Kheel Center Labor Photos

Image
Photo, ILGWU Local 318 on strike
Annotation

The International Ladies Garment Workers Union was formed in 1900, and for close to 100 years represented the interests of hundreds of thousands of workers in the women's-clothing industry. This collection of more than 1,000 photographs documents the activities of this union, which was particularly influential in the 1920s and 1930s. It includes scenes of workers in both the U.S. and Puerto Rico: at home and in shops and participating in marches, protests, celebrations, parades, and union actions. The various immigrant groups who have been involved in the industry, such as African Americans, Jewish Americans, Italian Americans, and Puerto Ricans are well represented. While some prominent labor leaders have been identified, most workers remain unidentified. The collection also includes five photographs by famed labor photographer Lewis Hine of New York street scenes from the early 20th century. More of the Kheel Center's larger collection of 33,000 photographs will be added to this website in the future.

Photographs
international ladies garment workers union
Italian Americans
Jewish Americans
Puerto Rico
Images
Labor Day
Splash Pullout Labor Day
Learn Labor Day
Days of Remembrance
Jewish American History
Emergence of Modern US, 1890-1930
Great Depression & WWII, 1929-1945
Postwar US, 1945-Early 1970s
Labor

Senator John Heinz History Center [PA]

Description

The Senator John Heinz History Center is the largest history museum in the state of Pennsylvania, and covers 250 years of Pittsburgh's history. The center includes the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum, which presents Pittsburgh's sports history. Seventy exhibits in the sports museum are interactive, and the site also makes extensive use of audio and visual presentations. The research center, which offers sources relevant to Western Pennsylvania history, holds more than 400,000 publications and 3,500 archival collections. A substantial amount of archival documents relate to Jewish life. The center also claims strong African American and Italian American holdings. The center is affiliated with the Meadowcroft Museum of Rural Life, which includes the oldest known site of human habitation within the entirety of North America. This museum is listed separately within the National History Education Clearinghouse database.

The center offers interactive and traditional exhibits, audiovisual presentations, a research center, research assistance, Scout programs, and a deli. Offerings specifically for schools include guided tours, self-guided tours, hands-on activities, classes, and educational programs. Students, teachers, and school staff members are admitted to the research center free of charge with a valid school ID. Wheelchairs are available for use on site. A sign language interpreter is available with advance notice. The website offers videos and audio files.

Lower East Side Tenement Museum

Description

The Museum tells the stories of 97 Orchard Street. Built on Manhattan's Lower East Side in 1863, this tenement apartment building was home to nearly 7,000 working class immigrants. They faced challenges people understand today: making a new life, working for a better future, starting a family with limited means. In recognizing the importance of this seemingly ordinary building, the Tenement Museum has reimagined the role that museums can play in modern lives.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, and educational and recreational events.

Watts Towers of Simon Rodia State Historic Park [CA] Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/08/2008 - 13:35
Description

The Watts Towers are a complex set of 17 separate sculptural pieces built on a residential lot in the community of Watts. Two of the towers rise to a height of nearly 100 feet. The sculptures are constructed from steel pipes and rods, wrapped with wire mesh; coated with mortar; and embedded with pieces of porcelain, tile, and glass. Using simple hand tools and cast off materials (broken glass, sea shells, generic pottery, and ceramic tile) Italian immigrant Simon Rodia spent 30 years (1921 to 1955) building a tribute to his adopted country and a monument to the spirit of individuals who make their dreams tangible. The Watts Towers are one of only nine works of folk art listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The site is one of only four US National Historic Landmarks in the city of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles City Cultural Affairs Department, through the Watts Towers Arts Center, provides diverse cultural enrichment programming through tours, lectures, changing exhibits, and studio workshops for both teachers and schoolchildren. Each year, thousands of people are attracted to the Towers' site for the Simon Rodia Watts Towers Jazz Festival and the Watt Towers Day of the Drum Festival.

The park offers exhibits, tours, lectures, workshops, and educational and recreational events.

National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame [IL] Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/08/2008 - 13:28
Description

Located in Chicago's historic "Little Italy" neighborhood, the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame preserves and promotes the history and heritage of Italian Americans in sports. Its collection aims to honor Italian Americans who have made lasting contributions to sports and society.

The hall offers exhibits.

Eureka Heritage Society and Romano Gabriel Garden [CA] Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/08/2008 - 13:28
Description

The Eureka Heritage Society provides leadership, education, and advocacy to preserve and enhance Eureka's irreplaceable historic structures and neighborhoods so as to ensure a legacy for future generations. It maintains the Romano Gabriel Garden, fashioned from discarded crates and boards by Romano Gabriel, a carpenter turned sculptor. The garden has been "transplanted" and is now housed in a glass exhibit area for viewing.

The society offers occasional recreational and educational events; the garden is open to the public as a viewable exhibit.

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