Special Collections Gallery

The Special Collections Gallery, located in the Sigo Falk Collections Center on the museum’s fourth floor, features the neighborhoods and people who define our region.

Thousands of objects, showcased in this open storage gallery, share the rich heritage of the people who settled this region and the stories of the communities they built.

The Special Collections Gallery also houses a changing textile gallery which features outstanding examples of clothing from the collection. In addition, a large window into the the Grace M. Compton Conservation Lab, provides behind-the-scenes views of museum professionals at work.

• Select artifacts from the popular children’s show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” including King Friday XIII’s Castle and the Great Oak Tree. (Learn more.)
• The paintings and experiences of artist Ron Donoughe in the “90 Pittsburgh Neighborhoods” display.
• A 1941 Cadillac hearse from the Gaines Funeral Home, one of the oldest continuously operating African American businesses in the region.
• Interactive drawers that visitors can open to discover archeological pieces collected during construction of the Port Authority’s Gateway Center station.
• Brightly colored Slovak folk costumes with beautiful handwork and a Slovenian Kurent costume worn during Pust or carnival.
• Unique artifacts from regional businesses and corporations such as the eagle sculpture that once stood atop the H.J. Heinz Company’s Time Building on the North Side.
• Toys including circus figures made by the Schoenhut Company and given for Christmas to a Pittsburgher in 1915.
• An extraordinary stained glass window crafted by the Rudy Brothers Studio of Pittsburgh for the Vanadium Company Building in Oakland.
• The interior features from Machsekei Hadas synagogue.

• Jacob Evanson: Song Catcher
• The Mystery of the McKeesport Menorah
• Five Spooky Artifacts Perfect for Halloween
• Quel Mazzolin di Fiori: I Campagnoli and the Italian American Folk Revival
• Last Ride of Summer: West View Park and the Nostalgia for Lost Amusement Parks
• Picturing Protest: The Great Railroad Strike of 1877
• Could this be the oldest photograph of a Pittsburgher? … Maybe.
• Celebrate African American History at the History Center
• It’s National Love Your Pet Day!
• Your Ticket to the Inauguration
• Nativity Scenes From Around the World
• Riot Gear and Red Vests: Remembering 1968 with the Pittsburgh Police Collection

Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood

See the largest collection of original items from the “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” television set on public view. Featuring select artifacts from the popular children’s show, this display marks the first time these items are on long-term view.

Catherine Baker Knoll Fashions

The fashions of trailblazing politician Catherine Baker Knoll are now on display until June 30, 2019. The gallery showcases clothing from the life and career of Knoll, a McKees Rocks native who became the first and only woman to serve as lieutenant governor in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 2002 until her death in 2008.

90 Pittsburgh Neighborhoods

In 2013, artist Ron Donoughe set out to paint all 90 of Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods. Inspired by a map, he painted the neighborhoods in alphabetical order and completed the project within a single year in order to capture the changing seasons. See Donoughe’s paintings of 90 Pittsburgh neighborhoods when you visit the Special Collections gallery.