North Hills Flashback: Convict Inn

I’m back after a month long hiatus! With a very busy April behind me, it’s time to crank out another great batch of history lessons!

As anyone who reads this column knows, I am very passionate about history. However, I do not limit my love of studying the past to the North Hills of Pittsburgh or retail, both of which I have covered on Patch in the past year. While I enjoy studying war, politics, and ancient mythology as much as the next history buff, I also have a deep interest in the history of technology, especially personal computers.

Last weekend, I took a trip to Roswell, GA, just north of Atlanta, to exhibit a prototype Macintosh SE as part of the Vintage Computer Festival Southeast, which ran alongside the first public exhibition of the Apple Pop Up Museum. In addition to showing off my machine to hundreds of spectators, I was able to teach a few inquisitive young teenagers about the interface and evolution of computing platforms, learn more about my machine from a former Apple engineer, browse dozens of very well-done displays, and listen to some great lectures.

One of the lectures compared Steve Jobs and Walt Disney, looking at how each man not only revolutionized their industry, but changed industries outside of their chosen field. Jobs, for example, morphed the music industry from the brick-and-mortar record store to an entirely digital, “get it now” approach through the iTunes Music Store (which turned ten on Sunday). Disney also was able to tap other industries, one of which was dining.

Think about an old-fashioned restaurant, perhaps a dining hall such as Cranberry Hall (which I covered in September). Cranberry Hall was typical of restaurants in the old days--a homestyle setting where quality food was served. There are still plenty of restaurants like this around, but many have taken a different direction.

When Disney engineered Disneyland, he wanted to theme everything. Disneyland (and the Magic Kingdom park at Walt Disney World) have different areas with different central themes (Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Main Street, and so forth). This includes all aspects of the park, including restaurants. While Disney died before he could see EPCOT come to fruition, he did plan for it. EPCOT took theming to a new level, as each pavilion has its own cultural flare, ethnic cooking, and even natives from the country to serve as educators.

Looking at restaurant theming, many have tried to theme similar to Disney’s concept since the park opened. Gone were the days of simple restaurants serving humble meals. Suddenly, themed eateries began to pop up everywhere. Hard Rock Cafe is a great example. The restaurant has plenty of memorabilia from rock stars lining the wall and is geared toward fans of rock ‘n roll. Planet Hollywood does the same, incorporating old movie props into the experience. Rainforest Cafe sets up an environment in which diners feel as though they are in a tropical setting.

Some have taken the concept to an entirely new level. A chain of dinner theaters known as Medieval Times has a show featuring jousting and serves food without utensils to make one feel as though they are actually in the middle ages. Swords and other thematic merchandise can be found in the lobby. Bubba Gump Shrimp Company is actually based on a company found within the movie Forrest Gump and is themed entirely around the movie, right down to the “Run Forrest Run” phrase on the license plates on the tables.

Some chains had their little quirks for a while. Many McDonald’s restaurants built in the 1970s, for example, had prints of McDonaldland all around and made itself appealing to children and the young at heart who adored the characters. (The McDonald’s near the Woodhawk Club used to have these prints). Wendy’s had tables which looked like newspapers, giving it a distinct look and feel. While neither is as thematic as other restaurants covered thus far, it did represent a departure from the “boring” look of community delis and dairies.

Other restaurants like to base themselves around a particular client base. A prime example is Hooters, which caters to the male market and positions itself as a place to go on a “guys night”. Likewise, some smaller cafes tend to make themselves a destination for “girls night”.

EPCOT also had an impact, as Italian restaurants tried to make themselves look like little villages in Italy, Mexican restaurants attempted to recapture the feel of our southern neighbor, and German restaurants adopted the community-style seating commonly found in Deutschland. Seafood restaurants such as Red Lobster have started to place a nautical theme in their dining areas and country-style eateries have stuck to appropriate decor, abandoning anything which may appear urban.

All of these restaurants are great example of theming. However, one guy beat everyone to the party, and he happened to do so in Wexford.

Enter William McAfee. With World War II over, everyone was coming back to the United States to start families, launch businesses, and build homes. With Wexford slowly becoming more populated, McAfee decided to open a restaurant in 1946. Of course, most restaurants built in 1946 were of the family variety and were rather domestic in appearance. McAfee decided to think a bit outside the box with his business.

Convict Inn was extremely unique. The building featured a row of prisoners, marching back and forth as though they were doing yardwork for a few cents an hour, lined across the roof. Inside, the host took you to your cell--literally. The tables were enclosed in jail cells, complete with a door comprised of bars which was shut behind you unless your server was coming in or out.

It is unknown if the restaurant served food loaf (the prison food made of bits of unused meals), but apparently the cuisine was quite good. The restaurant also had party rooms and was adjacent to a drive-in theater, which operated as recently as the 1980s. It was also a great place to sharpen golf or archery skills. Like many restaurants with appeal to the younger set, there was a dance floor.

McAfee’s restaurant was ahead of its time in many ways. It had a clear theme (it is unknown if the servers dressed as guards) and was located on the same property as other activities to enjoy for the evening. While some may say a prison theme was highly unusual, it is something I have yet to see in any current restaurant and would probably thrive in today’s world given the other thematic restaurants out there. McAfee had the ability to keep his patrons on the property for hours given the diversity of the entertainment outside of the restaurant.

Convict Inn operated until the early 1950s, when its new owners decided to convert it into a standard, boring restaurant without a theme. It changed hands several times over the following decades. Like any property in Pittsburgh with a dance hall, it managed to burn to the ground (see also: Kennywood, West View Park). The final tenant in the building, which met its demise in 1990, was Brendan’s. Brendan’s later moved to a property in North Park, replacing Tambellini’s.

While Convict Inn may not have been as successful as McAfee and his partners had hoped, it was definitely a pioneering concept and opened many years before Disney could open his thematic park in Anaheim. The restaurant drew one in because of its unique design on the outside, kept one intrigued throughout the one-of-a-kind dining experience, and included non-eating entertainment on-site, perfect for date night or a fun time with friends. It’s a shame nobody has tried this concept since in the North Hills, as it certainly would appeal more to residents than a row of mattress stores. (A good Irish pub would also be nice; I’ve been spoiled by Fitzgerald’s here in Charlotte).

Although Disney gets the credit, perhaps William McAfee was the real inventor of the system. However, his name will forever be buried in history, just as Charles Page and Phillipp Reis never get credit for the telephone. Just as Alexander Graham Bell made the first usable, accepted telephone system, Disney was the first to take the thematic concept to a level where the national public would recognize it. Still, as western Pennsylvania historians, we should always remember the innovation in McAfee’s Convict Inn and realize that somehow, in some way, it helped to establish a precedent for thematic entertainment and dining venues.

NEXT TIME: We will look at the expansion of an amazing and popular pizza chain in Ross and Wexford, one which I cannot wait to stop at when I return to Pittsburgh in June!