Featured on NEXTpittsburgh

I’m thrilled to share that my home in the Mexican War Streets has been featured on NEXTpittsburgh in a new episode of Feeling Nebby with Houses of Pittsburgh.

If you’ve ever walked along Buena Vista Street, you may have noticed a trio of matching row houses. Built in the early 1890s by James G. Wyman, former mayor of Allegheny City, for his three daughters Mary, Caroline and Margaret, they’re a small slice of Pittsburgh history hiding in plain sight. I’m lucky enough to be the current steward of one of them, and I recently welcomed the Feeling Nebby team in for a tour.

Inside, the house is a living archive of my years working around the world as an art curator from Hong Kong to Dublin and beyond. With 12-foot ceilings, I’ve been able to hang a growing collection of art by friends and artists I admire, and nearly every wall holds maps spanning continents and centuries. Each piece carries a story, and together they chart a life shaped by travel, culture, and community.

Out back, the transformation has been just as meaningful. Working with the Urban Redevelopment Authority, I acquired the adjacent lots once choked with knotweed and turned them into a wildflower meadow with fruit trees. Another reclaimed lot became terraced gardens and a patio with small gathering spots tucked among the greenery. Friends jokingly dubbed the space “Ianland,” a nod to the beloved Randyland just a few blocks away. The nickname stuck because it captures the spirit of the place: whimsical, welcoming, and a little bit surprising.

This September, you’ll have the chance to see it in person during the Mexican War Streets House & Garden Tour, where my home is one of ten on the route. It’s one of my favorite community traditions, a day when neighbors open their doors and gardens so visitors can experience the architecture, history, and creativity that make this neighborhood special.

I’m grateful to the Feeling Nebby and Houses of Pittsburgh teams for spotlighting the stories behind these spaces, and to NEXTpittsburgh for amplifying what makes our city’s homes and the people who love them so unique.