William Pitt Union - A Hotel for Presidents and BallplayersStop on University of Pittsburgh Campus Walk, a free self-guided tour.Before it was a student union, this was the Hotel Schenley, opened in 1898 and known as Pittsburgh's class hotel of the early 1900s. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson and Dwight Eisenhower all signed the register, along with Eleanor Roosevelt, Sarah Bernhardt, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.After Forbes Field opened nearby in 1909, the hotel became a baseball hangout. Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb stayed here, and team owners reportedly worked out trades over dinner in the dining room.Pitt bought the hotel in 1956 and turned it into a student union, and a restoration in the early 1980s kept its grand rooms, including a Louis XV-style ballroom with its original mirrored walls and crystal chandeliers.Today it's the hub of student life, with offices for student groups, dining and event spaces. The lobby is usually open, so feel free to step in for a look.Did you know?: Opera star Enrico Caruso took seven suites for himself when he stayed at the Hotel Schenley.Photo op: Step back across the street to fit the Union's whole pale Beaux-Arts facade into one frame.Accessibility: The building is a busy public hub; ask at the information desk about elevators and the most convenient accessible entrance.Stops on this tourCathedral of Learning - A 42-Story ClassroomStephen Foster Memorial - Pittsburgh's SongwriterHeinz Memorial Chapel - The Ketchup King's TributeSoldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall - A Temple for VeteransAllen Hall - Mellon's Lab and Marie CuriePetersen Events Center - Home of the Oakland ZooSalk Hall - Where the Polio Vaccine Was BornScaife Hall - Pittsburgh, Transplant CapitalLitchfield Towers - Freshman CentralWilliam Pitt Union - A Hotel for Presidents and BallplayersHillman Library - Pitt's Big Study HallForbes Field Wall - Maz's Home RunSchenley Plaza - From Parking Lot to Front Lawn