Guide to the Gerald Sapir Papers and Photographs, 1985-2005 [Bulk 1996-2000]
Arrangement
Repository
Heinz History Center
Title
Gerald Sapir Papers and Photographs
Creator
Sapir, Gerald
Collection Number
MSS 775
Extent
1.25 linear feet(Two boxes)
Date
1985-2005 [Bulk 1996-2000]
Abstract
Gerald (Jerry) Sapir has documented changes in the buildings housing Pittsburgh area businesses and synagogues as well as Jewish cemeteries in this personal collection of 12 photographic albums. In addition to photographs, the collection includes newspaper clippings, negatives and correspondence from area synagogues.
Language
The material in this collection is in English and Hebrew.
Author
The guide to this collection was written by Rebecca Potance.
Gerald (Jerry) Sapir was born in Pittsburgh in 1937, and grew up in East Liberty. He is an amateur photographer who began documenting Jewish cemeteries when he visited his grandparents' graves at the Shaare Torah (Gates of Heaven) cemetery and found them in disarray. This made him wonder if other Jewish cemeteries in the area had also been neglected. During the course of one summer, he photographed every cemetery listed by local Jewish funeral homes. This experience also inspired him to join the Jewish Cemetery and Burial Association of Greater Pittsburgh, of which he is currently a vice president.
Sapir has photographed buildings and blocks of buildings, which are about to be, or which have already been, torn down. Photographing synagogue buildings has also been of interest to Sapir. For this project, he used a 1908-1910 city directory, taking photographs of all of the listed synagogues to see how they have changed since then. He also selects places to photograph after reading about a particular building or neighborhood in the news.
In the late 1990s, the city of Pittsburgh endured a significant net loss of population. In order to keep residents and commercial entities from leaving the city, Mayor Thomas Murphy proposed several urban renewal projects. In 1998, the Regional Asset District secured funding for a project to build two new stadiums and remodel the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The project, known as Plan B, included the razing of Three Rivers Stadium, which had been home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers since 1970. The destruction of Three Rivers Stadium began in 1999 and ended with its implosion in 2001. Construction on the new baseball stadium, PNC Park, and the new football stadium, Heinz Field, was completed in 2000. The remodeling of the Convention Center began in 2000 and ended with the opening of the new building in 2003.
In 1997, Mayor Murphy began working with a Chicago-based development company named Urban Retail Properties to revitalize the downtown business district. In 1998, Lazarus Department Store opened a new building at Fifth Avenue and Wood Street. Next, Mayor Murphy focused his efforts on the 10 block area along Fifth and Forbes Avenues between Smithfield Street and Liberty Avenue. He called this urban redevelopment plan the "Marketplace at Fifth and Forbes." This plan involved the demolition of several historic buildings and relocation of local businesses to make way for high-end retail stores and entertainment venues. In late 2000, the plan collapsed when Nordstrom opted out of establishing a store in the center of the district, followed by the departure of Urban Retail Properties.
The Jewish community was also affected by the city's declining population. Several of Pittsburgh's Jewish congregations decided to merge with other congregations, moved, or in some cases, closed. These congregations sold their former buildings to charitable organizations or churches. The Jewish Cemetery and Burial Association of Greater Pittsburgh assumed responsibility for maintaining the cemeteries of congregations which no longer exist.
Scope and Content Notes
The collection is housed in two archival boxes. The materials consist primarily of photographs, but also included are newspaper clippings, negatives, blank postcards and correspondence. Photographs document gravestones from Jewish cemeteries, the interiors and exteriors of synagogues as well as other buildings around Allegheny County.
The collection is divided into two series, Jewish Buildings and Cemeteries and Greater Pittsburgh Buildings. The first series focuses on property currently or formerly owned by Jewish organizations in the greater Pittsburgh area. The second series focuses on non-Jewish buildings in the greater Pittsburgh region and is divided into five subseries according to the location of the buildings. The photograph albums have all been dismantled and materials have been arranged into folders alphabetically by topic and type of material. Each folder is arranged chronologically when dates are known.
Arrangement
Series I. Jewish Buildings and Cemeteries
Series II. Greater Pittsburgh Buildings
Conditions Governing Access
No restrcitions.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These materials came in six accessions and were combined in 2012.
Acc# 1997.0395 Gift of Gerald Sapir.
Acc# 1997.0396 Gift of Gerald Sapir.
Acc# 2001.0233 Gift of Gerald Sapir.
Acc# 2001.0128 Gift of Gerald Sapir.
Acc# 2007.0054 Gift of Gerald Sapir.
Acc# 2007.0134 Gift of Gerald Sapir.
Preferred Citation
Gerald Sapir Papers and Photographs, 1985-2005, Rauh Jewish Archives, Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Rebecca Potance in June 2012.
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 Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Related Materials
MSP 113 Photographs of Corinne Azen Krause
MSS 448 Adath Jeshurun Congregation Records
MSS 499 Records of the Mayor Thomas J. Murphy Administration
