logo
  • News
    • Northside Community Meetings
    • Community Calendar
    • Elected Officials
    • Features
    • Local Business
    • Pittsburgh Police Blotter
    • Public Safety
    • Sports
  • Arts + Culture
  • Real Estate
  • Classifieds
  • Marketplace
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
    • News
      • Northside Community Meetings
      • Community Calendar
      • Elected Officials
      • Features
      • Local Business
      • Pittsburgh Police Blotter
      • Public Safety
      • Sports
    • Arts + Culture
    • Real Estate
    • Classifieds
    • Marketplace
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
New history gallery in Historic Deutschtown features community members’ pieces
Features, Historic Deutschtown
admin, on
May 28, 2015
New history gallery in Historic Deutschtown features community members’ pieces

Photo by Erika Fleegle

Photos from local contributors line the walls of the new Allegheny City Historic Gallery.

By Erika Fleegle

For a city with as rich a history as Pittsburgh – and Northside being the oldest section of the city with its 18 neighborhoods – it’s no surprise that many residents are passionate about preserving that history. Bill Gandy, pioneer of the Allegheny City Historic Gallery, shares that passion.

The Allegheny City Historic Gallery in Historic Deutschtown opened its doors May 22 to the public for a wine and cheese preview party -a sneak preview of its future offerings– that also functioned as a fundraiser for the gallery.

Throughout the evening, guests munched on light hors d’oeuvres, sipped a variety of wines and danced to smooth jazz provided by the Lee Robinson Quartet.

“What we have here is a skeleton,” Gandy said, gesturing to the walls, soon to be filled with photographs and other artifacts. “But I kind of like the industrial look.”

Though the gallery is still in its early construction stages, with exposed beams and plastered walls, Gandy has high hopes for the space, saying, “We’ll have a gallery, a gift shop. …We may even sell coffee.”

In looking at the amount of people drifting in and out of the space, it’s easy to imagine it completed as a fully-functional gallery. Where large canvas prints of old photos hang, more and more will follow. Artifacts like Heinz bean pots and 19th century cigar boxes will no longer rest on a table, but will have shelves and cases devoted to them entirely.

The gallery project initially began on a whim when Gandy found some old photos online and shared them with a Facebook group called Northside Old Timers.

“People went crazy over the photo,” he said. “So I started searching for more photos and I started sharing them online. Once I started sharing, people started sending me other photos and their private collections so I could share those as well.”

That was when Gandy knew he wanted to do something more. With help from Councilwoman Darlene Harris and the Northside Leadership Conference, he and his family were able to find a building to house their project and funding to help it grow. In other terms of growth, the gallery hopes to benefit from the collection of Northsiders’ photos and artifacts.

One such contributor is Gail Knight-Kreuzer, a lifelong Northside resident.

“I was born here, raised here,” she said. “My dad used to call himself King of the Avenue. Almost every house had a family I knew in it.”

Knight-Kreuzer had already contributed several artifacts to the project that she found in her father’s garage. While reflecting on a lifetime spent in the community, she noted that the Northside “means family. Everybody always loves each other here.

Another contributor, Frank Lochner, was equally proud of the project, and for good reason. Most of the photographs hanging on the walls were out of his personal collection.

“I didn’t know what to do with them,” he said, “so I called someone and they pointed me to Bill.”

While he’s excited to share the snapshots with the community, what he’s hoping to see is something with more personal appeal.

“Honestly,” he said, “I want to see a picture of my father.”

Lochner’s father was a constable on the Northside, elected alongside the former Judge Weir in 1964.

“They had a prisoner from the state pen down here who was an artist and he painted a portrait of him,” he recalled. “I still have it.“

When asked about the importance of the gallery for the community, Gandy noted that he “wanted to show the community that we’re a multicultural community that’s been built up, since the beginning of Allegheny City.”

He added: “That’s what I want to portray here. I want to represent everyone’s schools, their neighborhoods, the streets and all the common areas that we have.”

No official opening date for the gallery has been set.

