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Curtis Theatre Collection @ Archives & Special Collections: Curtis

The Curtis Collection documents the history of the performing arts in Pittsburgh

Collection Location & Hours

The Ford E. and Harriet R. Curtis Theatre Collection is a part of Archives & Special Collections and is accessible through the reading room in Hillman Library or at the Archives Service Center reading room in Point Breeze. Both reading room's regular hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-4:45pm.

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A finding aid will provide you with background information and an inventory of the records found within our archival collections, including those in the Archives Service Center and the Center for American Music. See our Guide to Using the Special Collections for information on how to use our collection guides.

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Curtis Theatre Collection

The Ford E. and Harriet R. Curtis Theatre Collection is an extensive resource for theatre scholars.  The collection consists of several thousand volumes of playscripts, acting editions, histories, and critical works of the theatre and drama, nearly 500,000 theatre programs, plus periodicals, posters, ephemera, rare scrapbooks and over 20,000 photographs.  In addition, the Curtis Collection houses archival records of several local theatrical organizations, and the personal papers of individuals in Pittsburgh's performing arts scene.  The Curtis Theatre Collection is the primary source for Pittsburgh performing arts history.  With local materials dating back to the 1840's, we are committed to the documentation of Pittsburgh's rich theatrical life.

Image of the exterior of the Nixon Theatre

Nixon Theatre (Sixth Avenue and William Penn Place), April 1950