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Prison in Pittsburgh From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
| |
  Location in Pennsylvania | |
| Location | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°28′13″N 80°2′28″W |
| 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 |
On January 26, 2017, Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Wolf announced the closing of this facility.[2]
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.
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]
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]
The 1978 film The Brink's Job the character Stanley Gusciora is sentenced to 20 years at the "Western Penitentiary at Pittsburgh".
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