‘Here to Stay’ Explores Pittsburgh’s Architectural History
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Carnegie Mellon University’s exhibition, “Here to Stay: Celebrating 40 Years at the Architecture Archives 1984-2024(opens in new window),” highlights four decades of the collection, which was founded to create, conserve and promote the rich history of Pittsburgh’s buildings and tell part of the story of this dynamic city.
“We wanted to re-introduce people to our archives,” said Arts and Humanities Librarian and exhibit curator Lynn Kawaratani(opens in new window). “There is an extraordinary architectural history in Pittsburgh, but some of it gets lost as the city transforms. The only way to really access that ‘lost’ history is through the drawings, models and documents that still exist.”
The exhibit
The exhibit explores the city’s history by communicating ideas and information between clients, architects and builders in the drawings and other documents preserved by the archives..
Kawaratani divided the exhibit into three distinct phases, which mirror how architects work on projects. There is an exploration through sketchbooks and photography, ideas highlighting design concepts and models, and buildings showcasing completed architecture.
Associate Director, Creative Heidi Wiren Kebe(opens in new window), the exhibit’s art director, developed the visual language to help illustrate those three phases.
The exhibit includes some of the oldest and newest Pittsburgh structures, ranging from the Allegheny County Courthouse and Jail from 1883 to CMU’s Spring Carnival(opens in new window) Gateway in 2023. Along with historical structures, the exhibit includes more well-known local landmarks, such as the City Steps(opens in new window), Duquesne Incline and the mirrored spires of PPG Place.
The University Libraries held an opening reception(opens in new window) on May 23 in Hunt Library. Before the unveiling, Helen and Henry Posner, Jr. Dean of the University Libraries Keith Webster(opens in new window) moderated a panel about the exhibit and the future of the archives. The discussion included Martin Aurand, principal librarian emeritus at CMU Libraries, Gerard Damiani(opens in new window), associate professor in the School of Architecture(opens in new window), and Kawaratani.
The next 40 years
The Architecture Archives was founded in 1984 by Fine Arts Librarian Henry Pisciotta and Professor Richard Cleary as a collaborative project of Carnegie Mellon's University Libraries and School of Architecture.
Today, the archives continue to collect, conserve and promote the use of architectural records that document the architects and architecture of the Pittsburgh region. The Architecture Archives currently include thousands of drawings and blueprints, extensive files of manuscripts and photographs, and a number of architectural models.
Kawaratani hopes to expand that original mission to include more than sketches and models.
“There is a big community movement to save Pittsburgh’s history and the Architecture Archives has become a central hub for that,” she said. “I hope to increase representation in our collection, include new voices of the users of the spaces through oral history interviews and expand access through our online digital repository.”
The exhibit, on the fourth floor of Hunt Library, is on display through June 1, 2025. For more information, visit the exhibit’s website(opens in new window) or the Architecture Archives(opens in new window).
