Digital Research Library - News

ASC Adds MLK Jr. March Photographs

The Archives Service Center (ASC) recently acquired a large collection of 35mm negatives from photographer Charles R. Martin, which included 189 images taken of a peaceful march that occurred in Pittsburgh on Sunday, April 7, 1968. This day was declared by President Lyndon Johnson as a National Day of Mourning to commemorate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., who was assassinated in Memphis three days earlier. These images depict people from all walks of life, men and women, black and white, young and old dressed in their Sunday best confronting policemen as they make their way from the Hill District to Downtown, Pittsburgh. Mr. Martin and Alma Speed Fox, who was the Executive Director of the NAACP Pittsburgh chapter at the time of the march, were recently interviewed by KDKA reporter Dave Crawley as they remembered the day's events.

Northland Public Library Adds More Images

The Northland Public Library added 175 new images to the Northland Historical Image Collection. The site now contains over 1300 photographs from the Allegheny County Department of Public Works covering the municipalities of Bradford Woods Borough, Franklin Park Borough, Marshall Township, McCandless Township and Ross Township. New images primarily include Denny Family photos and aerial images from the Allegheny County Department of Public Works.

Historic Pittsburgh Welcomes 12th New Partner

We welcomed another new partner contributing images to Historic Pittsburgh: The Rodef Shalom Congregation. They have initially contributed 10 images that depict the congregation's historic buildings, rabbis, religious practices, and aspects of congregational life. Welcome!

Several new books added to Historic Pittsburgh

The following books are scanned and now part of the Historic Pittsburgh Full-Text Collection: The history of Greensburg, 1799-1949, The burg of greene in pictures seen;a collection of pictures of Greensburg and vicinity, including views, maps, scenes, parades, groups, prominent persons, historic sketches and sentimental quotations, Century cyclopedia of history and biography of Pennsylvania, Volume 1 and Volume 2, Six plans of the disposition of the English army under the command of the late General Braddock in North America, and The Pennsylvania railroad:its organization, construction, and management by James Dredge.

More Images Added to Historical Society of Upper St. Clair Collection

The Historical Society of Upper St. Clair added another 102 images to their online collection. This new submission consists primarily of portraits of turn of the last century Upper St. Clair residents and historic headstones in Bethel and Melrose cemeteries. It also includes photographs of the Old Washington Road area and Gilfillan family members through the years.

More P&LE Images to Historic Pittsburgh

The Archives Service Center added 355 more images to its Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Company online collection. These new images (scanned from glass plate negatives) feature infrastructure improvements, such as roundhouse construction and coaling plants. Other images depict worker housing in McKees Rocks; the Carrie Furnace site in Rankin; safety posters from 1919; and work along the L.E. & E.R.R (Lake Erie & Eastern Railroad) routes.

More Church Histories Added to Historic Pittsburgh

Several more church history titles were recently added to Historic Pittsburgh. These include churches in the North Hills neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

Northland Public Library Adds More Images

The Northland Public Library added 196 new images to the Northland Historical Image Collection. The site now contains over 1100 photographs from the Allegheny County Department of Public Works covering the municipalities of Bradford Woods Borough, Franklin Park Borough, Marshall Township, McCandless Township and Ross Township. New images include photos from the North Allegheny Museum and the Franklin Park collections with many photos of the Ingomar area, as well as local schools, churches, taverns and aerial photographs. Others from private collections include family picnics in North Park spanning the 1930s, and 1940s.

More Images from Chatham University Added to Historic Pittsburgh

Chatham University, one of our Historic Pittsburgh partners, recently updated its online collection. They contributed 174 new images that come from their Historic May Day Collection, specifically the years between 1920-1947. The photographs depict the college's elaborate pageants, which drew thousands of spectators to the Shadyside campus.

More P&LE Images Added to Historic Pittsburgh

The Archives Service Center added 954 more images to its Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Company online collection. These new images, which cover areas such as Shousetown, Rankin, Aliquippa, McKees Rocks, Coraopolis, Beaver Falls, and Youngstown, Ohio, document passenger stations, rail crossings, floods from 1907 and 1913, the P&LE Terminal Building, construction of the Ohio River Bridge (1909), and exterior and interior views of railroad cars.

Another New Image Collection Added

Pitt's Archives Service Center added a new image collection to Historic Pittsburgh: Walter J. Teskey Photograph Collection. The subjects depicted in the 130 photographs primarily cover two topics: the Pittsburgh floods of 1936 and 1937, and images of trains and scale models.

Can you help us identify these locations?

Thank you Historic Pittsburgh users for helping us identify some of our "unknown" locations from the Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection. Now we have 25 images that we're unsure of where they were taken. Can you help us? If so, please send us an email.

Can you help us identify these locations?

