Honoring the Legacy of Charles “Teenie” Harris
UPDATE, December 4, 2024: We're happy to share that the Pittsburgh Land Bank has acquired the former home of Charles "Teenie" Harris at sheriff's sale.
“We were very glad to get the chance to participate in preserving this really important cultural and community asset for the City of Pittsburgh,” Preservation Pittsburgh president Matthew Falcone told WESA.
In their news piece about the sale, Eyeing preservation, Pittsburgh Land Bank acquires home of legendary Black photographer, reporter Bill O'Driscoll shares that Preservation Pittsburgh is reported to be working with the Charles "Teenie" Harris Foundation to "develop a plan for the property that includes the eventual transfer of the title to the foundation."
Our original post, published on October 1, 2024, is below.
Preservation Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission recently unveiled a historical marker for late Pittsburgh-based photographer Charles “Teenie” Harris.
Elected officials, family members of Teenie, and the community at large gathered at the site on September 30 to celebrate the moment. The marker is located at 7604 Mulford Street in the Homewood neighborhood, outside the house where Teenie lived for 65 years.
Unfortunately, the house is slated to be included in a sheriff’s sale on October 7.
Teenie, who passed away in 1998 at the age of 89, was internationally known for his work documenting Black life and culture in Pittsburgh. He purchased his first camera in the 1930s and subsequently opened a photography studio in the Hill District. From 1936 to 1975, he was a staff photographer for the Pittsburgh Courier, one of America’s oldest Black newspapers.
Teenie’s former home is listed for auction at $48,580. During the historical marker’s dedication ceremony, Mayor Ed Gainey pledged to preserve the house and called upon his fellow elected officials to take action.
“He was a gifted photographer who through his photos captured the black experience in Pittsburgh,” wrote Mayor Gainey on a Facebook post celebrating the event. “The State Marker honors his work and preserves his legacy.”
I'm happy to share that I’ve since learned there are organizations and individuals vested in seeing the home preserved and are actively exploring options ahead of the scheduled auction date. Personally and professionally, I would love to see the house restored and used to support the work of photographers documenting Black America.
In addition to visiting the historical marker, those interested in learning more about the late Pittsburgh photographer’s work can view nearly 60,000 of his images online at collection.carnegieart.org.
In 2001, the Carnegie Museum of Art purchased Teenie’s collection of negatives from his estate, which are preserved as part of the museum’s permanent collection. In Sharp Focus: Charles “Teenie” Harris, a series of his iconic photographs, are also currently on exhibit in the museum’s Theater Hallway, later to be moved to a dedicated gallery.