One couple spent nearly 40 years turning a 1950s ranch-style house into a stylish frame for a sprawling hillside garden and a bird's-eye view of Downtown. The other spent eight months transforming an eyesore into a three-level showcase for that same spectacular vista, then had to leave it behind.

Krista Schinagl, Post-Gazette Thirty-six years ago, when Dr. George and Jan McCollum moved to their home on Mount Washington, they put in place a backyard plan that includes a large stone patio and deck with a fantastic view. Click photo for larger image. If You Go: 'A Different Point of View' Mount Washington's second annual House Tour WHEN: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow TICKETS: $12 in advance, $15 on tour day at the corner of Shiloh Street and Virginia Avenue. INFORMATION: 412-481-3220

Tomorrow, they and a dozen of their neighbors open their doors for "A Different Point of View," Mount Washington's second annual House Tour.

Although the neighborhood is best-known for the sights from Grandview Avenue, this year's tour focuses on some of the lesser-known areas, including Bailey Avenue and surrounding streets.

When Dr. George and Jan McCollum moved to Bailey in 1968, they were drawn mostly by the potential of a two-bedroom, yellow-brick ranch with an acre of land, much of it on a steep, wooded hillside. Before they moved in, they had architect Norman Frey design a large addition. Not long after, landscape architect Everett Sturgeon created a multilevel garden.

Today, his 36-year-old plan remains almost unchanged, with formal flower beds and manicured shrubs surrounding a picturesque 'Sunburst' honey locust tree out front and in back, a large stone patio and deck, leading through a vine-covered arbor to a gazebo.

Close-cut, curving hedges of yew and blue spruce hug the hillside, which gives way to the woods of Grandview Park below. Several years ago, the couple added ponds and waterfalls, engineered with the help of neighbor Don Plummer. More than 100 fish live year-round in the water garden, which receives occasional visits from raccoons, deer, turkey, even hawks.

"I've seen red-tailed hawks come swooping up the hillside," Jan McCollum said in amazement.

Keeping the hedges and shrubs neatly trimmed in this urban wilderness requires visits every six weeks or so by a three- or four-man crew from Michael DiPaolo Landscaping in Eighty Four, Washington County. But it's up to the McCollums to run soaker hoses to keep everything well watered in the summer sun.

A retractable awning blocks the strongest rays on a portion of the spacious patio and deck, which have room for several tables, a hot tub and a stainless-steel gas grill. Purple and white wisteria and orange trumpet flower provide shade under the arbor, whose sturdy frame also supports hanging baskets of petunias, impatiens and geraniums.

Krista Schinagl, Post-Gazette This house on Bigbee Street will be featured in the Mount Washington House Tour. Click photo for larger image.

"Not even one basket blew off in the tornado," Jan McCollum said proudly.

She believes the house tour, which benefits the Mount Washington Community Development Corp., is an eye-opener for suburbanites.

"They have no idea what it's like to live in the city. It's mostly positive. This gives them a whole different outlook."

Dave and Dawn Jardini used to be among them; he grew up in Brentwood and she in Houston, Washington County. But they had already come to appreciate city living when they started looking for a house on Mount Washington in 1999. After a disappointing visit to several homes, they discovered Bigbee Street while turning their car around. Like the McCollums, they were drawn by their house's potential, not its curb appeal.

"It looked like a catastrophe," Dave Jardini said. "The third floor was falling into the second and buckets of water were coming through the roof. But we thought it might be a terrific opportunity."

When architect Kevin Gannon of Davis Gardner Gannon Pope reassured them the house was structurally sound, the couple decided to buy it for about $140,000. Dawn Jardini roughed out a dramatic redesign, revised and perfected by Gannon.

Some family and friends thought they were crazy, including Dawn's father, Harlan Shober, owner of Shober Homes. But he and her brother, Dean Shober, ended up doing the bulk of the work. Over eight months, they rebuilt the second and third floors, adding windows, glass doors, railings and a balcony to maximize the views.

The nondescript 1930s-era house got a wide-open, modern interior with an open staircase, white walls and unstained hardwood floors and cabinetry. The first floor contains the kitchen and an informal family room while the second is a more formal, with an office/bedroom and living room. The third floor is a spacious master suite whose bathroom sports a jetted tub, skylight, white and blue tile and cobalt blue glass vessel sinks.

With all those amenities, Jardini says the house's best feature is still its location -- and the neighbors. Working with the city, residents have cleaned up nearby Bigbee Field and planted a garden honoring longtime neighbor Robert L. Wick, the late owner of Wick Lumber Co.

"The people there are very supportive, very community-conscious," Jardini said. "They really made us feel welcome."

But he doesn't see his neighbors much anymore. More than a year ago, he took a job in Ridgway, Elk County. Though he and his wife come back occasionally for weekends or family gatherings, they put the house up for sale in the fall for $524,900.

"It breaks our heart to leave there," he said.

"When you lie in bed at night, the city makes a constant hum, cars down below, trains going by. It's just wonderful."