Do you know where any of these 48 images from the Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection were taken? If so, please help us identify their location by sending us an email. A street, neighborhood or general vicinity would greatly help us. Thank you!

Historic Pittsburgh Welcomes 11th New Partner

We welcomed another new partner contributing images to Historic Pittsburgh: The Historical Society of Upper St. Clair. They have initially contributed 97 images that depict residents and families, schools, houses, major roads, local landmarks, and the overall development of the Upper St. Clair area from an agrarian community to the current day. Welcome!

ASC Adds More City Photographer Images to Online Collection

The Archives Service Center added 180 new images from 1907-1923 to the Pittsburgh City Photographer online image collection. This latest addition includes several parks, such as Lawrence, Arsenal, Ormbsy, McKinley, Wabash and Washington. Also included are new images documenting the Southside, such as the construction of the 22nd Street Bridge, various houses, and the construction of the Mission Street Pumping Station.

More Chatham Historic Images Added

Two dozen images were recently added to the Chatham University Archives image collection.

Historic Pittsburgh Chronology Updated

The Historic Pittsburgh Chronology was updated to include events from 2011.

ASC Adds More City Photographer Images to Online Collection

The Archives Service Center added 647 new images from 1905-1940 to the Pittsburgh City Photographer online image collection. Topics include photographs taken for the Mayor's office which document redevelopment of Downtown, visitors, and photographs of letters and telegrams received by the Mayor; photographs of plans and drawings for street equipment such as light posts, monuments, and manholes; notable neighborhoods include Schenley Park, Downtown, Perry Hilltop, Friendship, the Hill District, and the North Side; notable people and groups include Carnegie Steel Co., Duquesne Works employees, Stephen Foster's family (including an view of Foster's tombstone), and Charles Lindberg landing at Bettis Airfield and arriving at Pitt Stadium.

New Image Collections Added to Historic Pittsburgh

We added two new image collections to Historic Pittsburgh from the Library & Archives at the Heinz History Center. The Montefiore Hospital Photographs (161 images) show hospital buildings, physicians, nurses, interns, and student nurses in both formal groups and work settings between 1890-1988. The William V. Winans, Jr. Photograph Collection (141 images) visually document the construction of the Civic Arena (later known as Mellon Arena) between 1958-1961 by Dick Corporation.

Northland Public Library Adds Images

Our most recent new partner, Northland Public Library, added over 600 new images to the Northland Historical Image Collection. The site now contains 825 photographs from the Allegheny County Department of Public Works covering the municipalities of Bradford Woods Borough, Franklin Park Borough, Marshall Township, McCandless Township and Ross Township. These photos document the construction and upgrades of county roads beginning in 1919 in the North Hills as well as the construction of North Park.

Historic Pittsburgh Adds 10th New Partner

We welcomed our 10th new partner contributing images to Historic Pittsburgh: Northland Public Library. The core of the Northland Historical Image Collection will be made up of more than 800 photographs (currently 210 are online) from the Allegheny County Department of Public Works covering the municipalities of Bradford Woods Borough, Franklin Park Borough, Marshall Township, McCandless Township and Ross Township. These photos cover the construction and upgrades of county roads beginning in 1919 in the North Hills as well as the construction of North Park. Also included are photographs from the North Allegheny History Museum collection, the Franklin Park Borough collection, and private collections from individuals, organizations and businesses in the North Hills area. Welcome!

ASC Adds More City Photographer Images to Online Collection

The Archives Service Center added 591 new images to the Pittsburgh City Photographer online image collection. These images are part of an effort to digitize delicate glass plate negatives dating from 1901 to approximately 1926.

Over 1,000 More City Photographer Images Added to Online Collection

The Archives Service Center added 1016 new images to the Pittsburgh City Photographer online image collection. These images are part of an effort to digitize delicate glass plate negatives dating from 1901 to approximately 1926. This recent addition documents Bigelow Boulevard, the Boulevard of the Allies, Market Square, and various neighborhoods, playgrounds, and parks dating from 1906-1923. A dozen of these new images include negatives that were recently returned after significant conservation work by Chicago Albumen Works. These images document local businesses, the historical D.P. Reighard House, and the 5th Battalion Mushball Team.

New Partners Added to Historic Pittsburgh

We welcome two new partners to Historic Pittsburgh: Monroeville Historical Society and Pitcairn Historical Society. They each contributed hundreds of images which depict their respective communities for over 100 years. Welcome!

New Image Collections Added to Historic Pittsburgh

We added two new image collections to Historic Pittsburgh from the Library & Archives at the Heinz History Center. The Fuchs Family Papers & Photographs (25 images) primarily depict cadets from St. Joseph's Junior Military School as well as members of the Fuchs family. The Richard E. Rauh Photographs (56 images) primarily depict Bertha Rauh, her family, and her swearing in as Director of Charities, later called the Pittsburgh Department of Public Welfare; others illustrate her efforts to transform Mayview Hospital into a modern psychiatric hospital.

