Pittsburgh: Then and Now - A Review
By
James Wudarczyk

Arthur G. Smith, Pittsburgh: Then and Now, Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh, 1990.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Arthur Smith’s Pittsburgh: Then and Now is a multi-volume encyclopedia of visual representation of the city’s past heritage. Between 1986 and 1989, Arthur G. Smith, professor of history and chairman of the history department at Chatham College, compiled 161 matching sets of photographs. At the time of the publication, Smith’s work was exceptionally novel. Securing photographs of various spots in the city, Professor Smith then photographed those same locations in order to contrast the past and present. His documentation is exceptional in scope and concept.

Pictures of Lawrenceville’s past are relatively scarce. However, Smith managed to secure one taken July 24, 1909. The photograph illustrates the north side of Butler Street between 40th and 41st Streets. His accompanying piece was taken in August 1986. A caption under the picture reads, “Shops still line Butler Street, Lawrenceville’s main artery, as it runs parallel to the Allegheny River beyond the Fortieth Street Bridge. The buildings, often date from the nineteenth century; in this instance their facades have been severely altered.”

The 1909 shot of the vicinity is an interesting commentary. Featured in the picture is an interesting portrayal of a building that advertised ice cream sodas for five cents. There were women in long dresses, and every man was properly dressed in a suit and hat. One must keep in mind that the picture was taken in July, thus one may assume that the men were rather warm in jackets. A bale that appears to be hay was propped against one of the buildings. There was an absence of traffic on Butler Street, which prominently featured Belgian block and streetcar tracks. With seven people in the photo, one gets the distinct impression that the area was a popular spot, and definitely very populous. (Some statistics show 1900 Lawrenceville as having a population of 33,000, which was three times greater than 2000 census of the same geographic area.)

The matching photographs on pages 174 and 175 are an interesting contrast between the formality of 1909 and a more modern Lawrenceville. In the accompanying picture, Smith documents the same Lawrenceville scene in August 1986. Interestingly, twenty years later a number of the business establishments have changed hands. The 1986 scene shows a Laundromat, Jolly Bob’s, Michalski’s Café, Fran Taggart’s Hair Fashion, Interior Services, and J. K. Weber’s dentist office. Only one lady in casual attire was in the picture.

The Smith study is a fascinating visual history. His photography is absolutely incredible in terms of clarity and subject matter. He successfully captures scenes of old A&P Stores, the iron and steel industry, shots of transportation mediums, bridges, stately homes, and downtown Pittsburgh. While some of the photographs capture the thick smoke and grim of a heavy industrialized Pittsburgh, most of the pictures highlight ornate beauty of buildings from by-gone days.

Smith’s Pittsburgh: Then and Now is a book that warrants careful examination. Every picture tells a multitude of stories, and is an important documentation of lost chapters in the history of the city.