Out of all of Pittsburgh’s reportedly haunted sites, the National Aviary might be the least known.
One of my favorite places in the city, the Aviary is home to more than 500 birds representing 150 species, many of them rare or endangered. It was among the first zoos in the nation to pioneer free-flight habitats, where birds flit past visitors uncaged, and mentioning that it might be haunted conjures images of ghost penguins or phantom fruit doves flying around the building. But the rumored specters are far stranger, and, given the site’s dark history, perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise.
From 1826 to 1880, the Aviary’s location on the North Side was occupied by Western Penitentiary, the so-called sister to Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. The prison was alleged to be less brutal than its notorious counterpart…