New Image Collections Added to Historic Pittsburgh

We added two new image collections to Historic Pittsburgh from the Library & Archives at the Heinz History Center. The Dorsey-Turfley Family Photographs (221 images) document several generations of the Dorsey and Turfley families as well as African American sports teams from the beginning decades of the twentieth century. The Seder Family Photographs (22 images) primarily depict the Frank and Seder clothing store, business associates, and Isaac Seder's family from 1910 through the late 1960s. These additions mark our 49th and 50th image collections.

More City Photographer Images Mounted Online

We added 349 new images from the ULS Archives Service Center's Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection.

Exploring Pittsburgh�s Photographic History: The Retrographer Project

Dane Pieri, a senior at Carnegie Mellon University studying design and human-computer interaction, has created the Retrographer Project designed to geotag historical images of Pittsburgh. �Geotagging� adds latitude and longitude data to an historical image so that its geographic location can be identified on a map. The ULS Archives Service Center contributed digitized images from its Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection since it primarily documents the built environment throughout the twentieth century. The collection also includes neighborhood designations making it ideally suited for Dane�s purposes. We plan on expanding the current boundaries of this project (Oakland and Shadyside) to also include adjacent neighborhoods. Retrographer is ready for YOU to start contributing your knowledge of Pittsburgh history!

More City Photographer Images Mounted Online

We added over 3,800 new images from the ULS Archives Service Center's Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection. This large addition of glass plate negatives (1913-1921) includes images of the development of the Lanpher Reservoir; plans for bridges, bridge ornamentation, and road construction projects featuring street layouts and surrounding industries ; the Tuberculosis Hospital; water treatment plants such as the Aspinwall Pumping Station and the Brilliant Pumping Station; the lowering of the "Hump"; and improvements and street widening of downtown Pittsburgh. This represents the last update of images for the next several months.

Historic Pittsburgh Chronology Updated

The Historic Pittsburgh Chronology was updated to include events from 2009.

More City Photographer Images Mounted Online

We added another 539 new images from the ULS Archives Service Center's Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection. Scanned from glass plate negatives by the ULS Digital Research Library, some of these images visually record the monumental efforts required to lower the hump in Downtown which affected Grant Street, Diamond Street, and Oliver, Fifth, Sixth, Webster and Wylie Avenues specifically, as well as other neighboring streets. We now have over 400 images, including photographs and planning diagrams, that document this effort. Other images in our new addition include area streets and the further document Pittsburgh's development of water treatment facilities.

More City Photographer Images Mounted Online

We added another 375 new images from the ULS Archives Service Center's Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection. Scanned from glass plate negatives by the ULS Digital Research Library, these images feature the construction of the Negley Run Sewer, the Atherton Avenue (Baum Boulevard) Bridge, Ross Pumping Station, as well as various views of Pittsburgh neighborhoods. This release includes images and street plans detailing the lowering of the Hump District in Downtown.

Welcome Oakmont Carnegie Library as a New Partner!

We welcome Oakmont Carnegie Library as our 7th local institution to contribute images to Historic Pittsburgh. They contributed an initial 677 images to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections site with more on the way. The core of the Oakmont Historical Image Collection is made up of more than 1,000 photographs, postcards, and other images owned by the Oakmont Carnegie Library Archives. However, in the interest of providing the most complete photographic record of Oakmont and the surrounding area, some photographs included in this project have been provided by various local businesses and organizations as well as private collectors. Welcome!

New Image Collection Added to Historic Pittsburgh

We added our 47th image collection to Historic Pittsburgh: Paul Slantis Photograph Collection. The collection, held by the Archives Service Center, contains 523 images taken by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette photographer Paul Slantis between 1946 and 1956. All the images originate from 4 x 5 inch safety negatives and depict a variety of Pittsburgh and regional scenes, including industry, streets, portraits, aerial shots, notable personalities, people and activities, and architecture. Many of the images were published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette during this timeframe.

Two More Image Collections Added to Historic Pittsburgh

We added two more image collections to Historic Pittsburgh, this time from the Library & Archives at the Senator John Heinz History Center. Otto�s Suburban Dairy collection is comprised of 86 images, dating from 1928-1968, that depict images of buildings, employees, machinery, products, and vehicles. Many of the photographs document machines and vehicles that the company was replacing with new models and technology. The Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Western Pennsylvania. collection contains 100 team photographs (1911-1989) from the Irene Kaufmann Settlement, Young Men and Women�s Hebrew Association, Pittsburgh Jewish Community Center, and various organized clubs. The team photographs are primarily basketball teams, but also include baseball, track, swimming, tennis, softball, and fencing.

