Mexican War Streets House & Garden Tour on Pittsburgh’s North Side includes the ‘Music House’
The owner calls it the “Music House.”
On the first floor, instead of a standard living room, there is a concert area with a baby grand W.M. Knabe & Co. piano.
Guests can lounge there or in the nearby dining room, which has a wood table that can be extended and coordinating benches. The original tin paneled tiles are on the walls and ceiling.
In the backyard, a patio is the perfect place for a performance. The grass area is slanted to allow spectators an optimal view of the show.
The “Music House” will be one of the 11 homes and two gardens featured Sunday in the 51st annual Mexican War Streets House & Garden Tour on Pittsburgh’s North Side.
Hosted by the Mexican War Streets Society, the event is part of the mission to preserve and promote the historic significance of the neighborhood.
The owner of the “Music House,” Adriana Helbig, has been living there since 2012. She’s spent the past decade restoring the home, which was built in 1911.
Part of the restoration included refinishing the original wood floors throughout most of the residence. In the kitchen, she opted to cover the original floors with ceramic tiles to connect with a new addition — she turned what was a covered side porch into a mud room and joined it to the renovated kitchen.
Some of the décor in the home includes traditional and abstract art. A wall in the entry is adorned with decorative plates she’s collected from travels all over the world — from Spain and Italy to Croatia and Bulgaria.
Guiding her with remodeling the home were Jacek Machnik and Zdzislaw Leosz of J and Z Home Improvement in her native New Jersey.
They spent a lot of time in the home in the past decade helping to create a second floor that has a primary bedroom, renovated full bathroom, walk-in closet and an office.
Helbig was born in Livingston, N.J., and grew up in South Orange, N.J., near Newark. She came to Pittsburgh in 2008 when hired as an ethnomusicologist — a professional who studies the cultural background and social impact of music — at the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Music in Oakland.
She was chair of Pitt’s Music Department from 2020 to 2023 and is associate dean for undergraduate studies in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and College of General Studies.
Her heritage is Ukrainian. She’s been spending a lot of time focusing her research on how people use music to fight for cultural and human rights.
Helbig has hosted private student performances over the years.
Once the backyard was completed, she hosted a Ukraine fundraising concert for the public there in July with a performance by Ukrainian hip-hop musician Vova Zi L’vova and his wife, Ulana Malyniak. They currently live in Los Angeles.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Helbig has produced undergraduate-focused public content about the role of music in the war.
Her Ukrainian connection is seen throughout the home from a flag of the country’s colors to several embroidered pillows in traditional hues and patterns created by her mother, Marijka Helbig.
Some are displayed on a bench in the dining room. The piano belonged to her mother, who lives in Philadelphia. It was purchased by her father when she was 12 years old.
It will be one of the first items guests of the house tour will see when they enter. Adriana Helbig has been part of past tours.
Leslie Vincen, house tour chair for Mexican War Streets Society, said she thinks what makes Helbig’s house unique, in addition to her extensive renovations, is that her backyard deck doubles as a music stage where musicians are invited to perform.
“I love being part of the tour,” Helbig said. “I have worked so hard on this house that I want to share it with other people.”
Details: The 51st annual Mexican War Streets House & Garden Tour on Pittsburgh’s North Side runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The self-guided tour takes about three hours.
Tickets are $30 per person and are sold online only here. No tickets are sold at the door the day of the event. Will-call is located at 604 West North Ave. to pick up tickets. No tickets will be mailed.
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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