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Retrographer harnesses the knowledge of the community to create a collaborative map of Pittsburgh's historic photographs.

How it works?

All of the photographs on the site come from the City Photographer collection hosted and curated by the University of Pittsburgh's Archives Services Center

Retrographer uses Google Maps to make it easy for anybody to geotag these images. This geotag data is sent back to the Archives Services Center to become a permanent part of the archive.

About The Project

Retrographer was started in the Fall of 2010 as a project for the Senior studio Pieces taught by Dylan Vitone at Carnegie Mellon University. The project has evolved and lives on after the class has ended. So far over 3,900 photos have been tagged by people all over Pittsburgh

Retrographer continues to evolve. Check back soon on your smartphone, a mobile app is on the way.

If you have any feedback about Retrographer please email me at dpieri@gmail.com -Dane Pieri

Just Pittsburgh?

It doesn't have to be. If you would like to bring Retrographer to your city, and are able to work with an archive or museum to get access to a collection like Pittsburgh's City Photographer Collection, shoot me an email!

Featured Photos

  • Aiken Avenue Bridge - 1912

    Aiken Avenue Bridge
  • Pittsburgh Municipal Hospital Construction - 1939

    Pittsburgh Municipal Hospital Construction
  • Chauncy Street - 1916

    Chauncy Street
  • Aiken Avenue Sewer - 1907

    Aiken Avenue Sewer

Contributions this week
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Patrick
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Jon
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Gary
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Daniel
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Recent Activity
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    Theresa tagged 10/23/24 13:12:05 UTC
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    Jessica tagged 10/15/24 17:18:01 UTC
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    Jessica tagged 10/15/24 17:14:54 UTC
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    Jessica tagged 10/15/24 16:34:56 UTC
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    Jessica tagged 10/15/24 16:19:48 UTC
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    "This tunnel was closed off in February of 2024."

    William said 08/16/24 17:29:11 UTC
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    "The "now" photo is the incorrect section of the 30th Street steps. It shows the section above Bigelow. The "then" photo shows the section below Bigelow down to Paulowna."

    William said 08/16/24 17:26:18 UTC
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    Jon tagged 03/25/24 18:47:45 UTC
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    "I want the streetview to look more to the right but when I try to fix it it doesn't change."

    Randy said 01/20/24 14:50:08 UTC
  • Small 3011885cp

    "I want the streetview to look more to the right but when I try to fix it it doesn't change."

    Randy said 01/20/24 14:50:06 UTC
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