Ahead of Independence Day, you can get a closer look at how English colonists lived before the founding of the United States of America with a tour of Pitt’s Early American Room.
Located on the third floor of the Cathedral of Learning, it’s one of 31 Nationality Rooms commemorating the contributions and cultures of the people who made Pittsburgh home.
This room is the only one spurred on by a single person, rather than a committee of community members. The man behind the Early American Room, George Hubbard Clapp, served as president of Pitt’s Board of Trustees for 41 years. The 1877 alumnus also lends his name to a Pitt building. Clapp’s ancestors arrived in what is now America in 1630, and the room represents his vision of settlers in Massachusetts.
It’s also the only Nationality Room with two levels.
The space replicates the 17th-century New England home of an upper-class family. Two details stand out as class signifiers: the floor is made of wood as opposed to pressed-earth, and the windows have glass installed, a luxury item of the era. Renowned stained-glass artist Charles J. Connick designed the Early American Room’s windows, as well as panes in the German Room and Pitt’s Heinz Memorial Chapel.
The room is limited in its scope — for example, there’s no evidence of Native Americans or indigenous people — and portrays a specific early American experience, but Nationality Rooms tour coordinator Michael Walter said it conveys universal values.
Originally published on June 30, 2022
— Nichole Faina