We are getting closer
And closer
The line continues to grow behind us
Inside the Missouri State Penitentiary. This was suppose to be the armory where they kept guns and some keys locked up. (I didn't have the best documentation, so I may be wrong on some of these)
Sign Out. I take it that this is where the officers would sign out at the end of thier shift.
This was housing unit 3A/3B built in 1914.
Although hard to see, this was simply the bathroom in a cell with basically a plywood enclosure around it allowing the staff to have privacy when using the restroom.
Of course in their cell, the inmates did not have such privacy. The sink and stool were simply one unit. Many cells had bunkbeds. Two to a small cell.
There were cells on both sides of the building with the backs of the cells against each other (there may actually be an area for plumbing behind the cells). I would imagine this is a safer design as the inmates are more limited on what they can see than in Housing Unit 4 where the inmates can see what is going on in the cells across from them and in the area in between. Although I would imagine the design of Housing Unit 4 requires fewer men to keep an eye on things as they can see both sides from the middle.
All of the black rods coming out from the walls on the left are simply rods with teeth that are hooked up to a crank to open and close the windows.
Looks worse than some filling stations. :-)
The view from the inside out.
Passing cell by cell it was interesting to see how some were painted differently. Maybe they were inspired by Martha Stewart.
The walks were numbered. One was not to use the mop sinks during line movement.
Just a view up above in between A and B.
The panel for closing the prison and shower cell doors.
The courtyard outside the Chapel
I would guess there were a lot that didn't want to be there. I think Out of Bounds is a bit more serious here, than say football.
A maintenance building, built in 1956. As one can see by the sign, Phil M. Donnelly was the Governor, James D. Carter the Director, E.V. Nash the Warden, and W.G. Reed the Superintendent of Construction at the time.
Unit 3 above the Basketball courts
I am guessing the walls next to the basketball court were used for handball.
The line to view the Gas Chamber wrapping around by the softball/baseball diamond.
The Missour Gas Chamber, built by inmates in 1937.
It was the site of 40 executions.
As the line was long we did not wait to view inside, but did get a glimpse of the chamber through the back windows. The glare on the glass was to bad for a picture.
One of the guard towers. Some had some cloudy looking old plexiglass.
Chain link and razor wire all around the compound.
One could see the river from inside.
The wall between inmates and freedom.
Another basketball court with weight machines at each end.
A good view of the railroad tracks over the wall.
A tower on the back side. The flood lights kept the place lit up at night. The old raised chair once used by officers sits abandoned and abused.
Even a building in a prison compound can look picturesque with fall leaves from vines.
A bit of the plumbing. Locked behind bars. One might wonder where it leads, especially after seeing movies such as "The Rock".
A staff restroom in part of the factory area.
A list on a pole in one of the old buildings.
A view to some of the other factory buildings.
An area that appears to of housed a spiral staircase at one point.
Looking out to one of the towers.
Hmm, A Warning maybe.
One of the factories down from Housing Unit 2.
I-Hall.
Looking through one of the windows it was apparent this had not been used to house prisoners for some time.
A view into the factory where they use to make license plates. Built in 1936.
It is my understanding this is what was called "The Hole". Simply dirt and concrete. Not where you wanted to be. As if one wanted to be here at all.
The outside of Housing Unit 4.
Inside Housing Unit 4. Much like the prisons you see in the movies with cells facing each other on opposing sides.
The catwalks allowed on to get from one side to the other.
Looking into cell 28.
Separate beds instead of bunks as viewed in Housing Unit 3.
One of the original cell doors in Housing Unit 4. The rest were replaced with the stereotypical cell door. The old doors were just 5'1" high.
They don't have cell phones like many a teenager today.
The mess hall.
More basketball.
The truck tunnel. The location where trucks were searched on the way in and the way out. This is where James Earl Ray passed as he hid in a bread box to make his escape. Unlike trash, etc.. that was poked with metal rods to make sure no one was hidden in them, the bread boxes were not searched up to that point. Read more about life at the MSP and James Earl Ray's escape in this article.
The original entrance to the Missouri State Penitentiary.
24 comments:
Thanks. I bet she has some stories and was able to give a lot more insight into the place as you toured. Cool.
I WAS JUST LOOKING AT YOUR SITE AND... IT BRINGS BACK MEMORYS OF WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO MOVE ALL OF THOSE PRISONERS FOR THAT HISTORIC PLACE MYSELF AND ABOUT 250 OFFICERS FROM ALL OVER THE STATE ALL IN THE TOTAL OF ABOUT 12 HRS, THE FELLING I GET THINKING ABOUT THAT DAY HAS CHANGED THE WAY THAT I LOOK AT MY JOB WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION KNOWING THAT IT COULD ALWAYS BE WORSE!!!!
