century birth of the traditional American Christmas: elaborately decorated mantels, towering Christmas trees and pine, holly and mistletoe on stairs and chandeliers. 

 More information about the tour including directions & parking may be found on our website under Frequently Asked Questions.

Prices

Before November 1:  $40 House Tour  |  $20 Train Tour
   After November 1:  $45 House Tour  |  $25 Train Tour

Train Museum tickets will be available at the door during the train museum hours (see below). However, house tour tickets are only available if they do not sell out. Last year’s walking tour sold out in October, so no tickets were available at the door. 

About the Tour

Our tour features 5 or 6 restored Victorian homes plus the historic Calvary United Methodist Church, famous for its beautiful Louis Tiffany stained glass windows, all decorated to celebrate a Nineteenth Century Christmas.

All tours are guided and leave every 12 minutes from Calvary Church.  You must purchase tickets for a specific time slot on either Friday or Saturday. Train tickets need to be purchased separately.  Tour guides will explain Victorian holiday traditions, provide the history of Allegheny West and its famous Nineteenth Century residents and discuss the individual homes as you visit them.

Plan to come early!  Calvary church will be hosting a Christmas Shop featuring local artisans in the basement of the church. They will make arrangements to hold your purchases during the tour.

The doors at Calvary church open at 4:30pm on Friday and 9:30am on Saturday. 

Model Train Museum

At the end of your tour, you also have the option to visit a museum of one of the world’s largest model train collections – a private collection of hundreds of colorful train sets from the early 20th century; many of them rolling through enchanting miniature villages. There is an additional charge for the train museum. 

You may also purchase tickets the train museum at the door at 719 Brighton Rd. without purchasing Christmas House Tour tickets. The Train Museum is only open to the public the 2 days of the Christmas Tour.

Train Museum Hours

Friday: 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm  |  Saturday: 12:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Train tickets are valid for a single admission during any period when the museum is open, even if you purchased the tickets as part of a house tour at a specific date & time. If you are only purchasing tickets for the Train Museum tickets without attending the walking tour, choose either the Friday 7:30pm time or the Saturday 12:30pm options. 

Important Note

For walking tours leaving AFTER 6:00pm on Saturday, if you are planning to visit the trains, you must visit the trains BEFORE the tour, because the museum will be closed before your tour is finished. If your house tour begins after 6:00pm on Saturday AND you would like to visit the trains, please START at Holmes Hall (719 Brighton Road). Allow about an hour to visit the trains before walking over to Calvary Church to check in for your walking tour.

Looking for Brunch, Lunch, Tea or Dinner Tours?

We will not be offering special meal tours as part of a package this year. If local restaurants are offering special Brunch or Dinner seatings we will post more information.   We can happily recommend any of our local restaurants. Please contact them directly to check availability and hours during the tour.

Exchanges and Refunds

We are unable to offer refunds for tickets purchased in advance, however, you are welcome to have someone else use the tickets. We do not maintain any kind of waiting list for people wishing to sell or purchase tickets.  If you would like to exchange your ticket for another time slot that still has tickets available, please contact Showclix directly at 1-866-266-3004.  

Additional Questions?

We're looking forward to welcoming you to our neighborhood.  Additional information can be found on our Fequently Asked Questions page. If you have additional question, for the quickest response, please email us at tours@alleghenywest.org. You may also call and leave a message at (412) 701-4092 and one of our volunteers will call you back as soon as we can. Our volunteers are unable to make changes to tour times, please contact Showclix 1-866-266-3004 at the number above if you would like to change times.  

 If you would like to be notified about future Allegheny West events you can sign up for our mailing list here.

Thank you for supporting the historic preservation efforts and community development efforts of the Allegheny West Civic Council,

The volunteers of Allegheny West

In the Press

This unique tour is part of Rick Sebak’s Emmy Award® winning documentary, Happy Holidays in Pittsburgh, showcasing the finest holiday celebrations in Western Pennsylvania. It is also featured in the best-selling international travel guide 1000 Places to See in the U.S and Canada Before You Die.

“Falling in love with Old Allegheny”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“Allegheny West home retains spirit of ‘Jewish Santa’”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette