New Gallery Showcases History Of North Side Neighborhood
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A picture is supposed to be worth a thousand words and a gallery on the North Side has images that are hundreds of years old.
Located in the heart of the North Side Business District is the Allegheny City Historical Gallery.
"A lot of the local people were just walking around taking pictures of scenery. I just found a way to consolidate it and put it in one spot," Bill Gandy said.
The gallery is on the ground floor of a small building that dates back to just after the Civil War. The structure was recently renovated and unveiled as a key part of the restoration of the North Side.
Gandy said he needed a place to show of old photos after he started sharing them on Facebook.
"I started sharing those pictures inside those groups and it started like a firestorm. People loved the pictures. They loved traveling back in the past seeing what the North Side used to look like," Gandy said.
Most of the photographs have been donated to the gallery. The former class president of Perry High School hopes it helps teach history not found in books.
"That's one thing you don't learn in school is your local history. They teach American history and all that, but I think it's most important to know your own neighborhood," Gandy said.
Gandy hopes these images spark something that leads to revitalization.
"I am so passionate about North Side. I want to see it come back. When you look at the pictures from the past, you can see that the North Side has been devastated over the years and most of our population and our buildings and businesses have disappeared," he said.
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The gallery is free and open to the public. In the future, they hope to open small galleries in every North Side neighborhood featuring more local history.