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Rare Martin Delany Signed Document
At the height of the movement to rid the nation of slavery – the abolitionist movement – Martin R. Delany was one of the more charismatic and practical leaders of…
Pittsburgh Gets a Tommy Gun, 1929
Sometimes an object becomes so associated with a certain era that it eventually symbolizes larger issues that shaped part of American history. For the 1920s, one such object was…
The Mystery of the McKeesport Menorah
A seven-branched electric menorah donated by the Iszauk family of White Oak, Pa. Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives at the Heinz History Center. The Rauh Jewish History Program…
From Cucina to Grocery Store: The Evolution of Pasta-Making in American Homes
A version of this article appeared in the Fall 2014 issue of Western Pennsylvania History magazine. October 25 is World Pasta Day For many people, Italian American culture is…
Quel Mazzolin di Fiori: I Campagnoli and the Italian American Folk Revival
I Campagnoli marching in a parade in downtown Pittsburgh, 1980s. I Campagnoli Papers & Photographs, Detre Library & Archives at the History Center. Gift of Mary Ferro. Musicologist Alan…
Could this be the oldest photograph of a Pittsburgher? … Maybe.
The original photo of the Rodman daguerreotype taken with a flash that helped bring out detail in the damaged plate. It is a “sixth plate” daguerreotype and measures 2.75…
Celebrate African American History at the History Center
The Heinz History Center’s African American Program is dedicated to the preservation, dissemination, and interpretation of the life, history, and culture of Africans and African Americans in Western Pennsylvania.…
It’s National Love Your Pet Day!
February 20 is a day of celebrations. In some years, it’s Presidents’ Day. It’s National Cherry Pie Day (George Washington’s supporters may have had something to do with that). For…
A Very Aluminum Christmas
An aluminum tree in the lobby of the Alcoa Building, 1966. Alcoa Company Photographs, MSP 282, Detre Library & Archives at the History Center. Emerging in the mid-1950s, aluminum Christmas…
Nativity Scenes From Around the World
Presepio, 1930s-1950s, Italian American Collection at the Heinz History Center. The History Center Italian American Collection’s 33 piece presepio was originally amassed by the Albini family of Vandergrift, Pa. A…