State Correctional Institution – Pittsburgh

Prison in Pittsburgh

State Correctional Institution – Pittsburgh

Location in Pennsylvania

Location| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Coordinates| 40°28′13″N 80°2′28″W﻿ / ﻿40.47028°N 80.04111°W﻿ / 40.47028; -80.04111
Status| Closed
Security class| Low-Security, Medium-Security at its closing. However for many years it was Maximum security.
Population| 1,500
Opened| 1826
1882 (Present location)
Closed| 2005–20
Former name| Western Penitentiary
Managed by| Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
Governor| Tom Wolf
Warden| Mark V. Capozza

Jordan Correction (historically known as the "Western Penitentiary," "Western Pen," and "The Wall") was a low-to-medium security correctional institution, operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections,[1][failed verification] located about five miles west of Downtown Pittsburgh and within city limits. The facility is on the banks of the Ohio River, and is located on 21 acres of land. (12 acres within the perimeter fence.) It was the first prison west of the Atlantic Plain as well as a major Civil War prison in 1863–1864.[citation needed]

On January 26, 2017, Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Wolf announced the closing of this facility.[2]

## History

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Western Penitentiary was designed by John Haviland and built in 1826 two miles south-east from the current facility by the architect Strickland.[3] The original site is now home to the National Aviary.

During Charles Dickens visit to the city March 20–22, 1842, he visited the original prison.

Group of "Morgan's Men" while prisoners of war in Western Penitentiary, Pennsylvania: (l to r) Captain William E. Curry, 8th Kentucky Cavalry; Lieutenant Andrew J. Church, 8th Kentucky Cavalry; Lieutenant Leeland Hathaway, 14th Kentucky Cavalry; Lieutenant Henry D. Brown, 10th Kentucky Cavalry; Lieutenant William Hays, 20th Kentucky Cavalry. All were captured with John Hunt Morgan in Ohio. 1863

The original location housed 118 Confederate soldiers after their capture in Morgan's Raid a dozen miles to the west. It held them from August 5, 1863 until they were transferred to a military fort in New Jersey on March 18, 1864. Although conditions were good for the time, at least eight confederates died during the winter, one while attempting escape.[4]

The present facility opened on its current site in 1882, operating as one of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's first correctional facilities, which at the time, held some maximum-security inmates. In January 2005, after transferring the inmates to SCI-Fayette,[5] the facility was mothballed. In 2007, the facility re-opened with its current name.[6] Until it was closed in 2017, it housed low and medium security inmates who required substance abuse treatment.

The campus was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.[7]

The abandoned facility in 2023

### G-20 Protests

[edit]

During the 2009 G-20 Pittsburgh summit, the prison was used as the main processing facility for rioters and protesters that were detained and arrested during the week-long summit.[8] [9][10][11]

## Notable prisoners

[edit]

* George Feigley, the leader of a sex cult, served part of his sentence at Western Penitentiary. In 1983 two of his followers drowned near the prison in what authorities believe was an attempt to break him out.[12] He was first transferred to Western Penitentiary after plans for him to escape from SCI-Graterford by helicopter were uncovered. After the botched breakout in 1983, Feigley was transferred to SCI-Huntingdon.[13]

* Alexander Berkman, who unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate businessman Henry Clay Frick served 14 years the Western Penitentiary. That experience was the basis of his first book, Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist.

* Nuno Pontes and five others who escaped from the prison feature in the Season 1, Episode 2 of the National Geographic TV docudrama series, Breakout. The episode is titled "The Pittsburgh Six". They are also featured in the Season 1, Episode 4 of the History Channel TV series, History's Greatest Escapes with Morgan Freeman.

* Gerald Mayo, who filed a lawsuit against Satan and his servants in United States District Court.

## Fictional Portrayals

[edit]

The 1978 film The Brink's Job the character Stanley Gusciora is sentenced to 20 years at the "Western Penitentiary at Pittsburgh".

## References

[edit]

1. ^ PA Dept. of Corrections – SCI Pittsburgh Webpage(Retrieved: 5/4/2011)Archived 2011-09-03 at the Wayback Machine
2. ^ McConville, Emily (Jun 9, 2017). "As shutdown of SCI Pittsburgh nears, inmates and staff move elsewhere". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
3. ^ n° 295 de la revue : Architecture intérieure, CREE - 1977
4. ^ "Lawrenceville Historical Society - Resources[Articles]". Archived from the original on 2004-01-19. Retrieved 2011-05-22.
5. ^ Fayette residents hope prison holds promise of better future Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Retrieved:5/4/2011)
6. ^ PA Dept. of Corrections – SCI Pittsburgh Webpage(Retrieved: 5/4/2011)
7. ^ "Weekly listing". National Park Service.
8. ^ "G-20 Summit vandal found guilty of all charges". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 26, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
9. ^ "Twitter Crackdown: NYC Activist Arrested for Using Social Networking Site during G-20 Protest in Pittsburgh". Democracy Now!. 2009-10-06. Archived from the original on 9 November 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
10. ^ "Man Arrested for Twittering Goes to Court, EFF Has the Documents". Electronic Frontier Foundation. 2009-10-05. Archived from the original on 26 November 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
11. ^ Amy Goodman (2009-10-06). "Watch What You Tweet". truthdig. Archived from the original on 29 November 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
12. ^ Lynch, Charles; Tkach, Harry (8 August 1983). "No arrests made in botched breakout". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
13. ^ "Cast of figures in sewer escape cult". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 6 Aug 1983. Retrieved 2 May 2019.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Western Penitentiary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to State Correctional Institution - Pittsburgh.

* Western Penitentiary at Abandoned

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