Northside is my home. I was born at Allegheny General, lived on Howard Street and Raised in Northview Heights. I attended NVH Elementary, Latimer, McNaugher, Perry & CCAC. My roots are in the Northside. My dad was also born and raised on the Northside. My grandparents, great-grand parents, aunts and uncles lived on Armandale Street since the 1920’s. I owned a video store in Perry Hilltop in the 90's and I currently unify Northside natives through my events like Grazin In The Grass (NVH), Northside Skating Parties also the Perry, Oliver & Allegheny High School Reunions.
It is a
community in need of uplifting. It's populated and prosperous past, has slowly
dissipated over the years in the name of progress. The need to attract
new business, residents and visitors to the historically rich area is vital to
its survival. Our goal is to preserve & promote its multicultural past and
instill a new sense of pride.
Thanks to the power of the internet we've been able to
gather a collection of Allegheny City & Northside photos and relics.They cover a span of over 150 years.
Currently the images and objects are very popular on the internet and have even
sparked many reunions. As a result we have decided create a physical location
to put them on display. The Allegheny City Historic Gallery
will be the ultimate Northside visual experience. It’s actually more than just a gallery, it’s
more of a museum or learning center. It
is free to the public, and a place for Northsiders to reconnect with friends
and family.
The Allegheny City Historic Gallery is a non-profit venture
partnered by myself, Kim Gandy and City Council Woman Darlene Harris. It will be located on Historic East Ohio
Street. The collection is a collaboration
of public & private images and also objects. It has become a community project because many of the images and objects
on display were donated by past & present Northsiders, as well as the
Allegheny City Society. So far we’ve
raised $12,000: 7,000 from the URA, 5,000 from the City. This
will help keep us open for 6 months, but it’s not enough to pay for all the
gallery functions and administrative costs. Plus we believe the Gallery should be a permanent fixture in Northside’s
landscape, because history and change happens daily. We need your help to make this a
reality.
Gallery Special Projects
Kim’s Color Creations
- Our Photoshop expert Kim (Swiss Miss) Gandy adds a new dimension to the
historic experience by bringing color to the past. Great care and research goes into every
colorized photo to make it as authentic as possible.
![]()
Federal Street & North Avenue 1927...
![]()
Allegheny City Films
– We currently have a YouTube page featuring videos of Northside Historians and
Photographers. These videos have
hundreds of views already. Our next goal
is to create short, historically accurate reenactments of the Northside’s/Allegheny
City’s past. Our video expert Willy
James plans to bring the past to life with short videos featuring an all Northside
cast.
Follow this link to our Allegheny City YouTube page to see all of the videos. http://www.youtube.com/user/AlleghenyCity
Here
are a couple of our historical videos for your viewing pleasure... Take a
tour of Central Northside in the 60's and 70's with photographer Bob
Rathke.
Architectural Historian Carol Peterson, who co-authored a book
called "Allegheny City" with Steelers president Dan Rooney, takes Bill
Gandy on tour in Historic Arch Street and surrounding buildings.
Lego Project - We want to get the neighborhood children involved
also. We would work with them to rebuild 1960’s Federal Street with
Lego Blocks.
![]()
Gift Shop -
Our gift shop will allow visitors to purchase T-Shirts, Historical
Books, Authorized photo re-prints and other souvenirs. Many of the
books were written by Northside & Allegheny City historians, writers
and historical societies, photographers and entrepreneurs.
Special Events - The Gallery has special events already lined up from Book
Signings with Steelers President and Allegheny City native Dan Rooney &
Architectural Expert Carol Peterson promoting their book “Allegheny City”.
Risks & ChallengesThe 1st challenge was raising initial funding. That has been overcome. The next challenge was finding a suitable location. That too has been overcome. Our challenge for the future is becoming a permanent fixture on the Northside, and raising enough funding to sustain the gallery for time to come. This Indiegogo is one of our solutions, as well as submitting for grants.
Other ways you can help
Please share our campaign and help spread the word. We are also looking for items such as furniture, frames, album books and Lego's.
