Present Day Site

Above graph is made by Michael Beirne.
Let's get a closer look of each part from the north to the south and to the east.

Now and Then:

Y - Storage

X- Power Plant

T - Woolen, Cotton and Knitting Mills, Tabacco and Printing Shops

U - Shoe Factory and Laundry

V - Dormitory

G - Guard Tower

S (north portion of) - Dormitory and Vocational Training building

R (north portion of) - Dormitory, Tailor Shop, Shoe Repair, and Bathhouse building

L - Hospital

N (of courtyard) - Water Tower

G (of courtyard) - Guard Tower 

The Penitentiary's courtyard now became the central plaza for Burnham Square Condominiums.

G - Guard Tower

E - New Hall

The Guard Tower and New Hall on east of now Neil Avenue.

M - Welding Shop

K - Tin Shop and Foundry

J - Machine Shop and Dry Cleaning

Z - Death House

G - Guard Tower

C (east portion of) - East Hall 

I - Catholic Chapel

H - Deputy Warden's Building

B - Honor Dormitory

The Catholic Chapel

The Death House

O (south portion of) - Dormitory and Storage

Reference

AIA Columbus. (2005). Architecture Columbus. Columbus, OH.

Ohio Historical Society, . "Ohio History Central-Ohio Penitentiary Cell (2)."

(2010): n. pag. Web. 10 May 2010.

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/image.php?img=2042

The End of the Penitentiary

- In 1995, the State of Ohio sold the Old Ohio Penitentiary to the City of Columbus. The city then leased the grounds to Nationwide Mutual Insurance and The Dispatch Printing Co.

- The penitentiary was demolished to make way for new developments.

- The preservationist community started a campaign to save at least five historical buildings on Spring Street. However, the effort failed and the penitentiary was demolished.

March 1997, fifteen of the Ohio Penitentiary buildings fell to the wrecking ball.

January 1998, the roof has been knocked in and most of the administration building is gone.

A cellblock is demolished; the floor and individual cells are visible.

The hollowed-out interior of the prison.

Reference

Henderson, Andrew. (2002). Forgotten Columbus. Images of America.

“The Ohio Penitentiary - History.” (August 4, 2008). Retrieved May 21, 2010, from http://www.drc.state.oh.us/web/inst/ohiopen.htm

Various Rooms and Sections of the Penitentiary

Reference

Penitentiary Barber Shop
Ohio Historical Society. "Ohio History Central-Ohio Penitentiary Barber Shop."

(2010). n. pag. Web. 10 May 2010.

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/image.php?img=956

The baseball diamond being constructed at the Penitentiary

Ohio Historical Society. "Ohio History Central-Ohio Penitentiary Baseball Field."

(2010). n. pag. Web. 10 May 2010.

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/image.php?img=1574

The Ohio Penitentiary Hospital Ward

Grave Addiction. "Ohio Penitentiary." (2010). n. pag. Web. 10 May 2010.

http://www.graveaddiction.com/ospen.html

The Dining Hall of the Penitentiary

Grave Addiction. "Ohio Penitentiary." (2010). n. pag. Web. 10 May 2010.

http://www.graveaddiction.com/ospen.html

The Penitentiary Chapel during service

Grave Addiction. "Ohio Penitentiary." (2010). n. pag. Web. 10 May 2010.

http://www.graveaddiction.com/ospen.html

Execution House

Reference
An outside shot of the execution house where the electric chair was used.

Ohio Historical Society, . "Ohio History Central-Ohio Penitentiary Death House."
(2010): n. pag. Web. 10 May 2010.
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/image.php?img=1572

An artist rendering of an execution.

Grave Addiction. "Ohio Penitentiary." (2010). n. pag. Web. 10 May 2010.
http://www.graveaddiction.com/ospen.html

Inmate Mugshots

Top 2 photos: The front and back of an inmates mugshot who is imprisoned for burglary.

Bottom 2 photos: The front and back of an inmates mugshot who is imprisoned for 2nd degree murder.



Reference
Grave Addiction. "Ohio Penitentiary." (2010). n. pag. Web. 10 May 2010.
http://www.graveaddiction.com/ospen.html

Demographics: Then and Now

The city of Columbus has drastically changed since its’ time of construction of the Ohio Penitentiary. When the penitentiary was completed in 1834, Columbus was the 70th largest city in America, with a touch over 6,000 residents. By the destruction of the penitentiary in 1998, Columbus was the 15th largest city in America with a population over 700,000. Helping to facilitate this population growth has been the city’s land area expansion. Annexation has allowed the city to grow from 39.9 square miles in 1950 to 225.9 square miles today. Throughout this growth of the city, it became evident that this wasn’t a good location for the Ohio Penitentiary.

