Table of Contents Archives of Industrial Society Collections and Research Guides

Access

Certain collections held by the Archives Service Center are subject to donor, administrative, or conservation restrictions. Researchers should contact uls-archivesservicecenter@mail.pitt.edu or telephone 412-244-7091 in advance of any visit to ensure availability of any collection in which they are interested.

BUSINESS RECORDS

The business records currently in the Archives generally are small collections focusing on the late l9th and 20th centuries. In the recent past emphasis has been given to acquiring record series dealing with employee/employer relations and activities.

Access

Certain collections held by the Archives Service center are subject to donor, administrative, or conservation restrictions. Researchers should contact uls-archivesservicecenter@mail.pitt.edu or telephone 412-244-7091 in advance of any visit to ensure availability of any collection in which they are interested.

A.M. Byers Company, Personnel Records, 1905-1960

Bethlehem Mines Corporation, Police Department Reports, 1926-1935

R. Conrad Cooper Collection 1940-1970

Davidson Sand and Gravel Company, Records, 1881-1925

Fort Pitt Bridge Company, Records, 1896-1949

Graham and Cook Lumber Company, Records, 1891-1899

Francis E. Highton Collection, 1940-1980

Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation, Pittsburgh Works, Records, 1862-1901

Matthews and Torely Company, Records, 1889-1948

Monongahela Inclined Plane Co., Records,1863-1965

Oliver Iron and Steel Company Collection, 1866-1922

Pittsburgh Railways Company Collection, 1898-1971

Struntz Soap Company, 1861-1913

Timken-Detroit Axel Company, 1914-1918

USX Corporation Records (Duquesne Works and National Works), 1904-1990

ENVIRONMENTAL COLLECTIONS

Pollution Protest, Environmental Action Foundation, photograph by Robert Toker

The Archives has extensive holdings in environmental history, especially related to the urban environment. Most of these collections came from or through Samuel P. and Barbara Hays.

Access

Allegheny County Air Pollution Advisory Committee Collection, 1970-1977

Allegheny County Lead Survey Collection, 1971-1976

Robert Broughton Collection

Wyonna Coleman Collection (state/national coal mining)

Consolidated Coal Company. (CONSOL) coal mine maps and surveyors books, 1890's-

Marge Duck Collection

Environmental Action Foundation Records, 1970-1996

Environmental Affairs of England

Environmentals for Full Employment Collection

Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) Collection

William Guckert Collection

Samuel and Barbara Hays Environmental Collection. (Pennsylvania,

national/Canada/England including newsletters; specialized collections on acid rain,

forestry, and environmental affairs)

Carl Holcomb Collection

Michelle Madoff Collection, 1970-1977

Richard Pratt Collection, 1970-1997

Patricia Pelkofer Collection, 1969

Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Philadelphia Office, Collection

Gail Rockwood Collection (Pennsylvania issues)

Sierra Club, Pennsylvania Chapter and Allegheny Group, Collection

Smoke and Dust Abatement League of Pittsburgh Collection, 1912-191

Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

Abraham Wolk Collection, 1937-1963

WQED-TV, Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident, Video Collection, 1979

Wenatcheee National Forest, State of Washington, Environmental Action Foundation Collection, Photograph by Bill Asplund

GOVERNMENT, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVISM

Papers and records which document the political activity and participation of individuals and organizations are sources for study of the changing relationship of a citizenry with its government, the evolution of democratic participation, and the responsiveness of government to interest groups. The core group of the state and local government material consists of papers of local congressmen, state assemblymen, city/county government officials, together with the records of local presidential campaign committees and of local minority parties. The Dick Thornburgh Archives is a major addition to this area of research.

The Archives also holds collections documenting various movements and activities of local organizations and individuals on the right and left in politics, economics, religion, and social affairs.

Access

Americans for Democratic Action, Pittsburgh. Chapter, Political Campaign Records 1953-
1976
Homer S. Brown, State Representative and Judge, 1918-1977
Citizens for McGovern Campaign, Records 1972
William H. Coleman, Mayor of McKeesport, 1907-1914
Draft and War Resistance Movement Collection, 1966-1972
Robert J. Corbett, (1905-1971), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania, Republican) Congressional Papers, 1950-1971
James Ferlo, Pittsburgh City Council, Papers, 1990-
William Flinn (1851-1924), late l9th and early 20th century political boss in Pittsburgh, 1898-1921