More City Photographer Images Mounted Online

We added another 390 new images from the Archives Service Center's Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection. Scanned from glass plate negatives, these images from 1912 primarily document the lowering of the hump near Ross and Grant Streets and Fifth Avenue.

More City Photographer Images Mounted Online

We released another 509 digitized images from the Archives Service Center's Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection. Scanned from glass plate negatives, these images document significant changes in roads, infrastructure, and neighborhoods in Pittsburgh from 1911-1912. The images feature prominent projects such as the lowering of the hump in Downtown as well as the continued efforts to provide the city with modern water treatment, bridges, and roads. Photographic copies of plans and drawings are also included.

More City Photographer Images Mounted Online

We released another 463 digitized images from the Archives Service Center's Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection. These glass plate negatives depict many Pittsburgh neighborhoods and streets in 1911. There are now more than 5800 images from this photo collection online.

Videos Added to Historic Pittsburgh

We created a new component of Historic Pittsburgh to offer video content from partner institutions. To get started, the Historic Pittsburgh Video Collection presently contains 12 short film clips by Bill Beal, a Pittsburgh filmmaker active from the 1940s through the 1990s. The films belong to the Library & Archives at the Senator John Heinz History Center, who received an LSTA grant to support the reformatting of the films. We hope to mount more videos in the future from local collections.

Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection Updated

We added over one thousand images to our online collection of Pittsburgh City Photographer images. Most of these were scanned from the original glass plate negatives; others from the deteriorating acetate negatives. These latter images present a significant preservation challenge due to a process known as Cellulose-Acetate Film Deterioration or �Vinegar Syndrome� that affects the CP negatives created between 1931-1939. The Archives Service Center at Pitt selected 333 negatives which were conserved by the Chicago Albumen Works with support from the University Library System.

Downloading Historic Pittsburgh Maps

We have made it convenient to freely download maps from the Historic Pittsburgh Maps Collection as 200 dpi JPG images for noncommercial and educational purposes. Follow the Download Map link within each individual plate description to download a zip file containing the map image.

Remaining Hopkins Maps Added to Historic Pittsburgh

We have now completed scanning all of the known G.M. Hopkins Company maps published for Pittsburgh between 1872 and 1940. We added the remaining twelve real estate plat maps to the Historic Pittsburgh Maps Collection. They include Volume 1 and Volume 2 from 1889 (City of Pittsburgh), 1895 (eastern vicinity), 1896 (southern vicinity), 1897 (northern vicinity), Volume 3 from 1900 (City of Pittsburgh), Volume 4 from 1901 (City of Pittsburgh), Volume 1 from 1907 (Allegheny City), Volume 3 and Volume 4 from 1911 (City of Pittsburgh), Volume 8 from 1915 (eastern vicinity), and Volume 11 from 1940 (northwest vicinity). All 46 volumes (1,820 plates) can be browsed here.

Two New Image Collections from the Library & Archives at the Heinz History Center

Today we added two new collections from the Library & Archives at the Heinz History Center to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections:

The Hebrew Institute Photographs collection contains 27 photographs spanning 1915-1984 that document school classes, the laying of the cornerstone, and the Hebrew Institute's first school bus.

The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago Railway Company Photographs collection contains 248 photographs, spanning 1903-1924, depicting railroad construction projects, bridges, and stations.

More Hopkins Maps Added to Historic Pittsburgh

As part of an ongoing effort to identify and digitize all the Hopkins maps produced for Pittsburgh between 1872 and 1940, we added eight more real estate plat maps of Pittsburgh created by the G.M. Hopkins Company to the Historic Pittsburgh Maps Collection. They include an 1882 atlas; Volume 3, Volume 4 and Volume 5 [1890]; Volume 1 [1898]; Volume 2 [1899]; a 1910 atlas; and Volume 2 [1914]. Twelve more volumes will be coming soon in the following months.

Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection Updated

We are pleased to announce the largest update to the Archives Service Center's online Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection with the addition of nearly 2,000 digitized images. The new images are part of an initiative to reformat all the glass plate negatives in the Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection (AIS.1971.05) to facilitate preservation and access. The images found in the newest addition, which represent the earliest ones in the collection (1901-1908), document improvements to city infrastructure, such as the construction of the Aspinwall and Ross Pumping Stations, the development and condition of roads in many neighborhoods (e.g., Shadyside, Point Breeze, and Morningside, among others), and residents and construction workers in these neighborhoods.

