Big Changes Are Coming to the Heinz History Center
Officials broke ground on a massive project that will bring new exhibition space and significantly expand the Smithsonian-affiliated museum’s offerings.
PHOTO BY OLLIE GRATZINGER | LOCAL LEADERS, STAKEHOLDERS AND MUSEUM OFFICIALS BROKE GROUND ON A NEW HISTORY CENTER EXPANSION PROJECT ON THURSDAY, APRIL 30.
The Senator John Heinz History Center is entering a new era.
At a Thursday morning conference with stakeholders, local leaders and members of the media, history center officials announced and broke ground on an $80 million, 92,000-square-foot expansion project set for completion in 2028.
Among those in attendance for the groundbreaking were Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor; Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato; Pennsylvania State Senator Wayne Fontana; and Andy Masich, president and CEO of the Heinz History Center.
The project is sweeping, officials say, and will bring a slate of updates to the Smithsonian-backed museum. It is part of the “History for All” capital campaign, co-chaired by Beveryynn Elliott and Bill Lambert.
“The $80 million campaign will dramatically expand our reach, creating a more welcoming, relevant, accessible, inspirational, entrepreneurial and sustainable museum for our community here, and for the visitors that come to Pittsburgh from all over the world,” Lambert says. “Our expansion is a promise to offer in perpetuity broad access to educational, inspirational programs, including stories from diverse communities.”
The update will include a transformed Great Hall on the first floor, as well as a new cafe and a 150-seat theater, which will host programs, screenings and an orientation film complementing the VisitPITTSBURGH Welcome Center just down the street. Smart classrooms will help accommodate a 50% increase in school trips following the “Free for Kids” initiative sponsored by the Kamin family. A new outdoor space on 13th Street and Penn Avenue, called Penn Avenue Plaza, will showcase large pieces of Pittsburgh history, including a settle ladle and a Civil War-era cannon smithed here in the Steel City.
“Penn Avenue will be a cultural corridor from the Strip District all the way to Point State Park, with a stop off at Arts Landing,” says Andy Masich, president and CEO of the Heinz History Center. “Penn Avenue will be activated like never before, and the History Center is the connector, the hyphen, the link, between the Strip District and the Cultural District.”
There will also be a new interactive exhibition on the life and legacy of Fred Rogers, featuring sets and artifacts from the iconic program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, as well as new displays focusing on the “Three Rivers” and the region’s legacy of innovation and industry; updates to the Franco Harris Sports Museum; and expanded galleries showcasing collections from the Italian American Program and the Rauh Jewish Archives.
The museum provided renderings of the new spaces:
One of the most significant updates is the addition of an African American History “Museum within a museum,” which will be located on the History Center’s fourth floor.
The space will be dedicated to exploring the Black experience and its essential role in shaping the city and the nation. It will feature long-term and changing exhibition spaces, “building on the museum’s expansive African American collection to become one of the most significant repositories of Black history in the nation,” reads a press release handed out at the event.
Innamorato says the changes come at a pivotal moment in our region as it comes down from the heights of hosting the 2026 NFL Draft and welcoming hundreds of thousands of guests, and for the country, as it prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday this July.
“I think it’s so important in this moment that we have an extra appreciation for America’s story, and who’s telling it, and how it’s being told. That diversity in the storytellers and the stories that are being told is absolutely essential for a strong, civically engaged community and a thriving democracy,” she says. “This new exhibition and event space will bring history to life in more dynamic and engaging ways, [and] expand our capacity to be able to elevate voices and stories that have too often gone untold.”
The expansion comes as another feather in the history center’s cap; it was recently named the No. 1 history museum in America by USA Today for the third year in a row. It also recently earned national accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums, officials say.
The project has already raised 70% of its $80 million goal, anchored by 100% participation from the museum’s board of trustees and support from local donors, including the Heinz Endowments and Daniel and Carole Kamin, whose recent $65 million donation to the city’s science center led it to be renamed from the Carnegie Science Center to the Kamin Science Center. In order to raise the remaining 30%, which amounts to about $24 million, officials are asking the broader Pittsburgh community to donate.
“The early momentum for this campaign speaks to how deeply Pittsburgh believes in our mission,” says Tonia Rose, executive vice president of the History Center. “Now, we’re entering an exciting new phrase, and inviting the broader community to join us in bringing this vision to life.”
