Sign, Identification
Object number2015.63.2 a,b
Date1935-2015
MediumMetal/Iron/Paint/Plastic/Rubber/Glass/Ceramic
Credit LineGift of Francis Crisafio
DescriptionFrank's Barbershop sign with metal hanging bracket. Colorless glass. Rectangular with diagonal bottom two corners. Two metal brackets along top, one near each corner; brackets have a metal rosette on each side and a hook at the top for attaching to the hanging bracket. Painted on backside of the glass and viewed through the front is cursive text and text painted over a painted red and white striped barber pole.Dimensions(a) Height 24.5, Width 30, Depth 0.75, Depth of glass only 0.25;(b) Horizontal bracket: Height 3, Width 24.938, Depth 1.063, This does not include the metal cable.
InscriptionsPainted on backside of the glass and viewed through the front is painted text "Frank's / BARBER SHOP"; "Frank's" is painted in cursive script in black and silver, and "BARBER SHOP" is painted in black and silver over a painted red and white striped barber pole.
Historical NotesFrank's Barbershop sign. In 1930, the Crisafio family moved from the Italian enclave in Sharpsburg to the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh and bought a building at 4043 Penn Avenue. Two of the Crisafio children, Tony (Anthony) and his older brother Frank, were pulled out of Arsenal School after the 8th grade in order to work to support the family. The brothers were sent to Nossokoff's Barber School on 3rd Avenue and trained to become barbers. The Crisafio family converted the first floor of their building into a storefront, which became Frank's Barbershop, and Frank (age 18) and Tony (age 16) began cutting hair to support the family. Haircuts were 35 cents and a shave was 25 cents; by 2014, the barbershop charged ten dollars for a haircut and customers no longer came to them for their shaving needs. Frank's barbershop was in operation from 1935-2015 and was the second oldest business in Lawrenceville at the time of its closing. The customer base included decades-long clients and new clients that reflected the changing demographics of the community. Clients who moved out of the Lawrenceville area continued to return to the neighborhood to get their haircut at Frank's Barbershop, as well as residents from the neighborhood and employees from the nearby Children's Hospital. Historically, the client base was comprised of Italian and Eastern European immigrants and their descendants, but by the 1990s many South and Southeast Asian immigrants also frequented Frank's Barbershop.
Related person
Frank Crisafio
Related person
Anthony Crisafio
Related institution
Frank's Barbershop
Related institution
Nossokoff's Barber School
On View
Not on view
1935-2015
1930-1939
c. 1917
Allanson International, Inc.
2005