The David McCullough '51 Archival Gallery was dedicated May 2, 2009, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and remarks by Shady Side Academy alumnus and Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian David McCullough '51.

The gallery begins just inside the lower level doors to the Hillman Center for the Performing Arts, outside the Wean Room, and extends down the hallway toward the entrances of the Peter J. Kountz Black Box Theater and the Richard E. Rauh Theater.

The gallery is comprised of 24 large glass and wood panels presenting archival photos and narratives that evoke important aspects of the Academy story -- the effect of a school master's concern for character, the ways students and faculty have related with each other, the ebb and flow of traditions, and the role of athletics in the spirit of the school. The panels are presented in something close to a chronology, but the gallery is not intended to be an exhaustive timeline or history. Rather, it attempts to capture the character or stamp of people, social eras and ideals that have shaped the Academy.

The hope is that the gallery will instill in students a sense that they are part of something larger than themselves – the institution of the Academy and all it has been to previous generations and the city of Pittsburgh – even as they are told that the future course and qualities of the Academy will be defined by their actions and the values they choose to uphold, challenge, or adopt anew. Shady Side Academy gives them this gallery in the hope they will be inspired by the examples of those who came before them.

View a photo tour of the McCullough Gallery.