Hidden In Plain Sight – The Abandoned Prison

This series is part of an ongoing project documenting abandoned prisons in the US.

Almost all of these structures are “hidden in plain sight”, integrated into the city or town in which they are located, often presenting a beautiful facade to the world. With the rise of the modern “prison industrial complex” the architecture of prisons has become much more banal, and such facilities are commonly hidden in remote areas. The prisons in these images are from an earlier era, and it is uncertain if past attempts at integrating them into communities made them more or less visible.

In either case these places often have a long and frightening history, but when empty are full of eerie and beautiful light. The design and function of these interior spaces can be jarring, utilitarian, even brutal, yet the light in the space open and subtle and inviting.

Gas Chamber With Two Chairs, Missouri State Penitentiary, #3, 2012

It is possible to feel quite alone in one of these locations, and at the same time realize that they were inevitably overcrowded and filled with ever present tension and latent violence.

The contrast between these elements is fascinating and difficult. One can feel deeply unsettled and serene at almost the same moment.

Gas Chamber, Wyoming Frontier Prison, #2, 2007

Gas Chamber Observation Room, Missouri State Penitentiary, #1, 2012

Death Row Cell, Housing Unit 3, Missouri State Penitentiary, #1 (Swastika), 2012

Sun Room, Wyoming Frontier Prison, 2007

Cell, Housing Unit 4, Missouri State Penitentiary, #9 (Red), 2012

Cell Block, Mansfield State Reformatory, Mansfield, OH, #30, 2011

Cell Block, Mansfield State Reformatory, Mansfield, OH, #15, 2011

Block End, Housing Unit 1, Missouri State Penitentiary, #1, 2012

Meeting Room, Housing Unit 3, Missouri State Penitentiary, #1, 2011

Isolation Block, Mansfield State Reformatory, Mansfield, OH, #11, 2011

Psychiatric Ward, Penitentiary New Mexico, Santa Fe, NM, #3, 2009

Gas Chamber, Wyoming Frontier Prison, #4, 2007

Hallway, Mansfield State Reformatory, Mansfield, OH, #3, 2011