Reference
"1950 Boundary (Central City) Population Profile/1990 Boundary Population Profile." City of Columbus. Web. 12 May 2010. .

Images of Cells and Cellblocks

Top: Image of what was called "Bankers' Row."

Grave Addiction. "Ohio Penitentiary." (2010). n. pag. Web. 10 May 2010.

http://www.graveaddiction.com/ospen.html

Second from Top: Image of a two person cell.

Ohio Historical Society, . "Ohio History Central-Ohio Penitentiary Cell (2)."

(2010): n. pag. Web. 10 May 2010.

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/image.php?img=2042

Second from Bottom: Image of a one person cell.

Ohio Historical Society, . "Ohio History Central-Ohio Penitentiary Cell(1)."
(2010): n. pag. Web. 10 May 2010.

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/image.php?img=2041

Bottom: Image looking down the aisle of a cellblock.

Ohio Historical Society, . "Ohio History Central-Ohio Penitentiary Cellblock."

(2010): n. pag. Web. 10 May 2010.

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/image.php?img=2160

Riot of 1968

The second riot of the Ohio Penitentiary broke out on August 20, 1968. Just as before in the riot of 1952, prisoners broke into the cafeteria, the commissary, and the prison hospital as well as setting several buildings ablaze. Inmates from cell blocks C and D took nine penitentiary guards hostage and began delivering demands. The demands included a list of guards to be fired, official pardon to the rioters, and show the media the prisoners’ demands.
The warden allowed the prisoners to speak to the media but cut it short when violence commenced again among the inmates. This angered the prisoners and they stated they would burn the nine guards alive and even decapitate one if the media was not brought back. However, they agreed to release the guards if they could speak to the media again. A stalemate went on throughout the night between officers and prisoners, but negotiations continued.
The next day, officers comprised of State Highway Patrol, Ohio National Guard, local police, and prison guards decided to take action when an inmate stabbed another inmate. The officers charged into the cellblocks but the nine guards were still held hostage. They blew a hole in the roof to reach the hostages and rescue them and another hole was blown on the bottom floor so they could work their way up to rioters. Once the C and D cellblocks were detained and controlled the riot officially ended. Casualties of the riot included five inmates with another five inmates and seven officers injured.

Reference
Ohio Historical Society. "Ohio Penitentiary Riot (1968)-Ohio History Central-A product of the Ohio Historical Society." (2010): n. pag. Web. 10 May 2010.
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2097.

Nationwide Reality Investors. (2006). The Arena District: A Neighborhood 170 Years in the Making. Columbus, OH: Michelle Chippas.
Image:
Nationwide Reality Investors. (2006). The Arena District: A Neighborhood 170 Years in the Making. Columbus, OH: Michelle Chippas.

The Arena District: A Neighborhood 170 Years in the Making

-The Ohio Penitentiary was opened as a source of civic pride with 189 prisoners in 1834, and closed 150 years later in 1984. 

-It was located on a 22-acre plot on West Spring Street between West Street and Neil Avenue (former Dennison Avenue). 

-Built in limestone in an ornate style, the administration building occupied nearly the length of Spring Street and a 24-foot wall surrounded the site. 

-An additional floor and new facade featuring a heavy masonry cornice were added in 1877. 

-The Pen was built at a cost of more than $93,000, including an estimated $78,000 of inmate labor.

-Historian Martin Fornshell described the Pen as standing alone “in the imposing and massive grandeur of its severe and stately front---a silent and frowning warning to the observer of the majesty of the law and the consequences which are sure to follow and overtake those who indult or violate its imperial dignity and sovereign mandates.”

-The stone and steel structure of the Ohio Pen was referred as an “acre of sorrow” by an account in 1908 because of many sad incidences such as the 1849 cholera epidemic that claimed one quarter of the prison’s 423 inmates. 

-Although the practice of whipping was abolished in 1844, punishment by dunking, time in the “sweatbox” and electrical shock were still employed.

-The Ohio Pen gained a national reputation as a model prison in the late 1880s.

-The 1930 Easter Monday Fire was the worst prison fire in U.S. history, which killed 322 inmates.  

-The fire started in New Hall, the present site of the Neil Avenue parking garage.

-New Hall was built in walls of stone and a wooden roof covered with slate.

-The fire was caused by three inmates who touched a candle flame to oily rags. Two later committed suicide.

