Guide to the Irma D'Ascenzo Papers, 1944-1991 AIS.2018.04

Arrangement

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Irma D'Ascenzo Papers
Creator
D'Ascenzo, Irma
Collection Number
AIS.2018.04
Extent
5 Linear Feet (6 manuscript boxes, 4 oversize folders)
Date
1944-1991
Date
1956-1970
Abstract
The Irma D'Ascenzo Papers document the civic and political career of Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Irma D'Ascenzo between 1944-1991.
Language
English .
Author
Jon Klosinski.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Business Number: 412-648-3232 (Thomas) | 412-648-8190 (Hillman)
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Jon Klosinski in 2018.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Joan M. McDonald in 2018.

Copyright

The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.

Biography

Irma Manella D'Ascenzo was a politician and civic leader who served as the first female Pittsburgh City Council member between 1956-1970.

Born to an Italian-American family in Pittsburgh's Hazelwood neighborhood in 1905, D'Ascenzo attended Cathedral High School and graduated from Duff's Business College along with studying Business Administration at University of Pittsburgh. After college, she worked as Secretary and Chief Examiner of the Civil Service Commission of the City of Pittsburgh. Inspired by interests in civic affairs, government and politics, D'Ascenzo remained active in the Democratic Party for her entire career. Her political engagements included service in the Speaker's Bureau of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee along with being an Executive Board Member of the Democratic Women's Guild where she would eventually become Vice President. Other political posts included a term as Legislative Chairman for the Pennsylvania Federation of Democratic Women, delegate or alternate delegate to the Democratic National Conventions from 1944 to 1968 and membership in the Democratic Nationality Committee of Allegheny County.

In 1956, D'Ascenzo was appointed by Mayor David L. Lawrence to serve as a member of the City Council of Pittsburgh, becoming the first women to hold such a position. Her enterprise and quick grasp of municipal problems won the admiration of both citizens and colleagues and earned her election for a two-year term in 1957 followed by a full four-year term in 1959. During her time as council member, D'Ascenzo served as chair of the Parks, Recreation and Library Committee, overseeing funding and zoning projects in the city and working to improve and expand recreational facilities for youths city-wide. She also played an aggressive role in providing new and expanded facilities for senior citizens, leading to her appointment as a delegate to the President's White House Conference on the Aging.

Among D'Ascenzo's numerous civic activities was her work as founder and President of the Consolata Mission Women's Auxiliary, which helped young Italian priests prepare for missionary work in Africa through a graduate degree program at Duquesne University. During World War II, she was staff assistant to for the Red Cross Foreign Inquiry Department, Executive Secretary for the Western Pennsylvania Polio drives and Vice-Chairman of the Western Pennsylvania Committee for the Boy's Towns of Italy, for which she was awarded the Star of Solidarity from the Republic of Italy. Other civic engagements included executive service in the Catholic Laymen's Association, Gumbert School for Girls, Governor's Committee on Children and Youth, Allegheny County Smoke Control Advisory Committee, Allegheny County Housing Authority and Redevelopment Authority and Carnegie Museum and Libraries. In 1968, D'Ascenzo became the first female president of the National Council of the University of Pittsburgh, which oversees the Cathedral of Learning's Nationality Rooms. The next year, she became the first acting female council president, temporarily filling in for the regular president when he became hospitalized.

D'Ascenzo died suddenly after a car accident on March 1, 1970. She was married to Frank D'Ascenzo (1901-1967), a construction supervisor for the Allegheny County Works Department. They had three children, John J. D'Ascenzo (1927-2005), who served as Executive Vice President of Winkleman's department store in Detroit, Michigan, Rosemary D'Ascenzo (1925-), who served as Chairwoman of the City Planning Commission, and Frances J. D'Ascenzo (1924-1924).

Arrangement

The Irma D'Ascenzo Papers are organized in six series:

Series I. Pittsburgh City Council (1956-1970)

Series II. Political Organizations (1944-1970)

Series III. Civic and Professional Organizations (1945-1971)

Series IV. Personal (1940s-1970s)

Series V. Rosemary D'Ascenzo (1970-1991)

Series VI. Photographs (1950s-1960s)

Scope and Content Notes

The Irma D'Ascenzo Papers document the political career of Irma D'Ascenzo, a Pittsburgh City Councilwoman between 1956 and 1970 as well as her daughter Rosemary D'Ascenzo, who served on the Pittsburgh City Planning Commission between 1965 and 1991. The papers contain correspondence, newsclippings, photographs and subject files related to D'Ascenzo's political career and involvement in the Democratic Party as well her work in several major civic and professional organizations such as the Italian Sons and Daughters of America, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and Boys Town of Italy.

Preferred Citation

Irma D'Ascenzo Papers, 1944-1991, AIS.2018.04, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Pittsburgh (Pa.). City Council
    • Order Italian Sons and Daughters of America
    • Democratic Party (Pa.)
    • Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
    • WQED (Television station : Pittsburgh, Pa.)

    Personal Names

    • D'Ascenzo, Rosemary
    • D'Ascenzo, Irma

    Geographic Names

    • Allegheny County (Pa.) -- Politics and government
    • Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Politics and government
    • Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Officials and employees

    Other Subjects

    • Elections -- Pennsylvania -- Allegheny County
    • Civics
    • Women -- Pennsylvania -- Political activity
    • Women civic leaders -– Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Italian American women -- Political activity -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Italian American women -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh

Container List