The Lawrence mansion is maintained as a house that evokes the elegant lifestyle of the Lawrences, rather than a museum. The mansion houses an excellent collection of original English and American antiques. Its 16th century architectural design affords both young and old opportunity to glimpse into a part of Pittsburgh’s past. Family photographs, treasured books, cherished trophies, and even Mr. Lawrence’s art supplies are still in place.

Hartwood is a symbol of the changing American culture of the past century, William Flinn, Mary Lawrence’s father, realized the American dream of the nineteenth century. He amassed industrial and political power as well as great wealth. This legacy enabled his daughter to build a home which was compatible with the life of leisure and philanthropy so fashionable in the first part of the century.

The Library features a wide plank pegged floor, a low Renaissance style plaster ceiling, and a stone mantelpiece.

The Living Room or what was known in the Jacobean era as the Great Hall is paneled in magnificent oak with functional look-outs that became elegant bay windows inset with diamond-paned stained glass. The furniture consists of elegantly carved late Stuart chairs, two early Georgian folding walnut game tables, a large Bijar Persian rug, a gracious mahogany Steinway grand piano built in 1901, and a residential style Aeolian pipe organ.

The Upper Landing has a vaulted plasterwork ceiling with design motifs including mythological allegories, fairy tales, and elements of nature. Mr. Lawrence’s Suite has a view of the remarkable undulations and crests of the Allegheny Mountains. It reflects his interests as a businessman, sportsman, artist , and antique collector.

Mrs. Lawrence’s Suite is wallpapered in a fanciful rhapsody of birds, flowers, and foliage which makes it a very feminine and very personal bedroom. The furniture pieces are heavy white Empire Revival furniture pieces from Mrs. Lawrence’s childhood bedroom.

The Dining Room is green with gilt paneling and is the most formal room in the house. It has a walnut corner cabinet, a Chippendale side table, and a Sheraton sideboard. Examples of English silver, Sheffield plate, American sterling, and eighteenth-century Chinese export porcelain are displayed here.