New AR App Brings Pittsburgh’s Black History To Life

A new augmented reality (AR) app, Looking Glass, is offering Pittsburgh residents and visitors a unique way to explore the city’s rich Black history. 

The Looking Glass

Launched this summer by technologist Adrian Jones, the Looking Glass app turns historical archives into interactive, location-based experiences. 

Users can explore various Pittsburgh neighborhoods and uncover the stories that have shaped these communities over time.

The app’s first focus is East Liberty, a neighborhood that has undergone changes over the decades as it faced a sharp decline in the 1960s due to an urban renewal project that displaced many residents. 

With Looking Glass, users can now see the past through their smartphones, experiencing how the city’s neighborhoods have evolved.

Preserving Pittsburgh’s Black history

Jones’ journey began when he moved to Pittsburgh in 2017. Archival research and conversations with Black folk who had lived there for decades taught him how disinvestment and gentrification erased East Liberty’s historically Black neighborhoods.

According to Technica.ly, joining Collective Action School, an experimental project blending creativity and tech, helped Jones turn his idea into a creative tool to bring these hidden narratives to light.

In an interview with the Collective Action School, Jones explained: “Looking Glass is a digital archive that folks will be able to access through navigating the neighborhood of East Liberty in Pittsburgh, to discover, remember and commemorate the lives of Black folks and folks who were allied with Black folks, in this neighborhood where Black history and culture has purposely been buried.”

An immersive and transformative experience

According to their website, Looking Glass’s primary feature is its explore view. Use the map to discover markers where people, events, and institutions are remembered.

At each location, you can examine artifacts like photos and videos and activate site-specific AR sculptures. Jones has also collaborated with local creatives to enrich the app’s experience. 

“A wild dream is that, in the same way that I felt emotionally healed and more grounded in myself and in my history, everyone who opens up this app and comes into contact with these artifacts and these stories would experience that same thing,” said Jones in the Collective Action School interview.

The app is currently available on iOS, with an Android version expected to launch soon. 

Feature Image Credit: Looking Glass via YouTube