African American History Tour

Within a short distance of downtown Pittsburgh is a treasure trove of African American cultural and historical sites in a number of locations, in many genres. Find out more about Pittsburgh's rich and varied offerings from Pittsburgh artists, heroes and institutions as you get to know another facet of Pittsburgh's African American legacy.

This introduction to African American tourism in Pittsburgh was produced by TGB Productions, LLC through a grant from the Multicultural Arts Initiative (MCAI).

• Freedom Corner

  At the intersection of Centre Avenue and Crawford Street, Freedom Corner is marked by a circle that celebrates Pittsburgh’s civil rights leaders of the 1950s and 1960s.

• Josh Gibson Field And Marker

  The field is open year around! It’s located in the Hill District at 2217 Bedford Avenue. Josh Gibson, who became known as The Black Babe Ruth, began his Hall of Fame career with the Pittsburgh Crawfords in 1929.

• The Hill House Association

  The Hill House Association is a comprehensive community service provider and facilitator meets the needs of Hill District residents and diverse constituents in the Greater Pittsburgh region.

• Documenting Our Past: The Teenie Harris Archive Project

  The exhibition can be linked to The Carnegie Museum of Art through the on-line collection database. It is entitled, Teenie Harris, Photographer: An American Story, which showcases and promotes Harris’s remarkable work.

• The Pittsburgh Courier Historical Plaques

  The Pittsburgh Courier newspaper was founded in 1910 by Robert L. Vann. At its peak, The Courier recorded a national circulation of 250,000, employing over 400 employees in 14 cities.

• Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum

  Located in Oakland, you will find the contributions of African Americans in the military are displayed throughout the museum’s exhibits covering all wars.

• Martin Delany

  A promoter of African-American nationalism, Mr. Delany was commissioned as a major in the Civil War, the first African-American to become an officer in the Civil War. He was an active abolitionist and participant in the Underground Railroad.

• August Wilson Center for African American Culture

  The AWC is among a select few African American cultural institutions nationwide presenting visual and performing arts, the humanities and educational programs in a state-of-the-art venue. Named for the Pulitzer prize winning playwrite and Pittsburgh native.

• The New Granada Theater

  The Granada Theater was built as a lodge for the Knights of Pythias, but from the 1930s- 1950s, at the height of Pittsburgh’s jazz era, the sights and sounds of the New Granada Theater were in full swing.

• Daisy E. Lampkin

  A true renaissance woman, Mary 'Daisy' Elizabeth Adams Lampkin was the first African American woman in Pennsylvania to receive a historical marker commemorating her remarkable life.

• Moving the Lives of Kids (MLK) Community Mural Project

  This unique Pittsburgh art movement is called the MLK Community Mural Project. There are forty murals all around the city and twenty six more to come.