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The Aurora Club the Forgotten Jazz Club with a Notorious Past
I was doing work across street from this building and figured it had a story to be told and I was right
Every one Knows about The Crawford Grill and Walt Harper's Attic when it came to great Jazz Clubs in the Pittsburgh Region.
But there was another club as well The Aurora which is not as well known or acknowledged due to its ties to local mob gambling rackets and violent activities both with in and outside the club which resulted in at least 2 homicide
Which resulted in its forced closure in 1999.
Located at 5th and 11 Pride street in Pittsburgh's Uptown in what was filled with stores of Jewish Garment Jobbers who sold clothing wholesale . The rather unassuming Red Brick Building is now sadly in total decay and home to rats and junkies .
But back in the day Upstairs the finest Jazz could be heard . While in the basement mob bookies meet counted there money .
The building was owned by Anthony"tony" Ripepi since 1950 a well known local mobster and for many years it ran under the radar of law enforcement .
with a protected status from bribes of police and others .
The first floor served many different stores over the years and several celebrities are known to have patronized the club including Muhammad Ali first wife who sang there and Hubert Humphrey who stopped by for an evening of entertainment .
But the club became known as a trouble spot and after a person was killed outside the club in 1984 local councilman Sula Udin vowed to close it which he did around 2000. ad the building has been decaying and collapsing since .
An excellent article with more details can be found at link below
https://blog.historian4hire.net/2020/03/25/the-aurora-club/
Who was the Haystack Man they found in Beaver County Pa.
Its 1911 and a farmer from Chippewa working his fields finds a man half frozen in a stack of hay.
He does not know who he was or where he came from and he is taken to a local asylum where he is properly taken care of but never recovers his identity to become known only as Haystack Jack .
It is believed he may have been a cowboy because of ranches and such he recalled but no one was able to run down which one it was or like many drifters if there was ever a record of him working there.
Was he a victim of a mugging tossed off a train running thru area ? No one knows and as time passes chances are even with DNA if they can recover it they will never find out .
Jack Haystacks is but one of many such mystery people in late 1800s early 1900s who ended up in asylums all over the country unable to tell there story's .
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Two upcoming Paranormal Events in 2024
1st Event a Squatch Fest is at The Family Drive in Theater on US 6 in Kane Pa on July 16, 2024 the famous drive in with a UFO and Big Foot Cut out in front
A Unsolved Mystery who or how did Pesticides get into the water system of residents in southern end of Pittsburgh .in 1980
December 8th of 1980 Residents in Southern Section of Pittsburgh in particular Beechview area started noticing a very strong chemical smell in there home water supply's.
After a quick investigation by authorities warnings where sent out thru the news and door to door not to use the water because it some how had been contaminated with Pesticides specifically Chlordane.
https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-09/documents/chlordane.pdf
Supposedly this was seen as an act of Vandalism when they believed it was injected into the system in the woods off Saw Mill Run Road Pa 51 near Crane Ave.
But the true cause was never determined or individuals prosecuted, but it caused misery for many in and around the Beechview area. for several days while it was flushed out of the water system.
At the time of the incident Back Flow Preventers where not required on most water system supply's to homes and businesses
https://todayshomeowner.com/plumbing/guides/backflow-preventer/
Which help prevent water in the structure from going backwards into the water supply mainline.
The incident could have been as simple as some one with a sprayer on a hose spraying the chemical on their lawn and a water main break in street causing low enough pressure it sucks what ever water is in the home back into the street main.
The Late Judson Hamil a Carrick Plumbing business owner I knew and Allegheny County Master Plumber was working in the area that day .
He observed a lawn service type truck at the top of Dagmar Ave a very hilly and steep area of Beechview and down near west liberty ave there was a water break that day and he believed at the time this truck was possible cause which he reported to authorities but was ignored. When you look at a map of area the scenario is very possible .
A true cause was never determined.
Ultimately this incident saw the enforcement of all businesses and eventually all new homes to have to have back flow preventers installed and yearly inspected for businesses
A Number of Deaths from Pneumonia at the Old St Johns Hospital In Pittsburgh's North side . Did the Nuns have something to do with it?
The Old St Johns Hospital on Pittsburgh's North Side off Brighton Ave saw many a colorful Criminal pass thru its doors over the years it was opened .One Black hand boss was even killed outside the entrance .
When I first learned to drive in 1976 I was taken to the then closed and decrepit hospital lot to practice parallel parking . the place was dark and spooky looking
https://archive.triblive.com/news/neighbors-awaiting-hospital-demolition/
But one strange pattern you notice when reading Newspaper articles about mobsters who passed away in the hospital is how many passed away from Pneumonia .
A dear late friend of mine Noel McCarthy
Father died of Pneumonia in the Hospital in 30s
after receiving a Gun Shot .
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| Gangster who died from Pneumonia |
Noel thought his dad was involved in Law Enforcement but I have not been able to verify it that he was a law enforcement officer and likely he was involved with the rackets.
Noel always said how his dad died was because of the good sisters leaving his hospital room window open on a cold night allowing him to contract pneumonia.
Maybe the nuns saw it as a civic duty to help rid the city of crime. However an alternate theory is because of all the Tuberculous and other lung disease issues Pittsburgh had Open Ward Tuberculosis Hospitals where it was believed the cold air helped people with lung issues.
https://theclio.com/entry/89807
So maybe the nuns thought they where doing good?
Either way we will never know but when you read all the articles one does wonder .
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A one time Inn with a notorious gangster past and supposedly haunted near Masury Ohio
I was doing some Electrical Inspection work in Masury Ohio when I came across an old white sided building I just knew had to have an interesting past and I was right
Formerly known as the Green Parrot Inn it now unused along Ohio 82 and 62 just over the Pa. State Line .
In the 1930,s this place was said to be a favorite hangout of John Dillinger the famous bank robber and its said he would throw penny's to kids out his hotel room window and plenty of other story's many apparently made up like him dropping his gun on the inns bar floor and local sheriff picking it up and handing it back to him and not recognizing him.
The Inn is also supposedly haunted and has been investigated by paranormal groups.
https://www.facebook.com/ohshiteam1/videos/the-green-parrot-lounge-masury-oh/150372833689845/
Now why would a gangster hide out here? well close to border he could freely flee police across the border plus the local steel mills etc made for lots of activity where a gangster could hide in anonymity
and commit crimes . These Road Houses as they became known where popular places in the day to dance and drink and have fun. and sadly many are now just memory's .
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