-Guards were not trained to deal with fire, leading to the fatal delay in freeing the prisoners.

-A total of 315 persons, including three women were executed at the Pen.

Reference

Nationwide Reality Investors. (2006). The Arena District: A Neighborhood 170 Years in the Making. Columbus, OH: Michelle Chippas.

Riot of 1952

For decades, mostly throughout the 1940s and 1950s prisons became overcrowded and little to no funds was given to the prisons to care for the prisoners. Soon this over crowding and lack of needed funds resulted in prison riots. October 31, 1952, the notorious “Halloween Riot” broke out at the Ohio Penitentiary due to the dislike and unhappiness of the food.

The uprising all started about 5:00pm when prisoners in one cafeteria began banging their cups with spoons which meant they wanted more coffee. The warden, R.W. Alvis at the time, managed to gain control of the disturbance, but could not manage to settle another rebellion happening in the next cafeteria. The quarrel in the other cafeteria consisted of prisoners were throwing food, trays, and utensils. However, not all inmates took part in the riot; some took it upon themselves to return to their cells. The rioting did not just occur in the cafeteria, prisoners began to assault each other, broke into the infirmary to steal drugs, as well as setting buildings on fire.

A force combined of Ohio Highway Patrol, Columbus Police, National Guard and prison guards manage to force most of the prisoners back into their cells around 10:00pm. Still, cell blocks G, H, I, and K were still under the control of the inmates. On November 3, three days after the initiation of the riot, police cut off food supply and heat to the prison. This led to prisoners hurling objects out the windows towards officials. Officials ordered them to stop but when inmates refused and continued, police opened fire killing one prisoner and wounding four others.

The riot lasted four days and claimed one inmate, however this would not be the last.

Reference
Ohio Historical Society. "Ohio Penitentiary Riot (1952)." 2010: n. pag. Web. 5 May 2010. http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2096&nm=Ohio-Penitentiary-Riot-1952.

Present Day Info

Here's some information on present day area/ Arena District

http://hockey.ballparks.com/NHL/ColumbusBlueJackets/index.htm

Pentitiary Fire Morgue

The morgue at the Ohio State Fairgrounds from the Penitentiary fire in 1930.

Reference
Ohio Historical Society, . "Ohio Penitentiary Fire-Ohio History Central-A product of the Ohio Historical Society." (2010): n. pag. Web. 12 Apr 2010. http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/image.php?rec=558&img=969

1930 Ohio Penitentiary Fire

Fire of 1930 and the Aftermath

On April 21, 1930, the Ohio Penitentiary unfortunately made history in a few ways. In the early evening, a fire broke out at the prison taking the lives of 322 inmates. The fire was the worst in Ohio history and in prison history as well. Inmates died from flames of the fire and from poisonous gases given off from the burning lumber.

The cause of the fire was from a candle igniting some oily rags on the roof of the West Block shortly after inmates were locked into their cells for the evening. The perpetrator of the igniting of the fire is debated. On one side, guards say three inmates started the fire to create a distraction in order to escape. To help prove their point, two of the three accused committed suicide a few months later. On the other hand, people feel the fire was an accident and that officials were pointing the blame to prisoners to keep the heat off them because of how poorly the prison was ran.

No matter the cause, the prison was overcrowded and prisoners were moved out to a prison farm in London, Ohio. At the time of the fire, the Ohio Penitentiary had doubled its holding capacity. This led to the state legislature to take matters into their own hands and create the Ohio Parole Board in 1931. The board released thousands of prisoners within a short time.

Reference
Ohio Historical Society, . "Ohio Penitentiary Fire-Ohio History Central-A product of the Ohio Historical Society." (2010): n. pag. Web. 12 Apr 2010.
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec558&nm=Ohio-Penitentiary-Fire


The Site Today -

Ohio State Penitentiary after 1979

The "Pen" opened in 1834 and, after the last prisoners were removed from the Ohio State Penitentiary in 1984, the building and grounds were left vacant for nearly 10 years. In 1995, the city of Columbus bought the old penitentiary and decided to clear the land for new development. The grounds were demolished in 1998 and a parking garage was later built on the site for the new Nationwide Arena Complex in 2000.


In 1977, the 22-acre spread of the Old Ohio Penitentiary was in a state of deterioration. In the background, One Nationwide Plaza stands tall as the beginning of urban revitalization slowly comes to the Arena District.

Further deterioration and falling walls led to the first demolishing of the Ohio Pen in 1994 after part of the outer wall fell and crushed two parked cars. After demolition, the forsaken plot that formerly held the Ohio Pen was waiting for further development in 1997.


