Western Penitentiary was originally built in 1826 a few blocks east of the current facility by the architect Strickland. During Charles Dickens visit to the city March 20–22, 1842, he visited the original prison and some scholars believe he based the classic A Christmas Carol on conditions at the facility. The original location is also famous for housing 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. 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, the facility was. In 2007, the facility re-opened with its current name. It houses low and medium security inmates who require substance abuse treatment.
G-20 Protests
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.
Notable prisoners
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. 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.
Alexander Berkman, who unsuccessful 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 TVdocudrama series, Breakout |Breakout]. The episode is titled "The Pittsburgh Six".
Fictional Portrayals
The 1978 filmThe Brink's Job the character Stanley Gusciora is sentenced to 20 years at the "Western Penitentiary at Pittsburgh".
