Guide to the Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Greater Pittsburgh Photographs, 1907-2001
Arrangement
Repository
Heinz History Center
Title
Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Greater Pittsburgh Photographs
Creator
Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Greater Pittsburgh
Collection Number
msp389
Extent
40.0 linear feet(80 boxes)
Date
1907-2001
Abstract
The organization known as the Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Greater Pittsburgh, evolved from the Columbian Council School, Irene Kaufmann Settlement (IKS), Irene Kaufmann Centers (IKC), Young Men and Women's Hebrew Association (YMWHA), and Young Men and Women's Hebrew Association - Irene Kaufmann Centers (Y-IKC). In 1974, the name Y-IKC, was changed to the JCC. The JCC is a non-profit organization and is a beneficiary agency of the United Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh and the United Way of Allegheny County. The JCC is nonsectarian, as were the institutions that preceded it, and provides social and cultural services. The collection includes images of the board & officers, buildings, events, facilities, members, musicians, programs, and staff.
Language
The material in this collection is in English.
Author
The guide to this collection was written by Robert Stakeley.
Sponsor
The development of the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh project was made possible in part by a grant from the Fund for Jewish Cultural Preservation of the National Foundation for Jewish Culture.
For the historical sketch of the JCC, please see the finding aid for MSS #389.
Scope and Content Notes
The JCC of Greater Pittsburgh photographs are housed in eighty archival boxes and are arranged alphabetically in eight series. Series are designated for the Emma Kaufmann Camp, Henry Kaufmann Family Recreation Park and James & Rachel Levinson Day Camp, Irene Kaufmann Settlement to the Irene Kaufmann Centers, JCC of Greater Pittsburgh, South Hills Jewish Community Center, YMWHA of Pittsburgh, Y-IKC, and Y Music Society. These parallel the designated series for the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh collection [MSS #389]. Individual folder titles within each series are arranged alphabetically and/or chronologically. The collection includes images of the board & officers, buildings, events, facilities, members, musicians, programs, and staff.
Every attempt was made to maintain the original arrangement of the various components of this collection. Those photographs from the pre-JCC days, which comprise approximately half of the collection, are organized by institution, when possible, and by program.
The negatives and photographs from the JCC years arrived organized in part, by year, by program, and by the age of those pictured. To the extent possible, those images which had not been organized were categorized according to this scheme: by year (or in some cases) decade; by age group; and by program.
The final arrangement was guided by the original organization of the photos. In some cases the photograph and corresponding negative were stored separately. In other cases, images of various programs are found on one negative strip. Some photographs have few or no identifying features. For instance, a picture of young children might not indicate the year of the photograph or where it was taken. In these cases, the archivist sorted by subject and program and by estimating the year of participation.
Related material from the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh collection which has been arranged separately (such as published materials, manuscript records, and oversized materials) is cross referenced with the photograph collection.
In all cases, it is necessary to be aware of the arrangement of the photographs to access images successfully. For instance, a basketball photo might be arranged by the subject heading of the sport, by age of those participating, and by program year or decade.
Series I: Emma Kaufmann Camp (1908 - )
Photographs of campers and staff at each of the three locations of the camp are well represented within this series. Although most of the photographs are not identified by individual camper or staff member, there are some groups of images in which individual campers and staff members are identified.
Images in this series will also include those from the senior adult outings to the camp. Additional camp and senior adult camp photographs can also be found under the "programs" and "senior" section of the JCC series. This series may also contain Laurel "Y" camp (1938-1961) photos since many of the photos were not labeled by camp site or by year.
Series II: Henry Kaufmann Family Recreation Park and James & Rachel Levinson Day Camp (1969 - )
Photographs of campers and staff are well represented within this series. In addition, images also document the construction and renovation of the site.
Series III: Irene Kaufmann Settlement (IKS) (1909 – 1956/1957) to Irene Kaufmann Centers (IKC) (1956/1957 – 1961)
Images of the IKS Centre Avenue location and the IKB (Irene Kaufmann Building on Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill) are present within this series. Because the name of the institution changed from the Irene Kaufmann Centers to the JCC, additional images of the IKB in Squirrel Hill can be found in the "building and construction" section in the JCC series. The initial 1959 building in Squirrel Hill was razed to build the succeeding building in 1986.
Photographs documenting the wide range of programming are the strength of this series. Program photographs have been separated by the type of program and by year or decade. However, during the years covered in this section, several facilities were in use. The locations of some of the photographs were not labeled. Therefore, some of the programs could have been part of the YMWHA programming and performed at the YMWHA.
Further separations of the photographs were made and include those for art and culture, clubs, health and welfare, sports, and staff. Club images include those from the Aaronians Club; Ace of Clubs; Argonne Club; Boys Club; Children adopted by Comitas Club; E.G. Meyers Club; Gateway Club; Girls Honor Club; Hamburg Club; Harding Club; Harding Midgets; Houston Club; Jolly Sports; Judge Cohen Club; Lincoln Club; Nautilus Club; Ovarb Association; Pioneer Club; Phoenix Club; Pollyanna Club Girls Honor Club; Superior; and Wilson Club.
Many of the photographs contained in the health and welfare section depict the Hill District neighborhood and include homes identified by street and address. Of note are the images of the Better Baby contest, Better Neighborhood contest, nursing services, and Milk Well. Images of Henry Kaufmann include celebrations of his birthday and other programs held by the IKS which he attended. Pictured is the presentation of a sculpture on July 12, 1939 of Henry Kaufmann done by Frank Vittor. The sculpture can be seen at the JCC in Squirrel Hill.
