 Yard view, Albany Penitentiary, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views | |
| Location | Albany, New York |
|---|---|
| Status | Closed |
| Opened | 1848 |
| Closed | 1931 |
| City | Albany |
| State/province | New York |
| Country | United States |
Albany Penitentiary was an American prison in Albany, New York that operated from 1848 until 1931. The prison was designed by Amos Pillsbury, also the first superintendent. Until the American Civil War, the main type of for-profit prison labor done at the penitentiary was the "making of coarse boots and shoes for the Southern negroes." After the closure of the Arsenal Penitentiary, Albany became the destination for prisoners of the District of Columbia. In 1910 the state prison commission issued a report with "scathing criticism of existing conditions" in the penitentiary. The prison was demolished in 1933, at which time demolition crews found "'dungeons' that were likely used to keep rule-breaking inmates in deep isolation."
The turn-of-the-century Bertillion-system mugshots from the penitentiary are kept in the Albany Hall of Records.
References
- Coffin, Edwin Tristram (1920). "Albany (New York)" . Encyclopedia Americana. Vol. I.
- ^ "ALBANY PENITENTIARY.; History of the Institution--Its Industrial Features--Interior of the Prison--Political vs. Business Management. (Published 1873)". The New York Times. 1873-02-24. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
- "The Albany Penitentiary". All Over Albany. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
- "Severe Condemnation of Albany Penitentiary". Press and Sun-Bulletin. 1910-10-20. p. 7. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
- Farris, Scott (2020). Freedom on Trial: The First Post-Civil War Battle Over Civil Rights and Voter Suppression. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4930-4636-2.
- Crowe II, Kenneth C. (2019-01-24). "Haunting mugshots capture Albany prison's history". Albany Times-Union.
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