Actually there is a program on the House & Garden channel called "If Walls Could Talk" where they show artifacts that people find in old houses from previous owners. I always watch it when I have a chance.
That trip to Pittsburgh really impressed me because there were so many old houses like that- rows and rows of three story Victorians with dingy attic windows- I would look at them and wonder about all the interesting things that must be tucked away in attics and cellars!