Series IV: JCC of Greater Pittsburgh [Irene Kaufmann Building] (1974 - )
The photographs of the JCC series are subdivided alphabetically into three subseries, which include administrative, departments, and programs. This is by far the largest series. Every attempt was made to maintain the original arrangement of this collection.
In addition to those photographs found under the "annual meeting" subject heading, additional images pertaining to the annual meetings may also be found in the JCC subseries "programs" within the year or decade separation. The 1985-1986 annual meeting folders include photos depicting the phonathon, board meeting, and tribute wall. The "buildings and construction" section includes photographs of the IKB from 1959 thru the 1990s. The 5738 Forbes Avenue building was initially an Irene Kaufmann Center. These images were placed in the JCC series since this initial IKB was operated as a JCC facility longer in duration. The second grouping of IKB images, beginning in 1986, depict the construction of the structure and includes images of all aspects including demolition of the previous building, construction of the new building, hard-hat tours, opening gala, moving, and staff. Later photographs document renovations at the site.
The "departments" subseries include over a thousand public relations department photographs or "head-shots," arranged alphabetically. This subseries consists of images of individuals, families, and musicians. Many of these photographs were used for publication and/or display purposes.
The "programs" subseries is separated by years, decade, and by program. Programs have been further separated by those participated in by adults, children and young adults including early childhood, and seniors. Programs involving all age groups were either separated by program or according to year. Program images may overlap those that can be found in the YMWHA series, since the JCC operated the YMWHA and used it as a facility even after it sold the building in 1984. Many of the slides in this subseries are identified by name of individual, program, event, and by date. Furthermore, many of the slides may also exist in print and/or negative format. In most cases, the photographs separated by date(s) include an array of programs and include all age groups. The 1986 designation for slides include images of the demolition and construction of the new JCC building, images of Mayor Caliguiri with his family, Art Rooney Sr., and images of the YMWHA building.
The health, physical education, and recreation (HPER) programs can also be found in the "physical education" section, among other related programs, and by examining the programs separated by year(s).
The early childhood (playschool/preschool/nursery school) images may include those of the Oliver M. and Freda T. Kaufmann Play School, East End IKC, and JCC morning playschool. These early childhood photographs include images of teachers, instructors, and day camps offered by the JCC. The "music/music lessons/music school" photos may overlap the "music school" subject heading and may also contain photographs pertaining to the Anna L. Perlow Music School. The physical education or HPER sections includes images of the health center. All ages and activities are included. Pictured are the weight room, exercise bicycles, lox and bagel weekend and reunion, triathlon, swimming, racquetball, Maccabi Youth Games, and volleyball. As noted above, the "seniors" program section will include photographs of outings to the EKC.
Series V: South Hills Jewish Community Center [Henry Kaufmann Bldg.] (1950s - )
The photographs in this series surround the programs held at this site. A few of the images are identified. The 1981-1982 programs folder documents the open house and opening ceremony of the center in the former Bower Hill Civic Club at 1600 Bower Hill Road in Mt. Lebanon.
Series VI: Young Men and Women's Hebrew Association of Pittsburgh (YMWHA) (1910-1961)
The photographs within this series depict the administration, building, ceremonies and dedication, clubs, committees, and programming. The images of the programs offered by the YMWHA and held there represent more than half of the total number of photos in this series. As in previous series, further separations were made for adults, children and young adults, and seniors. The YMWHA images represent those programs that could be easily identified as those taking place at the YMWHA building. The YMWHA building was used as a facility for programs from 1926 until a few years after the building was sold in 1984. The YMWHA building was a facility of the Y-IKC and JCC. For these reasons, images, especially those pertaining to programming at the building, may also be found in the Y-IKC and JCC series.
Series VII: Young Men and Women's Hebrew Association - Irene Kaufmann Centers (Y-IKC) (1961-1974)
Images, especially those pertaining to programming, are arranged in this series for those years that the Y-IKC was in existence. The YMWHA building was used as a Y-IKC and JCC facility. Images may overlap those found in the YMWHA and JCC series.
The 1966 construction of the East End IKC was placed in this series because that event occurred during the Y-IKC years. Programs, as in the other series, were further separated into those participated by adults, children and adults, and seniors. The early childhood ("playschool/preschool/nursery school") images may include the Oliver M. and Freda T. Kaufmann Play School, East End IKC, and JCC morning playschool. These early childhood photographs include images of teachers, instructors, and day camps offered by the Y-IKC. Those photographs pertaining to seniors will also include photographs of outings to the EKC. Additional Anathan House images can also be found interspersed within the photographs separated by year.
Series VIII: Y Music Society (1926-2004)
Photographs within this series are primarily of musicians who performed as part of the Y Music Society. Of note, some of the photographs are autographed by the musician and these have been noted accordingly in the container list. Additional photographs of musicians may also be in the public relations department profiles or "head shots" in the JCC series.
Conditions Governing Access
No Restrictions.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These items came in five accessions:
Acc.# 2001.0186 Gift of the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh 2002.0186 Gift of the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh 2003.0075 Gift of the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh 2003.0221 Gift of Holy Family Institute 2003.0238 Gift of the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh 2011.0130 Gift of Robert Chamovitz
Note: for accessions after 2003 please see the addendums as inserted at the end of each finding aid.
Preferred Citation
Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Greater Pittsburgh Photographs, 1907-2001, msp389, Rauh Jewish Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center
Processing Information
Records have been arranged and inventory written by Robert Stakeley,March 17, 2007. Records have been arranged and inventory written by Robert Stakeley, February 19, 2005. Assistance in processing was provided by Cara Baldari, Rae Barent, Rick Erisman, Jonathan Halpern, Anita Lopatin, Susan Melnick, and Arthur Spiegel.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Separated Materials
For the complete list of separations please refer to the finding aid for the MSS.
