{"id":1401,"date":"2013-09-13T04:01:00","date_gmt":"2013-09-13T04:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=1401"},"modified":"2014-12-23T19:59:41","modified_gmt":"2014-12-23T19:59:41","slug":"the-pittsburgh-views-of-john-c-bragdon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/09\/13\/the-pittsburgh-views-of-john-c-bragdon\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pittsburgh views of John C. Bragdon"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The <\/a>
The Monongahela Wharf and barren Mt. Washington. (Photo by John C. Bragdon) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"View <\/a>
View of Allegheny City, now the North Side. (Photo by John C. Bragdon) <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The Carnegie Library in Oakland. (Photo by John C. Bragdon) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Downtown <\/a>
Downtown Pittsburgh from Mt. Washington (Photo by John C. Bragdon) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Smithfield <\/a>
Smithfield Street Bridge, facing Mt. Washington. (Photo by John C. Bragdon) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The book containing the Bragdon photographs. (Steve Mellon\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The Point and the Mon River, choked with coal barges. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

A few weeks ago, we donned our Indiana Jones fedoras and went on an adventure. The PG\u2019s photo \u201cmorgue\u201d is well-maintained and organized, but it occupies a large space and so it contains places that are dark, hidden and somewhat mysterious. Sort of like those ancient tombs you\u2019ve seen in the movies.<\/p>\n

We were determined to explore one of those out-of-the-way places. So, with our whip clenched between our teeth, we inched our way up a ladder, toward a barely accessible top shelf. What would we find there? Perhaps some forgotten or misplaced folder, like the long-lost \u201cMissing Bomber\u201d file from the 1950s. Maybe just a pile of stink bug carcasses.<\/p>\n

Well, initially we were disappointed. Nothing but a few yellowing newspapers from the 1970s. As we peered deeper into a far corner. however, we discovered an ancient cloth-bound book. We picked it up carefully and wiped off a thick layer of dust so we could read the title: \u201cPittsburgh Views,\u201d it read.<\/p>\n

Not quite the Dead Sea Scrolls. Still, we were thrilled.<\/p>\n

The five-pound, oversized book contains 28 pages of photographs of Pittsburgh and a few of its landmark structures. No text accompanies the images. Our limited knowledge of Pittsburgh\u2019s history leads us to believe the pictures were made sometime around 1900.<\/p>\n

The images reveal a city already showing the strains of hosting more than its share of heavy industry. Pittsburgh seems lifeless. Mt. Washington is largely barren. The Monongahela Wharf is empty. We searched for people in an image of Allegheny City, now the North Side, and found one lonely man on a hillside path. Coal barges choke the Mon River. At last, we found a few horse-drawn buggies and Sunday strollers in a picture of the Carnegie Library before it was enlarged in 1907.<\/p>\n

And who was the photographer? A name stamped on the inside cover reads \u201cJohn C. Bragdon, Wood & Photo Engraver, No. 711 Penn Ave., Pittsburg, PA.\u201d A quick search of the federal census revealed that Bragdon lived on Brighton Road in Ben Avon. According to a Pittsburgh city directory from 1900, Bragdon\u2019s studio was located \u00a0at 240 Fourth Avenue. By 1905, he had moved his business to the Penn Avenue location.<\/p>\n

Mr. Bragdon left us a fascinating collection of images depicting a city moving full-tilt into an age of heavy industry. Still, we\u2019re a bit disappointed that we didn\u2019t get to use our whip.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our limited knowledge of Pittsburgh\u2019s history leads us to believe the pictures were made sometime around 1900.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesThe Pittsburgh views of John C. Bragdon<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[946],"tags":[1059,988,989,1018],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/tumblr_mszbyuKelC1rr5swxo3_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C847&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2060,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/02\/12\/when-pittsburgh-was-not-so-clean\/","url_meta":{"origin":1401,"position":0},"title":"When Pittsburgh was not so clean","date":"February 12, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"We like to think of our city as one of America\u2019s most livable places.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/tumblr_mi48oekVcl1rr5swxo4_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C871&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5395,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2015\/05\/27\/donut-man-pittsburgh\/","url_meta":{"origin":1401,"position":1},"title":"Pittsburgh’s Donut Man","date":"May 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Henry Meyer made his name and face known by delivering doughnuts, Danishes and pecan rolls to places around Pittsburgh. 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