James G. Fulton (1903-1971), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania, Republican), Congressional Papers, 1945-1971
Elmer J. Holland (1894-1968), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania, Democrat, Congressional Papers, 1956-1968
K. Leroy Irvis (19l9- ), Pennsylvania State Representative, Speaker of the House, Democrat, Legislative Papers, 1947-
Gerald Kaufman (1932- ), Pennsylvania House, Democrat) Legislative Papers, 1969-1972
Thomas F. Lamb (1922- ), Pennsylvania Senate, Democrat Legislative Papers, l968-l974
Thomas Merton Center, 1971-
Martin H. Park, Executive Director, Allegheny Conference on Community Development, 1945-1958
Peace and Freedom Center, Pittsburgh., Records 1967-1969
Peace and Freedom Party of Allegheny County, Records 1968
Pittsburgh Peace Institute Records, 1983-1997
Political and Social Activists Movements, 1968-1975
Post WW II Radical Movements Collection of Samuel P. Hays
Dick Thornburgh Archives, 1933-present
Western Pennsylvania Academic Council on Problems of War and Peace, Records, 1967
Women in Urban Crisis, Pittsburgh, Records, 1969-1985

INSTITUTIONAL RECORDS

Organizations and Societies

The religious, educational, scientific, and cultural institutions in a community create and receive a variety of records of interest to urban historians and sociologists. The Archives holds records of diverse organizations, associations, societies, club, and committees from the cultural, civic, economic, professional, recreational, volunteer and special interest sectors include:

Access

Certain collections held by the Archives Service Center are subject to donor, administrative, or conservation restrictions. Researchers should contact uls-archivesservicecenter@mail.pitt.edu or telephone 412-244-7091 in advance of any visit to ensure access to any collection in which they are interested.

A View of the Ohio River from the Point in 1927, AIS Pic File

Civic

American Service Institute Records, 1941-1961
Association of Community Councils, 1940-1947
Brashear Association, 1891-1978
Civic Club of Pittsburgh Records, 1896-1949
Community Chest of Allegheny County, 1937-1959
East End Education Committee, 1969-1972
Jewish Community Relations Council of Pittsburgh Records, 1928-1959
Kingsley Association Records, 1894-1966
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Pittsburgh Branch Records, 1940-1966
Neighborhood Centers Association Records, 1890-1954
Open Doors for the Handicapped Records (1950-1995)
Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children, Allegheny County, Chapter Records, 1952-1963
Pennsylvania Economy League, 1925-1985
Urban League of Pittsburgh Records, 1917-1968
Smoke and Dust Abatement League Records, 19l2-1918
Women's Christian Temperance Union Records, Coraopolis, Pa, l929-1954

Cultural

American Wind Symphony, 1959-
Pittsburgh Symphony Society Records, 1929-1960
Pittsburgh Drama League Records, 1914-1957

Fraternal

Italian Sons and Daughters of America Records, 1930-1955
United Russian Orthodox Brotherhood Association Society Records, 1915-1973
Swabian Beneficial Society Records, 1885-1952
Records of miscellaneous Western Pennsylvania lodges and groups such as the National Slovak Society, the Polish Falcons of America, and the Polish National Alliance

Philanthropic

Maurice and Laura Falk Foundation Records, 1931-l966
A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust Foundation Records, 1930-1980

Scientific

Allegheny Observatory, 1850-1970
Amateur Astronomers Association,
Herman Stearns Davis, 1893-1932

Social

Bloomfield Liedertafel Singing Society Records, 1904-l965 (microfilm)
Congress of Clubs and Club Women of Allegheny Co. Records, 1905-1963
Friendship Club Records, 1935-1976
Hadassah, Pittsburgh Chapter Records, 1917-1968
Javor Singing Society Records, 1909-1941 (microfilm)
National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh Section Records, 1893-1964
Pittsburgh Club Records, 1879 (1891-1936)
Pittsburgh Zionist District Records, 1945-1965

LOCAL PUBLIC RECORDS

During the formative years of the Archives of Industrial Society historical records of various local government offices were acquired:

Records, 1824-1907

Allegheny County

Office of the Coroner, Case Files, 1887-1973. 743 cubic feet. Please see the Case File Search Request Form (PDF) for information regarding access and searches of these records.
Official Election Return Books for the General, Municipal and Primary Elections, 1926-36, 1941-69
Inactive Voter Registration Records, 1934-1970)
County Jail, 1863-1932

City of Pittsburgh

Please see http://www.county.allegheny.pa.us/regwills/cert.asp concerning access and use of these records.