Ancestors: House-by-House Search Retraces an Ancestor

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer Patricia Lowry wrote about her use of the Historic Pittsburgh website in tracing Joanne Baker's great-grandfather, Timothy D. Casey. She cites several publications from the website, including city directories. Read article.

Improvements Using the Hopkins Maps

To improve your experience navigating the G.M. Hopkins Company Maps, we now offer viewing of the maps through the Zoomify interface. This enables a big improvement when zooming and moving around in a map. We also now offer two methods for browsing the Hopkins maps. In addition to browsing the maps using the Index page, we offer thumbnail browsing of entire volumes. Also note that you can now freely download map plate images as 200 dpi JPEG files for noncommercial and educational purposes.

HSWP Catalog Now Hosted by Heinz History Center

The Library & Archives at the Heinz History Center now serves its own online catalog to users of their library collection. The HSWP Catalog, as it has been known on Historic Pittsburgh, was hosted for many years by the ULS Digital Research Library; it is now hosted independently by the Heinz History Center. Please visit their new online catalog to search for books, archival collections, periodicals, and more from their collection.

Separate Search for Historic City Directories

To improve the usefulness of our full-text search, we have separated the full-text City Directories into a new collection that may be searched alone, or in combination with the Historic Pittsburgh General Text Collection. The Historic Pittsburgh City Directories collection contains 125 directories published between 1815 and 1945. The majority of the directories were published by J.F. Diffenbacher and R.L. Polk & Company. While most of the directories cover Pittsburgh and Allegheny City, a portion includes Homestead and nearby boroughs.

To search the directories alone, simply visit the collection's home page; to search directories in combination with all Historic Pittsburgh full-text content, visit the Historic Pittsburgh Full-Text page.

New Image Collection Released

Today we added a new image collection from the Archives Service Center at the University of Pittsburgh to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections: Ken Kobus Photograph Collection. The online collection features 246 images documenting the railroad and steel industries in Pennsylvania taken primarily during the 1980s and early 1990s. CONRAIL and the LTV Steel Company are the main focus of the collection while secondary points of interest include the Pennsylvania Railroad, Union Pacific Railroad, Amtrak, and Union Switch and Signal.

Historic Pittsburgh Chronology Updated

The Historic Pittsburgh Chronology was updated to include events from 2008.

Chatham University Archives Image Collection Updated

Chatham College has added new images to the Historic Pittsburgh image collection.

Chatham Image Collection Updated

Chatham College has added new images to the Historic Pittsburgh image collection.

Welcome Point Park University Archives as a New Partner!

We welcome Point Park University Archives as our sixth local institution to contribute images to Historic Pittsburgh. They contributed an initial 98 images to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections site. The online collection represents the dynamic life of Point Park University and the surrounding area.

New Archival Finding Aids from the Archives Service Center

The Archives Service Center at the University of Pittsburgh has added 49 new archival finding aids (and updated 30 others) to the Historic Pittsburgh Finding Aids Collection.

Latest Additions Push Full-Text Collection Over 1,000 Items

In 2008, we nearly doubled the number of books in our Historic Pittsburgh Full-Text Collection. There are currently 1,039 volumes available online, totalling 272,996 pages, all of them full-text searchable. Use this link to see only items added in 2008.

New Archival Finding Aids from the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania

The Library and Archives of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania has added 30 new archival finding aids to the Historic Pittsburgh Finding Aids Collection.

Two New Image Collections Released

Today two new image collections from the Archives Service Center at the University of Pittsburgh were added to Historic Pittsburgh:

The Bruce Drisbach images depict the construction of the American Steel & Wire Company building, equipment, and worker housing construction in Donora.

The Progress Photographs show the construction of the William Penn Hotel in chronological order, including the groundbreaking ceremony held on July 7, 1914. The photographs in this album were taken every two weeks to show construction progress.

Historic Pittsburgh Chronology Updated

The Historic Pittsburgh Chronology was updated to include events from 2007.

Historic Pittsburgh Maps in the Darlington Digital Library

Of the hundreds of maps now available in this collection, over 70 of them were created in the mid-18th through early-20th centuries and depict Pittsburgh or Allegheny County, including maps of Fort Pitt, plans of Pittsburgh, maps of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, Bird's-eye maps of Carnegie, Duquesne, Glassport, Homestead, and other western Pennsylvania cities.

Chatham Image Collection Updated

Chatham College has added new images to the Historic Pittsburgh image collection.

Chatham Image Collection Updated

Chatham College has added new images to the Historic Pittsburgh image collection.

Chatham Image Collection Updated

Chatham College has added new images to the Historic Pittsburgh image collection.

Chatham Image Collection Updated

Chatham College has added new images to the Historic Pittsburgh image collection.

New Books Added

We are adding books to the Historic Pittsburgh Full-Text Collection on a weekly basis. To see a list of new books, please visit this link.

