(jazz music) (jazz music) (jazz music) - [Narrator] America's historic love affair with the open road is a well-known story.

"The Negro Motorist Green Book", a new exhibit at the Senator John Heinz History Center brings an African-American perspective to that romantic notion.

- When I heard that the Smithsonian was developing the exhibition, I was really excited because I knew that it had the type of story that it would impact Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh would impact "The Green Book" as well.

(jazz music) - [Narrator] Developed in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, the exhibit takes visitors on a journey guided by "The Green Book", an essential tool for African-American motorists.

- Victor Hugo Green was a postal carrier so he understood the landscape of America by regions and he understood how African-Americans fit into that sort of regional structure.

So he developed "The Green Book" along those lines.

It was very rare in a sense that its time had come and passed.

So many people just completely forgot about it.

It wasn't being used very much.

- [Narrator] Prior to the spread of forced integration, Black travelers could face any number of issues on America's highways, from hunger to harassment to outright danger.

- [Samuel] You're talking about mid 20th century America.

You're talking about an America that was really a heartened, discriminatory, and segregated society.

African Americans didn't have the freedom to move about so you couldn't necessarily travel from Pittsburgh to Alabama and not be harassed in some one way or another during that route.

So African Americans really had to plan.

They had to be very strategic about their travel.

(spirited pulsating music) - [Narrator] Candacy Taylor, author of "Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America" was part of the exhibits creation.

- [Candacy] This is a time when sundown towns were throughout the country.

This is a time when driving through the South was just as dangerous as driving through the North.

There was really no way that you would know where these minefields were, where you should or shouldn't be.

(jazz music) Now we have to remember too, that the height of "The Green Book" was the second wave of the great migration was happening, right?

So there were a lot of people who didn't have money and who didn't use it for leisure and who were traveling out of necessity to change their lives and they were fleeing racial terror in the South to do that.

It was very challenging and "The Green Book" provided this haven of communities that had all kinds of businesses for black folks to be welcomed.

(jazz music) - [Narrator] The 1940 Green Book edition listed hotels and tourist homes from Alabama to New York to Wyoming and for those traveling to Pittsburgh, there were several locations in the Hill District.

- Although Hill District is known for nightclubs but we also wanted to focus on businesses and some businesses that people probably just forgot about that these were actually real businesses like the beauty salons, that was primarily owned and operated by African American women, social service agencies from the YWCA, YMCA, the churches.

(jazz music) And so it was, if not the first, it was probably the most integrated of the petroleum companies during this period from 36 to 66.

African Americans who owned Esso gas stations were some of the first gas station owners in the country.

Two of them were in the Hill District.

(jazz music) So one was Scotty's Garage located on Center Avenue in the Hill District.

He was a real community businessman.

He was involved in all types of things, social service charities, helping people go to college, providing jobs and training, all that type of thing.

- [Narrator] From salons to nightclubs, Pittsburgh was known for its black owned businesses.

Though Scotty's is long gone with only this building in the place where it once stood, a few Pittsburgh Green Book destinations are still standing.

In the Hill District, there's the historic former YMCA and the Terrace Hall Hotel, both on Center Avenue.

(jazz music) However, still in operation in the heart of Oakland are the landmark Webster Hall Apartments.

- Here we have, several copies of the old advertisements.

- [Narrator] Justin Hunt is part of the Webster Hall's management team.

- The Hotel Webster Hall, built in 1924 and designed by famed Pittsburgh architect, Henry Hornbostel who also designed many historic structures here in Oakland.

Those include Soldiers and Sailors, many of the main structures at Carnegie Mellon University, the Rodef Shalom Synagogue.

(jazz music) - [Narrator] Admired for its framed architecture, the Hotel Webster was also just a hop, skip and a jump from a Pirates game at Forbes Field.

- [Justin] The architecture definitely was a grand 20th century hotel and the ballroom (indistinct) of the property was home to many life events for Pittsburghers.

(jazz music) The hotel was also a part of "The Green Book" and many African Americans came to stay here as a result throughout the mid 20th century.

- It's called "The Green Book".

- [Narrator] There were other travel guides designed for black Americans but only "The Green Book" was published for three decades.

- [Candacy] It wasn't just that it was like AAA guide where you'd have lodging or food.

It was so much more.

You get the the sense that even though it was a long time ago, there were human beings and the country was going through a lot as it is today.

So you start seeing the parallels of where we can be better and where we choose not to.

(jazz music) - [Samuel] You don't know your history, you're doomed to repeat it.

And that's why this is so important that older generations want to pass this knowledge of their life experience onto a younger generation.

(jazz music) So history plays a great role in sort of providing a roadmap to freedom.

(jazz music) (jazz music) (jazz music) (jazz music) (jazz music) (jazz music) (jazz music) (jazz music)