Returns of Marriages in the City of Pittsburgh, 1875-l909
Bureau of Building Inspection 1877-1928
City Photographer Collection (See Visual Images section)

MEDIA COLLECTIONS

The Point in 1916 Showing Manchester Bridges and the Exposition Buildings

The Archives Service Center contains visual images dating from the 1860s through present day. These images are in the form of negatives, prints, slides, film, and video. The collections, covering a wide variety of topics, document Pittsburgh regional history and industry.

Access

Allegheny Observatory Collection. Consists of 302 glass plate negatives dating from 1895-1920 containing views of the original and second Allegheny Observatory, telescopes, observatory employees, and other U.S. observatories.

John Gates Photographic Collection. Contains approximately 224 glass plate negatives and prints, c1890-c1910 of images of Pittsburgh landmarks, family portraits, celebrations and festivities, southwestern Pennsylvania railroad stations, horse drawn vehicles, and coal industry related engineering/construction projects.

The I.C. Woodard Docked at the Monongahela River Wharf, 1895, John Gates Photograph Collection

William J. Gaughan Collection. This is an extensive assortment of documents, photographs, films, architectural drawings, maps and negatives chronicling decades of operations at U.S. Steel's Homestead Works. The more than 22,000 photographs and negatives contain images taken of the plant, workers and activities surrounding the plant. In addition, the collection consists of plant operational floor plans and architectural drawings of plant buildings and machinery. Company publications, reports and internal memoranda shed light on employment practices. William J. Gaughan, a 36-year plant veteran serving in metallurgical and operations management, assembled the collection. An inventory to the collection is available.

Oliver M. Kaufmann Collection. This collection depicts the activities and growth of the Irene Kaufmann Settlement located in the Hill District section of Pittsburgh from 1912 to 1944. It contains over 3,000 black and white photographs of plays, sports, exhibits, dinners and other activities held at the settlement house as well as the Emma Farm Camp located in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. The Irene Kaufmann Settlement was the forerunner of the Jewish Community Center now located in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh. An item level inventory is available for this collection.

Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Photograph Collection. Consists of approximately 16,000 negatives as well as 500 black and white photographs and 2,000 feet of movie film. This very collection forms a photographic record of the P&LERR from 1905 to 1971. The railroad operated in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. Photographers for the P&LERR were interested in documenting rail stations, locomotives both inside and outside, rolling stock, shops and employees. This collection is arranged chronologically with an item level inventory.

Studebaker Automobile Salesmen Publicity Photo, August 25, 1937, Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Rail Road Collection

Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection. Contains approximately 100,000 negatives and prints. The collection documents Pittsburgh's changing landscape through images of building construction, road construction, sewer construction, and various city activities that took place in all parts of the city including, but not limited to, the Downtown, Oakland, Shadyside, Polish Hill and Squirrel Hill sections of Pittsburgh. The images, created by Photographic Division of the City of Pittsburgh's Department of Public Works between 1901 and 1959, came to the Archives in 1971. A partial inventory is available for the collection.

Note: The Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection will be closed for conservation reasons until October 1, 2001.

Spencer Family Photograph Collection. The collection contains 1,275 photographs dating from 1896-1911. Taken by Charles Hart Spencer, who worked for Henry Clay Frick, the images document the growth and activities of his family of seven children. A book, entitled "The Spencers of Amberson Avenue: A Turn of the Century Memoir" by Ethel Spencer was published in 1983, contains several of the images from the collection. A subject level inventory exists for this collection of nine photograph albums.

19^th Century Photographic Collections. The media collections are also home to approximately 1,600 19^th century photographic images dating from the 1860s through the turn of the 20^th Century. They are housed in five distinct collections as well as miscellaneous images including:

Moving Images Collections

KDKA Pitt Parade and Eyewitness News
WQED Newsroom and The Editors Series
Three Mile Island Videocassette Collection
Miscellaneous films on industrial safety and advertisements.

Guide to Selective Stark Media Services

The Monongahela River Wharf Before and During the 1936 Flood, AIS Pic File

ORAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS

The Archives has conducted and acquired a variety of oral history collections with a local genesis and focus.

Access

Certain collections in the Archives Service Center are subject to donor, administrative, or conservation restrictions. Researchers should contact uls-archivesservicecenter@mail.pitt.edu or telephone 412-244-7091 in advance of any visit to ensure availability of any collection in which they are interested.

The Stanton Balfour Oral History Collection, 1971-1973, containing transcripts and tapes of interviews conducted by the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh, with individuals connected with the post-World War II redevelopment of Pittsburgh.

Black Sport in Pittsburgh, 54 interviews conducted by Rob Ruck with individuals involved in Black sports activities in and around Pittsburgh.