I would think that would be a bit stressful. I would be curious to know how much the prisoners knew about the move.
Good pic's. My father was the longest tenured Warden of MSP and while the pictures can almost tell a story, no one could possibly imagine what it was like inside that old penitentiary. Look for my book soon to be published about Warden Wyrick and the old penitentiary. It includes hundreds of never before seen pictures from the old place. C. Ann Wyrick
Bob,
When you say that you got out 50 years ago, I hope you mean you were released. :-)
One doesn't have to see much to know it is a place they would not want to be. I would say being stuck on the inside would give one an even greater appreciation of the outside world.
C. Ann,
Thanks. That is interesting. What is the title of your book and who is the publisher?
The pictures leave a queasy feeling in my stomach. I worked there for a while under Warden Donald Wyrick. I believe his son was working there, too, and possibly still works for DOC. The book would be very interesting, I'll look for it.
To All Interested:
The book about Warden Donald "D.W." Wyrick has now been published. It is titled, "Man of the Big House, Missouri State Penitentiary, A Warden's Warden."
Please enjoy reading about the 'finest' Warden in the United States and his career with the Missouri Department of Corrections, specifically, Missouri State Penitentiary.
C. Ann Wyrick
Thanks for the pictures. I used to work at MSP and it sure does bring back memories looking at these pictures. I worked all over the prison so I know all of what you are showing here. It was not a nice place to be, but it was great knowing I worked in such a historical place.
Sabrina R.
i was an inmate at msp. my doc #535335. i have seen people cut someones throat and sit and eat and watch them bleed to death. it is true when they say this is the bloodiest 48 acres, leave all your hopes and dreams behind this door. it was like being in hell for youngsters like myself. to survive ask the elders ,they are the wiser ones.thank you for the tour. lot of memories unfolded in me....
The smell is something almost more than the pictures....I was there back in the late 90's for ministry purposes and still have never forgotten the smell! thanks for the pics -Kirsten
#39709 D.W. as I knew him was one of the most corrupted persons I ever met in my life and i spent and he hated his daughter for her choose in life I knew Boggie Luton Hallford and all the rest of them and will bet to this day they killed a few people themselves byrnes.of.robert@gmail.com
carol how are you doing? Hope you tell the truth in your book bobby b
corrupt coming from an inmate. funny, dad was never in prison.
I went there for dental work from CMCC when I was an inmate, must be close to 25 yrs ago.
I was there in 1979, my number was 36230. I was wondering if they had started the numbering system over at some point, because the comment above from "Bob" said his number was 73702 and he got out 50 years ago.
Renumbering at MSP--starting inmate numbers over at 000000--was done in the late 1960s or early 1970s.
I lived it too, Hell On The River! #157070 was in H Hall in 1986. What bothered me the most was the screams of young kids at night ( Need I Say More) They would put young kids with a petty 3 yr sentence in with someone that had been there for 20 yrs! The System didn't give a SHIT!!!
I worked in the women's medical ward on 5th floor in the 80's, it is still horrid memories and I only had to be there 8hrs.when we had someone sick. Our ward was below the nut ward, and we would have to dodge dripping pee, because the urine tester leaked through our ceiling
I worked in the women's medical ward on 5th floor in the 80's, it is still horrid memories and I only had to be there 8hrs.when we had someone sick. Our ward was below the nut ward, and we would have to dodge dripping pee, because the urine tester leaked through our ceiling
I worked in the women's medical ward on 5th floor in the 80's, it is still horrid memories and I only had to be there 8hrs.when we had someone sick. Our ward was below the nut ward, and we would have to dodge dripping pee, because the urine tester leaked through our ceiling
I worked in the women's medical ward on 5th floor in the 80's, it is still horrid memories and I only had to be there 8hrs.when we had someone sick. Our ward was below the nut ward, and we would have to dodge dripping pee, because the urine tester leaked through our ceiling
I spent 10 years there and Donald Wyrick became warden while I was there. Very fair man and tough as nails. People that talk trash about him would piss their pants if they thought he might hear them.
Wyrick grew up tough and his family like mine were bootleggers and tended to be violent if needed. I watched him walk the yard alone and he never feared any inmate and if you did your time he left you alone. He once told me "son you will never wear out these prison walks" and he was right. I had a lot of respect for this man. I remember the night he caught Jeff Borman and a little dude off death row on the wall and shot at them to make them run back and forth before telling them to get their ass down off his wall. His word was gold and his temper was quick. In the 70's when they mixed the races together he transferred a lot of us out to avoid trouble, he knew how to run a prison.
Post a Comment