If you or anyone you know has old photos or artifacts that you would like to contribute to the Allegheny City Historic Gallery, send them to though the official website. Donations can also be made on the same page.

Donate today to help support the Northside community newspaper's mission to provide hyperlocal coverage for our neighborhoods, neighbors, and their future.

Related Posts
Real Estate Transfers March 12 to March 18
News, Real Estate, Real estate transfers
Real Estate Transfers March 12 to March 18
Allegheny City Central Martha Hyman to JMT Investments LLC at 1327 Reddour St. for $105,000. PinRe Holdings L.P. to TMSAZ 1510 LLC at 1510 Monterey St...
March 21, 2023
Real Estate Transfers March 5 to March 11
Features, News, Real Estate, Real estate transfers
Real Estate Transfers March 5 to March 11
Allegheny City Central North Side Assoc. to Neuman Investing LLC at 215 Alpine Ave. for $195,000. East Deutschtown Quadvestors LLC to Richard Ryan II ...
March 20, 2023
Real Estate Transfers Feb. 26 to March 4
Features, News, Real Estate, Real estate transfers
Real Estate Transfers Feb. 26 to March 4
Allegheny City Central Coast Properties LLC to Thomas Weinlandt and Kendall Post at 1219 Veto St. for $368,600. Brighton Heights FOF Properties LLC to...
March 20, 2023
Real Estate Transfers Feb. 19 to Feb. 25
News, Real Estate, Real estate transfers
Real Estate Transfers Feb. 19 to Feb. 25
Allegheny City Central Mark Fleischer to James and Amie Sparks Ball at 1202 Sherman Ave. for $400,000. Edward Villella to Louis Kroeck and Sarah Chath...
March 20, 2023
The Northside Chronicle’s Summer Youth Guide 2023
Arts + Culture, Local Business
The Northside Chronicle’s Summer Youth Guide 2023
The Northside Chronicle's Summer Youth Guide 2023 features programming, organizations, and resources for families to provide a healthy summer full of ...
March 2, 2023
The Northside Chronicle launches new website design
Editor Picks, Features, Local Business, News
The Northside Chronicle launches new website design
Recent visitors to The Northside Chronicle’s website, thenorthsidechronicle.com, may have noticed a few changes to its layout. Well, maybe more than a...
February 8, 2023
e-Edition
Northside Neighborhoods
Northside Guides
FORMS + SUBMISSIONS
Events Letters to the Editor News Tips
POLL
MOST READ
New bill would make priority list for use of city sports facilities
Elected Officials, News...
New bill would make priority list for use of city sports facilities
March 22, 2023
District 1 News: Councilman Wilson Hello everyone, In this month’s column, I wanted to share some work that my office recently completed, in partnersh...
this is a test
Town Talk: Pizza! Pizza! Not your typical pizza chains
Allegheny City Central, Business...
Town Talk: Pizza! Pizza! Not your typical pizza chains
March 20, 2023
Most Northsiders are likely familiar with the phrase “Pizza! Pizza!” from the TV commercial promoting a national pizza chain. Yet (and to our benefit)...
this is a test
February poll results
Editor Picks, Features...
February poll results
March 18, 2023
February saw the launch of an exciting new feature on The Northside Chronicle’s website: polls! We asked our visitors to cast their votes on a variety...
this is a test
PREVIEW: Northside company launches program to promote robotics startups
Allegheny City Central, Business...
PREVIEW: Northside company launches program to promote robotics startups
March 17, 2023
Robots are perhaps one of the most common ideas people think about when they envision the future. And one Northside company is seeking to bring the fu...
this is a test
Ask An Attorney
Local Business, News...
Ask An Attorney
March 16, 2023
This month’s article will focus on insurance, namely car insurance. Car insurance is a necessary evil as it allows us to compensate others for injurie...
this is a test
Neighborhood Community Development Fund
Northside Leadership Conference
Donate

The Northside Chronicle

thenorthsidechronicle.com
Phone: (412) 321-3919
Email: [email protected]

About Us

Stay tuned with us

Copyright ©2022 Northside Chronicle. All rights reserved.