View of the Allegheny County Courthouse's Bridge of Sighs looking from the intersection of Forbes Avenue and Ross Street toward the Plaza Building. The Bridge of Sighs connects the Allegheny Courthouse with the former Allegheny County Jail. Designed by Henry Hobson Richardson, the buildings were built between 1883 and 1888. The name "Bridge of Sighs," was borrowed from the Doge's Palace in Venice and refers to the sighs prisoners gave as they passed from the courthouse to the jail.