"To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born," said Cicero, a long time ago, "is to remain always a child."
If you choose to get truly lost in this exhibit, wandering through Pittsburgh past and present, you must remember that its photographs and text, in their totality, describe a Pittsburgh, a reality, which does not, and never did exist. The photographs and text describe a Pittsburgh that exists only in the construct of this compiled, electronic, online exhibit--quite different from the scene out on Forbes Avenue.
As Accurate As Possible.
But please do not misunderstand. Every effort has been made to be as
accurate as possible in
the presentation of the information. That is why
"Notes" and "Further Reading"
are parts of each of the neighborhoods--so that interested visitors can
track
down for themselves the sources of all (or most) of the statements made
here, and that is why we invite visitors to
email us
about errors of fact and errors of spelling as well.
Through Hypertext Links.
You will be traveling
through some 200 years of Pittsburgh's history, presented in the
non-linear manner that hypertext
permits--though a somewhat traditional Chronology is also provided. In a
sense, everything exists
at the same time and in the same place, connected through
hypertext links in a way possibly never connected before. For example, an
article written in
1909 about Hazelwood and about Stephen Foster playing the piano in Hazelwood is linked to Lawrenceville and to an article written in 1934
about Stephen
Foster's stature as an American composer. And then, in the Narrative of
the Hill District, the simple word "strength" is linked to a portrait
photograph of a demolition worker. In another example of the
emotional as well as the informational power of hypertext, the
effect of the riots following the
assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968 are linked to words from a speech
that he delivered on a visit to the University of Pittsburgh in 1966.
Using hypertext markup language (HTML), a Web server, word and image processing software and a Web browser, it has been possible to construct a vision, both objective and subjective, of Pittsburgh in cyberspace.
Promotes, Booms, Boosts.
Without apology, the present exhibit is intended to make Pittsburgh and its
neighborhoods feel good about themselves. It is intended also to
reflect well upon
those institutions which enable such a project. It promotes,
booms, boosts Pittsburgh and its people.
Unrealized aspirations, broken dreams, the darker side of human life have not been ignored, but for the most part have been hinted at or offered "For Further Reading." For example, the Pittsburgh newspapers of the 1890s and early twentieth century deal with minority groups in a manner that, by today's standards, is absolutely outrageous. At the turn of the century, even the champions of these groups often expressed themselves in (from today's standpoint) paternalistic and insensitive language. Therefore, an attempt at a measure of cultural sensitivity has been brought to the presentation of material--an attempt to be positive. Neither copyright, nor time, nor the goals of the exhibit permit, at present, a complete, comprehensive and exhaustive database.
The collections of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Department cannot help but reflect the society. Thus, in many of the Department's photographs, a woman's role is simply either that of homemaker or creature of fashion.
"Bridging the Urban Landscape" is imperfect and incomplete. However, it is the genius of the current technology, making such an exhibit possible, that the information here presented can be added to, clarified and continually improved in its presentation.
Personal Opinions.
Though it may not seem that way, restraint has been exercised in
the kinds of links created. Though the
editor of these materials has tried not to intrude too heavily with
personal
opinions, the mere selection and exclusion of items represent such opinions.
In addition, the editor's colleagues urged
that some element of the personal would add vitality to the
presentation. The editor apologizes if any such flourishes annoy.
"Perfect Summer."
It is genuinely hoped that this exhibit promotes more than
nostalgia. In the hammering together of photos and text, it becomes at once
obvious that the problems of yesterday are the problems of today and
that the issues of yesterday are still the issues of today. It is hoped
that "Bridging the Urban Landscape," as it continues to expand and
increase in richness,
provokes ideas among its visitors for the benefit of the
community. It is hoped that amidst these materials of yesterday, given new
life on the Web, someone will find their little-expected answer for
today. For example, in 1914, with, perhaps, extraordinary pertinence to
today, Frances Jenkins Olcott, in The
Pittsburgh Survey wrote that "the
Library also does a special work among boys' gangs, organizing
troublesome street boys into reading clubs." Ms. Olcott then goes on
to quote the reformer Jacob Riis:
"It is through the Boys' Club that the street is hardest hit. In the fight for the lad it is the club which knocks out the "gang" and with its own weapon--the weapon of organization."
Are there, in fact, lessons to be learned from Pittsburgh's past?
The intention has been to entertain, to inform and to arouse the curiosity of visitors. It is hoped that these selections from Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Department collections will amuse, educate and inspire. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, that "self-appointed inspector of snow storms and rain storms," (1)
Who knows what beautiful and winged life, whose egg has been buried for ages under many concentric layers of woodenness in the dead dry life of society, deposited at first in the alburnum of the green and living tree, which has been gradually converted into the semblance of a well-seasoned tomb,--heard perchance gnawing out now for years, by the astonished family of man, as they sat around the festive board,--may unexpectedly come forth from amidst society's most trivial and hand-selled furniture, to enjoy its perfect summer life at last! (2)
