Jim Papariello Photographs
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The online collection of the Jim Papariello Photographs contains a selection of images documenting Pittsburgh-area industrial facilities, television and radio newscasters, neighborhoods, and businesses.
What's in the entire collection?
The Jim Papariello Photographs are comprised of film negatives and photographic prints, in both black and white and color formats. The photographs primarily consist of commercial work done by Papariello and are divided into three series. Series I highlights buildings, businesses, and neighborhoods found throughout Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Series II contains Papariello's commercial studio photography. Subjects include the Pittsburgh Steelers, television and radio newscasters, and promotional material for businesses. Series III is entirely made up of photographs of Pittsburgh's steel and manufacturing industry facilities, including Westinghouse Airbrake Company, Mesta Machine Company, and US Steel.
About Jim Papariello.
Jim Papariello was a Pittsburgh photographer and owner of a photography studio in Pittsburgh's North Side neighborhood. Papariello began studying photography in the late 1950s after leaving the Navy. He worked initially for the noted photographer Harold Corsini while taking Fine Arts courses at the Carnegie Institute of Technology.
Papariello opened his own freelance photography business in the mid-1960s, taking advertising and industrial photographs for local companies such as Alcoa, Westinghouse, and Mesta Machine Company. As Pittsburgh’s economy transitioned to healthcare, Papariello worked with UPMC and other health care providers. In addition to his advertising and industrial work, Papariello also showed his more artistic photographs at galleries in the Pittsburgh area. Papariello’s first studio was at 209 9th Street, later moving to 810 Penn Avenue, and finally relocating to a building he purchased at 835 Western Avenue on the North Side. His work was featured several times on the cover of Pittsburgher Magazine. Papariello passed away on June 12, 2023.