University of Pittsburgh Historic Photographs

What's online?

The University of Pittsburgh Historic Photographs collection contains images from 1810 to 2006 showing the history of the University, its buildings, student organizations, faculty, and athletic activities. Images were selected for how they visually document the history and activities of the University of Pittsburgh. Images chosen for the online collection are demonstrative of the programs, educational opportunities, and activities of the University's staff, faculty, students; other images were selected to show the changes in the campus over time through construction. Note that while the majority of selected images come from the University Archives, other selections represent material held by the ULS Special Collections Department, such as the Curtis Theater Collection.

About the University Archives

Built from an original collection of faculty-authored books called the "Pitt Collection," the University Archives collects the historical records of the University, including administrative files, records of student organizations and activities, faculty research and papers, and materials that reflect the social and cultural activities of the University community. Formally established in 1966, the University Archives comprises over 14,000 photographic images taken between 1888, when the University of Pittsburgh was known as the Western University of Pennsylvania, and the present. In addition to the photograph collection, the University Archives has over 4,000 cubic feet of paper records, 700 audiotapes, and over 2,300 motion picture films and videotapes. The collection includes paintings, blueprints, posters, artifacts and memorabilia, historical files, catalogues, and publications which document the University's earliest history as the Pittsburgh Academy in 1787, through its evolution into the Western University of Pennsylvania in 1819, to its emergence in 1908 as the University of Pittsburgh. Read more...