7101 Apple Avenue | Pittsburgh, PA 15206 | |
About: William A. "Woogie" Harris bought this 13-room Victorian house in 1930. It was the first home of the National Negro Opera Company, organized in 1941 by Madam Mary Cardwell Dawson, who rehearsed on the third floor. The company started rehearsing in a building in East Liberty, PA under another name before moving to Apple Avenue. Later, in the 1950s, Woogie would rent out the house to such notables as Roberto Clemente of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Roy Jefferson, John Nesby, and Marvin Woodson, all of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and musician Lena Horne. It represents the cultural richness and influence of Pittsburgh's black community on the nation in performing arts and sports, as well as the company's role in binding the black community of Pittsburgh.
The house is currently the focus of a preservation effort by the National Opera House, a non-profit organization with the mission of restoring the National Negro Opera house in order to teach music and culture.
National Negro Opera Company Photos and text courtesy Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh |
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