The prison was built just outside the city limits with the help of inmates and cost a total of $75,000. It could accommodate a maximum of 761 inmates. There was a limestone deposit right next to the prison, from which the stones for the building were extracted. In 1858 the reformatory was put into operation. It replaced Alton Prison, which was used from 1833 to 1860. The limestone buildings were designed by William W. Boyington, who also designed the Chicago Water Tower, the Hegeler Carus Mansion and the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield. At that time it was the largest prison in the United States and became a model for other new prison buildings. The first 33 prisoners arrived in May 1858.
During the American Civil War, prisoners of war and convicted criminals were imprisoned at the same time. In 1865 the first enforcement officer was killed, his name was Joseph Clark. In 1872 the prison population rose to 1,239, the highest number of prisoners in a single prison at the time.
A women's prison was added to the complex in 1896, but this was closed again in 1932. The modernization of the prison progressed slowly. Until 1910 there were neither toilets nor running water. The Stateville Correctional Center, built from 1917 to 1925, was supposed to replace the Joliet, but it never happened. Both prisons continued to operate.
The number of prisoners rose to a peak of 1300 in 1990. In 2000 there were still 1156 with a staff of 541 people.
Budget cuts and the dilapidated condition of the buildings led to the closure of the Joliet Correctional Center in February 2002. All inmates and most of the staff were transferred to the newly built portion of the maximum security Stateville Correctional Center at Crest Hill. The Joliet served as a temporary prison for new convicts until February 21, 2011.
Joliet Prison appeared in the following films:
1980 in John Landis' film Blues Brothers.
1988 in Walter Hill's film Red Heat.
2005 in the film Derailed with Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston.
2005-2006 in the FOX series Prison Break.
2006 in the film Go to Prison by Dax Shepard and Will Arnett.
2017 in episode 9 of season 1 of the series Mindhunter.
The prison was built just outside the city limits with the help of inmates and cost a total of $75,000. It could accommodate a maximum of 761 inmates. There was a limestone deposit right next to the prison, from which the stones for the building were extracted. In 1858 the reformatory was put into operation.
It replaced Alton Prison, which was used from 1833 to 1860. The limestone buildings were designed by William W. Boyington, who also designed the Chicago Water Tower, the Hegeler Carus Mansion and the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield. At that time it was the largest prison in the United States and became a model for other new prison buildings. The first 33 prisoners arrived in May 1858.
During the American Civil War, prisoners of war and convicted criminals were imprisoned at the same time. In 1865 the first enforcement officer was killed, his name was Joseph Clark. In 1872 the prison population rose to 1,239, the highest number of prisoners in a single prison at the time.
A women's prison was added to the complex in 1896, but this was closed again in 1932. The modernization of the prison progressed slowly. Until 1910 there were neither toilets nor running water. The Stateville Correctional Center, built from 1917 to 1925, was supposed to replace the Joliet, but it never happened. Both prisons continued to operate.
The number of prisoners rose to a peak of 1300 in 1990. In 2000 there were still 1156 with a staff of 541 people.
Budget cuts and the dilapidated condition of the buildings led to the closure of the Joliet Correctional Center in February 2002. All inmates and most of the staff were transferred to the newly built portion of the maximum security Stateville Correctional Center at Crest Hill. The Joliet served as a temporary prison for new convicts until February 21, 2011.
Joliet Prison appeared in the following films:
1980 in John Landis' film Blues Brothers.
1988 in Walter Hill's film Red Heat.
2005 in the film Derailed with Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston.
2005-2006 in the FOX series Prison Break.
2006 in the film Go to Prison by Dax Shepard and Will Arnett.
2017 in episode 9 of season 1 of the series Mindhunter.
Translated by Google •
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