Historic Pittsburgh Celebrates Pittsburgh's 250th Anniversary

In recognition of Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary, we are adding hundreds of newly digitized titles to the full-text collection throughout the year. Today, we added 157 new titles. The 250th anniversary marks the naming of the city by General John Forbes. In 1758, shortly after taking possession of the abandoned remnants of French Fort Duquesne at the Point, Forbes named the city in honor of the English Prime Minister Sir William Pitt.

Three New Image Collections Added and Updates

We added three new Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections and updated a fourth. Images are now available from the Archives Service Center's Pittsburgh Print Collection and Rust Engineering Company Records as well as from the Heinz History Center's Charles M. Stotz Collection. We also added 181 images to the Frank B. Fairbanks Rail Transportation Archive from the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation.

Historic Pittsburgh Chronology Updated

The Historic Pittsburgh Chronology was updated to include events from 2006.

"Zoomify" View Added To Maps

Two of our map collections now use the "Zoomify" tool for map viewing. Zoomify allows for dynamic zooming and panning within a high-resoultion map image, without the need to reload the entire page each time. A navaigation thumbnail shows which section of the map is currently on display. Give it a try, and let us know what you think. The two map collections using Zoomify are the City of Pittsburgh Geodetic and Topographic Survey and Maps from the Report of the Flood Commission of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, 1912.

New Finding Aids Added

We added 16 new archival finding aids from the University of Pittsburgh's Archives Service Center to the Historic Pittsburgh Finding Aids Collection.

New Partner and Image Collection Added

We welcome Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation as a new institutional partner contributing images to our Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections site. Today we released a collection of images from The Frank B. Fairbanks Rail Transportation Archive. This online collection contains slides taken by Mr. Fairbanks between 1948 to 1987 that document train engines and stations in the western Pennsylvania area. He spent his entire adult life riding, documenting, and collecting material from rail lines all over the world.

Upgraded Format for Historic Pittsburgh News

We've upgraded the Historic Pittsburgh News page to use a blogging software tool (we're using blosxom). As a result, you can now subscribe to an RSS feed of our news items. If you're not familiar with RSS feeds or how to read them, these Wikipedia articles on RSS and aggregators (feed readers) will get you started.

Also, please note that the URL to the news page has changed to
http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/news/historic_pittsburgh/.
Please update your bookmarks and links accordingly.

New Additions to Full-Text Collection

We added a collection of Homestead city directories as well as a history of Crafton to the Historic Pittsburgh Full-Text Collection.

Two New Map Collections Released

We added two new map collections to Historic Pittsburgh. The City of Pittsburgh Geodetic and Topographic Survey Maps (1923-1961) contain 171 plates that depict contours and spot heights of much of Allegheny County. The Flood Commission of Pittsburgh maps (1912) contain 14 plates produced as part of the Report of the Flood Commission. They depict the results of the surveys, investigations and studies made by the commission for the purpose of determining the causes of, damage by, and methods of relief from floods in the Allegheny, Monogahela and Ohio rivers at Pittsburgh.

Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections Update

We added 83 new images to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections from the following collections: Darlington Family Photographs, Kingsley Association, Pittsburgh City Photographer, and University Archives.

Bungee View and Image Collection Updates

In conjunction with CMU research scientist Mark Derthick, we now offer an experimental visualization prototype called Bungee View for viewing selected Historic Pittsburgh image collections.

We also added 133 new images to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections from the following collections: Chatham College Archives, Darlington Family Photographs, Kingsley Association, Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad, Edward J. Shourek, and University Archives.

Two New Image Collections Released, and Updates

We released two new Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections from the Archives Service Center at the University of Pittsburgh: CONSOL Energy Mining Archives and the Edward J. Shourek Collection. We also added 97 new images from the Pittsburgh City Photographer collection and Chatham College Archives.

Chronology Updated

The Historic Pittsburgh Chronology was updated to include events from 2005.

New Finding Aids Added

We added 62 new archival finding aids from the University of Pittsburgh's Archives Service Center to the Historic Pittsburgh Finding Aids Collection.

Image Collections Updated

We added a total of 147 new images from the Chatham College Archives collection as well as the Pittsburgh City Photographer and UE News collections held by the Archives Service Center at the University of Pittsburgh to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections.

New Partner and Image Collection

We welcome Chatham College Archives as a new institutional partner contributing images to our Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections site. Today we released a small collection of images that begins to chronicle the students, faculty, and college community as academic pursuits, college events, student life and social activities have grown and changed throughout the college's history. More images will be added to the site in the coming months.

