Outreach

What do Ragtime, the Ferris wheel and George Westinghouse have in common? They all helped to make the nation come alive during the grandest fair in the world. Through this dynamic presentation, the Frick looks back at the fair that defined the Gilded Age as well as set the stage for a new century—the World’s Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago in 1893. Learn what made the fair so significant and how it forever altered the nation. Along the way, discover its many surprising ties to Pittsburgh.

Take an armchair version of our signature tour, Gilded, Not Golden! The Gilded Age was an era of immense wealth and progress, rapid industrialization, unprecedented immigration, and labor strife. Explore this pivotal time in our nation’s history at Clayton, the only remaining fully preserved Gilded Age mansion in Pittsburgh. Have a Frick educator come to your site for a conversational experience that shares the stories of the Frick family and other Pittsburghers, and considers how the legacy of the Gilded Age continues to affect us today.

Additional Programs

Art and Architecture

Take an armchair tour of the historic house of Henry Clay Frick! Henry was an avid art collector and filled his homes with beautiful paintings and decorative arts. This outreach explores the industries that made the art and architecture of the home possible and the differences between the Frick’s mansion and the art that the majority of people in the Gilded Age would have had access to.

Cemetery Tales: Pittsburgh's Buried Art and History

This program highlights Pittsburgh’s picturesque cemeteries and explores the history of burial grounds in the United States and how they transformed into revered and oft-visited park-like spaces. Colorful slides show the evolution of the art and design of tombstones and memorials, and equally colorful vignettes tell the stories of the notable and interesting Pittsburghers who lie beneath them.

From Horse and Carriage to Horseless Carriage

In the early years of the 20th century, carriages and cars shared the road in Pittsburgh. Images from the Frick’s Car and Carriage Museum provide a look at the transformation of travel during that era, while touchable historic objects offer participants firsthand examination of some of the trappings of transportation from long ago.

Gilded Age Holiday Traditions

Do you know when the first Christmas card was sent or why many people keep a bucket of water handy when they lit their Christmas trees? Explore the origins of these and many other Gilded Age holiday traditions.

In Service: Domestics in the Gilded Age

What was it really like to be domestic worker during the Gilded Age? Viewers of Downtown Abbey and Upstairs Downstairs may enjoy this program, which takes a close look at the daily life of household staff during Pittsburgh’s Gilded Age. Using Clayton, the home of Henry Clay Frick, as a backdrop, this presentation offers a behind-the-scenes perspective of what it took to run the lavish mansions of wealthy American industrialists in Pittsburgh during the late 19th century.

Land of Abundance: The American Landscape of the Gilded Age

Throughout the late 19th century, the American landscape was fundamentally altered by a rapidly industrializing industry. In this presentation, explore the way land and its uses became and remained integral to American identity. Pittsburgh became a major industrial hub during this time, which had consequences on the environment and residents of the city. These legacies have lasting impacts in our city today.

A Well-Appointed Table: Dining at the Turn of the Century

It has been said that dining is the privilege of civilization. A person’s standing in turn-of-the-century society could be measured by the way they took their meals. This presentation takes a look at the ritual act of eating across cultures while paying special focus to America’s Gilded Age—a time when dining reached a pinnacle of refinement.