The Old County Jail

Pittsburgh built a new County Jail in 1994, and the old one has been empty but not abandoned since that time. Eventually, it will be gutted and the insides rebuilt to house a new, much needed Family Court. The Pittsburgh Landmark Society is running tours through the old jail every weekend through December. Then, the tours will be discontinued as the remodeling begins.

The Sunnyhill Friends made the Old County Jail their destination for October. It was an early Sat. morning and street parking was available nearby, as we gathered for the tour.
The building is a Historic Landmark and the exterior cannot be altered in any way. The building is attached (by a Bridge of Sighs, reminiscent to the one in Venice) to the County Courthouse, one of Pittsburgh's most famous buildings. The Courthouse and jail were built in the 1880s by Henry Richardson - one of America's most famous architects. Pittsburgh is rightfully proud of its historic Courthouse and Jail.
The guide discussed the exterior and the influence on Richardson of the Renaissance palaces of Europe - this influence can be seen in the exterior stonework. He also talked about the removal of Grant's Hill, which lowered the level of several Pittsburgh streets around the Courthouse, and required that extra steps be added to the entryway.

We moved inside. There are 5 cell blocks facing a high interior space. About 20 years after completion, the jail was expanded by another well known architect, Wm. Osterling (he also designed Clayton, the Frick mansion in Point Breeze) who added two newer cell blocks. In this picture, the block on the left is Richardson's, and Osterling's is on the right. We have seen this scene many times on TV and know it well, but now we see it up close, in person. I think of the thousands of lost souls who have passed through this space, I think about the utter despair they must have felt when gazing upon these cages for the first time.

Osterling's cells are a little larger, however, in either case, the cells are grim indeed. "I don't think the inmates came here for rehabilitation." said the guide.

We toured both cell blocks, peering into the cells, examining the bars and securing devices. The guide expalined that at mealtime the inmates were marched to the center area, where they recieved a tray of food, which they carried back to the cells to eat. They were not allowed to gather. The guide, knowing the history of the building and having looked at some of the records, confided that the food "was not good".

The movie, "Mrs. Soffel" was filmed in the County Jail. It is based on the true story of the wife of one of the early wardens who, like many upper class women of the time, liked to go into the jail to read the Bible to the inmates. She fell in love with one of the prisoners on death row, and helped him escape. His freedom was short lived, and hers soon came to an end. They were caught about 20 miles north of Pittsburgh, he was shot and she was captured. She was incarcerated for 20 years and upon her release, worked as a seamstress on the North Side.