New Image Collection and Updates

A new Historic Pittsburgh Image Collection was added documenting the city of Pittsburgh in the 1940�s and 1950�s before and after smoke control ordinances were passed regulating the burning of coal: Smoke Control Lantern Slides. We also added 205 new images to the Pittsburgh City Photographer and University Archives collections maintained by the Archives Service Center at the University of Pittsburgh.

Image Collections Updated

200 new images from the following collections held by the Archives Service Center at the University of Pittsburgh were added to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections: Pittsburgh City Photographer, Irene Kaufmann, and University Archives.

Image Collections Updated

160 new images from the following collections held by the Archives Service Center at the University of Pittsburgh were added to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections: University Archives and Kingsley Association.

New Finding Aids Added, Plus Updates

19 new archival finding aids from the University of Pittsburgh's Archives Service Center were added to the Historic Pittsburgh Finding Aids Collection. In addition, 17 finding aids that were already online were updated.

New Image Collection, Plus Updates

A new Historic Pittsburgh Image Collection was added documenting the Union Switch & Signal strike in June 1914. We also added twenty-nine new images to the Father Cox and Pittsburgh City Photographer collections maintained by the Archives Service Center at the University of Pittsburgh.

Image Collections Updated

122 new images from the Pittsburgh City Photographer collection held by the Archives Service Center at the University of Pittsburgh were added to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections.

Historic Pittsburgh Poster Session

DRL Coordinator Ed Galloway presented a poster session on Historic Pittsburgh at The Library in Bits and Bytes: Digital Library Symposium held at the University of Maryland on 29 September 2005. The conference proceedings are now available.

Image Collections Updated

190 new images from the following collections held by the Archives Service Center at the University of Pittsburgh were added to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections: Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Company, University Archives, and Pittsburgh City Photographer.

Image Collections Updated

53 new images from Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Company collection held by the Archives Service Center at the University of Pittsburgh were added to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections.

Image Collections Updated

239 new images from several collections maintained by the Archives Service Center at the University of Pittsburgh were added to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections.

Image Collections Featured in D-Lib Magazine

The November issue of D-Lib Magazine features the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections.

New Collections Added to Image Collections

Two new collections were added to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections: Photographs of the Darlington Family and Union Arcade Building Photographs. We also added 51 new images to the Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection and the Spencer Family Collection.

New Browse Feature in Full-Text Collection

The Full-Text Collection includes new methods to browse the books by author, genre type, category, date published, and more!

Image Collections Updated

Eighty-nine new images from the UE News Photograph collection were added to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections.

Chronology Updated

The Historic Pittsburgh Chronology was updated to include events from 2004.

Image Collections Updated

We added 208 new images to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections.

Chronology Updated

The Historic Pittsburgh Chronology was updated to include events from 2004.

New Finding Aids Added

Forty new archival finding aids from the University of Pittsburgh's Archives Service Center were added to the Historic Pittsburgh Finding Aids Collection. In addition, 24 finding aids that were already online were updated.

New Feature for Teachers

A new feature of Historic Pittsburgh gives teachers of American history Suggested Classroom Applications for incorporating the site in their lesson plans.

New Image Collection and Updates

Pittsburgh Railways Company was added to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections. Plus 236 new images were added to existing collections.

Image Collections Updated

We added 241 new images to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections.

Image Collections Updated

We added 400 new images to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections.

Historic Pittsburgh Images Featured in Post-Gazette

Picturing Pittsburgh: Two-year collaboration makes century of images available online (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 12/21/04)

Image Collections Updated

We added 493 new images to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections.

New Finding Aids Added

Sixty-six new finding aids were added to the Historic Pittsburgh Finding Aid Collection from the Archives Service Center.

Image Collections Featured in University Times

Birth of a campus historical photos (University Times, 9/16/04)

Image Collections Released

The Image Collections component of Historic Pittsburgh was officially released. [read the press release]

Historic Pittsburgh in the News

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review publishes two articles relating to Historic Pittsburgh: Electronic digitization of records brings past into present and Technology key in converting historic documents to Internet.

New Explore Feature for Image Collections

An Explore Pittsburgh by Location feature has been added to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections.

FAQ Created

A Frequently Asked Questions page has been created. Please check this page to see if your question can be answered before contacting us.

Explore Personalities Added to Image Collections

An Explore Personalities in Pittsburgh feature has been added to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections.

HSWP Catalog Updated

The online catalog of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania has been updated to include over 29,000 records.

Explore the Image Collections

An Explore feature has been added to the Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections.

Home Page Re-design

The Historic Pittsburgh home page has been updated with a new look.

Image Collections Beta Release

The website now comprises a new component: Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections. This beta release provides access to several thousand visual images of the Pittsburgh region.