Reference

Nationwide Reality Investors. (2006). The Arena District: A Neighborhood 170 Years in the Making. Columbus, OH: Michelle Chippas.

"Ohio Penitentiary." Ohio History Central - An Online Encyclopedia of Ohio History. Ohio Historical Society, 2010. Web. 21 Apr. 2010.

Frances H. Casstevens' "Out of the Mouth of Hell: Civil War Prisons and Escapes"

Ohio State Penitentiary

Nickname: Castle Merion
Established: 1863
Types of Prisoners: non-military criminals, political prisoners, and some of John Hunt Morgan's Confederate cavalry officers

Site:
Construction began in 1830 and it opened as a prison in 1834. It was a three-story building with an exterior made of "hammered limestone." By the 1860's, the Ohio Penitentiary was considered "seriously overcrowded and antiquated."

Cells:
Each cell was 3.5 feet wide, 7 feet long, and 7 feet high. The back wall of each cell had a 3-4 inch air hole. The cells were arranged in tiers called "ranges" and each opened onto balconies that were 3 feet wide. The walls were made of brick and and the doors were a latticework of 2 inch iron bars that opened outward. The cell block was 100 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 40 feet high. The exterior limestone walls were 11 feet away from the cell block. There were 5 levels of cells, with 35 cells on each level. A massive, 4 feet thick and 25 feet high wall surrounded the entire prison. Turrets were located upon it for the guards to view the prison grounds.

Reference
Casstevens, Frances H. "Ohio State Penitentiary." Out of the Mouth of Hell. Jefferson: McFarland and Company, 2005. 137-52. Print.

The Beginning

- Ohio achieved statehood in the year of 1803.

- Search began for a permanent capital.

- Four landowners from east of Scioto River constructed a proposal to the legislature of the state of Ohio.

The proposal

- The authors of the proposal were central Ohio landowners Lyne Starling, John Kerr, Alexander McLaughlin, and James Johnston

- They offered land of over 1,200 acres, to the state of Ohio for governmental use

- Including a request for $50,000 in funds to erect a state house, offices, and “such other buildings as shall be directed by the legislature”

- The proposal included funds for a penitentiary to be built on this land

- Starling, Kerr, McLaughlin and Johnston called for the penitentiary and dependencies to be completed on or before January 1815.

Reference

"Item Description." DMC- OhioLINK Digital Media Center. Web. 25 May 2010. http://worlddmc.ohiolink.edu/OMP/NewDetails?oid=1137845

Booklist

Out of the mouth of hell" : Civil War prisons and escapes / Frances H. Casstevens
E615 .C37 2005
THO Stacks

Profit and penitence : an administrative history of the Ohio Penitentiary from 1815 to 1885 / by Dona M. Reaser
THE:HIT1998PHDR427
THO 2nd Floor Microform Theses

A statistical analysis of population data for 500 recent entrants to Ohio penitentiary, by D. J. Bonzo, chief clerk and statistician
HV8355 .A6 1929 c.4
OSU Book Depository

Prison reform. Report of special commission appointed by Governor James M. Cox .
HV8355 .A7 1913
OSU Book Depository

Report of the Special committee of the seventy-seventh General Assembly of Ohio appointed to investigate penitentiary buildings, management and convict labor, to his excellency, A.L. Harris, governor
HV8355 .A4 1908
OSU Book Depository

As it were : stories of old Columbus / Ed Lentz
F499.C757 L46 1998 c.2
ARC Perm Reserve

Columbus, America's crossroads / by Betty Garrett, with Edward R. Lentz
F499.C7 G27 c.5
ARC Books 5th Floor

Columbus Vignettes [by] Bill Arter
F499.C7 A7 v.3 c.2
ARC Books 5th Floor

The Arena District : a neighborhood 170 years in the making

The historical and illustrated Ohio Penitentiary : a complete work on the big prison--all departments, the manfacturing industries, escapes, famous prisoners, executions by hanging and electrocution, punishments, rules, etc. : fully described word and pen sketches of the greatest penal institution in the world / by Marvin E. Fornshell
HV9475.O4 F7 1911x
State Lib Ohio use only

Five years in hell, or, The Ohio Penitentiary / by Orange L. Pettay
HV9475.O4 P5
State Lib Ohio use only

Architecture Columbus 2005 / AIA Columbus, a Chapter of the American Institute of Architects
NA2340 .A73 2005
ARC Room 400E use only