Ethnic Fraternal Organizations Oral History Project, 1975-1977, conducted by the University of Pittsburgh Department of History, explored the roles and influences of ethnic fraternal organizations in the Jewish, Black, Croatian, Italian, Polish and other ethnic communities in the Pittsburgh area.

Homestead Album Oral History Project, 1976-1977 carried out by the Pennsylvania Ethnic Heritage Studies Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Renaissance Project.

National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh Section, Oral History Project #1, 1968-1975, records the immigrant experience of European-born Jews arriving in the United States between 1890-1920 and settling in Pittsburgh.

National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh Section, Oral History Project #2, 1971-, includes interviews with 251 members of Pittsburgh's Jewish community who contributed to the social, economic, cultural, scientific, or intellectual growth of Pittsburgh, the United States, and Israel.

Steve Nelson Oral History Project, 1977-1978 (1 ft. + 64 cassettes). Interviews by Robert Ruck and James Barrett with Steve Nelson (1903- ), radical political activist, industrial organizer, and one-time member of the Communist Party of the United States.

Southern Blacks' Migration to Pittsburgh, 1916 -1930, recorded by Peter Gottlieb for his dissertation on the same subject.

State and Local Government Oral History Program, 1997-.

Staff have conducted a series of interviews with elected and appointed political officials and other community and organizational officials involved with politics, primarily in Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania.

Through a grant from the Buhl Foundation in 1998-2000, a project - "Pittsburgh Region Politics and Government: 20^th Century Transitions" conducted more than 45 oral history interviews with local governmental and political officials.

Harvey Adams, Pittsburgh Housing Authority Police, President, NAACP
Alice Barr, Wife of Mayor Joseph Barr
Sam Begler, Pennsylvania Director of Personnel under Governor Shapp
William Block, Publisher,
Bryd Brown, President, NAACP and mayoral candidate
Aldo Colautti, Executive Secretary to Mayor Barr
Morton Coleman, City Planning Department, aide to Mayor Barr
Robert Colville, Judge and Superintendent of Police
Joseph L. Cosetti, City of Pittsburgh Treasurer
David Craig, Director of Pittsburgh DPS and Commonwealth Judge
David Donahoe, Pennsylvania Secretary of Revenue and Director of RAD
D. Michael Fisher, Pennsylvania Attorney General and State Representative
Jim Flaherty, Allegheny County Commissioner and Commonwealth Judge
Peter F. Flaherty, Mayor, City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County Commissioner
Tom Foerster, State Representative and Allegheny County Commissioner
Carolyn Franklin, Pennsylvania Commissioner on the Status of Women and Pennsylvania
Assistant Secretary of Welfare
Edward Gretz, Mayor of Whitaker
Nello Giorgetti, Lobbyist, City of Pittsburgh
Barbara Hafer, Pennsylvania Treasurer, Allegheny County Commissioner, and Pennsylvania Auditor General
Harold Haney, Democratic Committeeman, McCandless
Elsie Hillman, Chair, Allegheny County Republican Party
Ivan Itkin, State Representative
Rita Wilson Kane, Register of Wills
Phyllis T. Kernick, Mayor of Penn Hills and State Representative
James Knox, Allegheny County Controller
Bernard Kobosky, University of Pittsburgh, Vice Chancellor for Urban Affairs
Sylvia LaFranchi, Mayor of Wilkinsburg
Thomas Lamb, State Senator
Maurice Louik, Judge of Common Pleas
Frank Lucchino, Allegheny County Controller and Pittsburgh City Council
Sophie Masloff, Mayor, City of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh City Council. August 1998
David O'Laughlin, Pittsburgh Housing Authority during Flaherty administration
H. Sheldon Parker, Jr., State Representative
Robert Pease, Director of the Allegheny Conference
Wesley Posvar, Chancellor, University of Pittsburgh and Allegheny Conference
William H. Rea, President, Pittsburgh School Board
John Robin, Executive Secretary to Mayor David Lawrence
Adolph Schmidt, Vice President, Allegheny Conference and U.S. Amabassador
Nathan Schwartz, Judge of Common Pleas
Tim Shaffer, State Senator and Ben Franklin/IRC Partnership Board
Frieda Shapira, Pittsburgh Foundation and leader of Democrats for Roddey
Clarke Thomas, political journalist. March 1999
Dick Thornburgh, Governor of Pennsylvania and Attorney General of the United States
Sala Udin, Pittsburgh City Council
Cyril Wecht, Allegheny County Coroner and Allegheny County Commissioner