Clayton Mansion in Point Breeze. (Google Maps)

By Riley Dunn, Pittsburgh Business Times

For a short time, visitors to the Frick Pittsburgh’s Clayton mansion will be able to take behind-the-scenes tours to view the mansion’s $10 million preservation effort. The project is funded by both private and public donations and is meant to ensure that visitors to the Frick can enjoy touring the last Millionaire’s Row mansion for years to come. 

The multi-million dollar exterior transformation also comes just after the mansion was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in May 2025. 

“Preserving Clayton is crucial to our organization’s future, allowing our visitors to continue learning and appreciating the important role that Frick and Gilded Age Pittsburgh played during the industrialization of America,” Chief Curator and Director of Collections Dawn R. Brean said in a release. 

Preservation efforts are currently being conducted in multiple phases. Phase one began in 2024 and is expected to wrap up this month, while phase two is expected to begin later this year. Phase two will include efforts to remove the current paint from Clayton’s exterior in order to apply new paint in a more historically accurate color. Other repairs will lead to the restoration of exterior metals, woodwork, windows and roof areas. 

Available funds will guide the scope of each phase of the project. 

“Clayton is the last intact Gilded Age mansion from Pittsburgh’s Millionaire’s Row,” Executive Director Amanda Gillen said in a statement. “It’s vital that we keep this part of Pittsburgh’s history for our community.”

While the preservation is ongoing, visitors are still able to explore the house’s Gilded Age history through the popular Gilded, not Golden tours, which will remain available throughout the restoration. 

In addition, the Frick will also offer — for the first time — specialty tours of Clayton’s first and second floors that are specifically geared toward restoration efforts. The hour-long tours are meant to examine Clayton’s evolution from the family home of Henry Clay Frick and his daughter Helen Clay Frick to the public museum it is today. Visitors will also learn about the extensive restoration efforts that occurred in the 1980s, as well as more information about ongoing projects. 

Tours will begin on June 21 and will be $20 for non-members of the museum. 

All specialty tours are part of the Frick’s fundraising campaign for the care and conservation of Clayton. All funds received from ticket sales is considered a donation and will be fully tax-deductible. Upon purchasing, ticket buyers will receive a letter confirming that the cost of their tickets is able to be used as part of their itemized deductions. 

Following current exterior projects, the Frick eventually hopes to make improvements to the mansion’s interior by improving the lighting and reopening the blue bedroom on its second floor.

Riley Dunn is a student at the University of Iowa and one of 10 Pittsburgh Media Partnership summer interns.