New Finding Aids Added

166 new or revised finding aids were added to the Historic Pittsburgh Finding Aids Collection. The finding aids came from both the University of Pittsburgh Archives Service Center and the Archives of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania.

New Volume Added to Hopkins Map Collection

1902 Volume 2: Wards 9, 10, 11, 14 & 15 added to the Maps Collection.

Chronology Updated

In collaboration with the Heinz History Center, the Chronology has been updated to include events from 2002.

New Volume Added to Hopkins Map Collection

1939 Volume 3 - City of Pittsburgh Comprising the Wards 8, 10, 11, 12 & 13 added to the Maps Collection.

Full-Text Collection Updated

43 new books were added to the Full-Text Collection, bringing the total number of texts in the collection to 521.

New Volume Added to Hopkins Map Collection

1939 Volume 2 - City of Pittsburgh Comprising the Wards 7, 14 & 15 added to the Maps Collection.

Full-Text Collection Interface Update

The Full-Text Collection now features a new and improved interface for searching, viewing and manipulating items in the collection. Some of the new features include searching within a single text; tracking your search history, converting page images into PDFs for improved printing; and placing selected texts in a session-based "bookbag."

New Finding Aids Added

61 finding aids from the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania have been added to the Finding Aids Collection.

New Finding Aids Added

30 finding aids from the University of Pittsburgh Archives Service Center have been added to the Finding Aids Collection.

HSWP Catalog Updated

The online catalog of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania has been updated to include over 27,000 records.

New Volume Added to Hopkins Map Collection

1917 Volume 7 - South Side and Southern Vicinity (West Half) added to the Maps Collection.

Finding Aids COllection Interface Updated

The Finding Aids Collection has been updated with new functionality and a new look. Searching and display of the collection is now handled by the latest version of DLXS finding aids class middleware.

New Volume Added to Hopkins Map Collection

1916 Volume 6 - Southside and Southern Vicinity of Pittsburgh added to the Maps Collection.

New Finding Aids Added

39 finding aids from the Historic Society of Western Pennsylvania have been added to the Finding Aids Collection.

Full-Text Collection Updated

42 new books have been added to the Full-Text collection.

New Volume Added to Hopkins Map Collection

1901 Volume 1 - City of Allegheny: Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12 & 13 added to the Maps Collection.

New Map Volume Added to Hopkins Map Collection

1886 - Atlas of the Vicinity of Pittsburgh and Allegheny Pennsylvania added to the Maps Collection.

HSWP Catalog Updated

The online catalog of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania has been updated to include a total of 23,800 records.

New Volumes Added to Hopkins Map Collection

Three volumes of Hopkins Plat Maps have been added to the Maps Collection:

Chronology Updated

In collaboration with the Heinz History Center, the Chronology has been updated to include events from 2001.

Warrantee Atlas Released

The Warrantee Atlas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 1914 is now available in the Historic Pittsburgh Maps Collection.

New Finding Aids Added

42 finding aids from the University of Pittsburgh Archives Service Center have been added to the Historic Pittsburgh finding aids collection.

Full-Text Collection Updated

39 books have been added to the Historic Pittsburgh full-text collection.

Full-Text Collection Updated

64 books have been added to the Historic Pittsburgh full-text collection.

Reproductions of Hopkins Maps Available

The University of Pittsburgh, in partnership with Chapman Corporation, is pleased to announce that reproductions of the G. M. Hopkins plat maps are now available for sale.

New Volume Added to Hopkins Map Collection

1934 - Southern Vicinity of Pittsburgh added to the Maps Collection.

Images Added to Chronology

Images illustrating specific events have been added to the Chronology. Images are courtesy of the Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania.

New Volume Added to Hopkins Map Collection

1905 - Southern Vicinity of Pittsburgh added to the Maps Collection.

Chronology Released

Historic Pittsburgh announces a new component to the website: an online chronology. The chronology, consisting of over 3,100 entries from 1717 to 2000, is drawn from the fifth edition of Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City by Stefan Lorant, renowned photojournalism pioneer and author. The chronology can be browsed by decade and year, or searched by keyword and date.

New Full-Text Additions

Forty-one books have been added to the Historic Pittsburgh full-text collection.

New Interface for Site

Historic Pittsburgh announces a new interface for the entire site. Navigation bars allow easier access to all parts of the site. In addition, the Maps Collection has added a new search feature allowing you to search by street or building name. The Map View pages also have added features including a Navigational View and lists of buildings and landmarks found on each map.

Reproductions of Historic Pittsburgh Texts Available

Brookhaven Press, in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh, has announced that digital reproductions of the books in the University�s Historic Pittsburgh Full-Text Collection are now available for sale.

New Volume Added to Hopkins Maps Collection

1923 Volume 1 - Greater Downtown and Eastern Vicinity added to the Maps Collection.