I've always loved the Old Allegheny County Jail and Courthouse buildings on 440 Ross Street in Downtown Pittsburgh. Today, architects build with glass and steel. In 1888, the city of Pittsburgh built a fortress. This exterior shot reminds me of the trip I took to Edinburgh, Scotland. Very atmospheric.
On Monday, July 7th, I visited the Jail Museum inside that fortress during my lunch break. This is a by-appointment, Mondays-only opportunity. Depending on how many questions you want to ask, this is a fifteen minute to forty-five minute long experience. It's perfect for a stop in a sight seeing tour or a quick stop during lunch.
You will have to go through a metal detector to get in, as the building is now a Family Court Facility. No pat downs though. Cameras and cell phones must be left at the policed entrance. (Honestly, I was a little nervous about going through security because I didn't want to be embarrassed, but it was absolutely painless.)
What I learned: I don't ever want to go to jail for real.
The original cells were barely large enough for me to spread my arms all the way out, and I'm a shorty. Bob Loos, the friendly docent answering questions, said that before the seventies the prison housed up to eight people in one of these tiny brick cells. Eight people! Can you imagine eight people in a 7 x 6 foot space before the invention of modern plumbing? I have one word for the bathroom: bucket.
In the display cases in the center of the museum, I saw jail memorabilia including a "Murder Book" that recorded all the inmates who had killed someone, a nasty looking weapon that was a combination of a black jack and tear gas gun from 1925, and children's boots and clothing. When the prison was built, men, women and children were all housed in the same building. In 1901, Pittsburgh removed the children to the Juvenile building which stood across the street. Women were imprisoned with men until the eighties. They usually had their own cell block, but weren't allowed to go out on work details because it would make the men get rowdy.
Last Fun Fact: Silence of the Lambs was filmed in the Old Allegheny County Jail. That kind of gives me the willies.
-Interior photos were Courtesy of Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. For tour information call 412-471-5808
Related Links:
Big Stuff at the Three Rivers Arts Festival
Comments