Popular Science Monthly 



563 



any other style of prison architecture. 

 The most striking sanitary feature is 

 the lighting. Each cell, being on the per- 

 iphery of the building, has an outside 

 window; in addition, by means of a sky- 

 light and refracting glasses, direct sunlight 

 reaches every cell every clear day. The 

 small height in comparison with the diam- 

 eter — each cell-house is 150 feet in diameter 

 — makes little refraction necessary, even 

 for direct sunlight to reach the cells on 

 the north side on the lower floor. It is 

 expected that on clear days each cell 

 will have at least two hours of direct 

 sunlight on short winter days. 



ture of seventy degrees in the cells when 

 the outside temperature is ten below zero. 

 A radiator is placed in each cell. There 

 is also a lavatory and water-closet for 

 each cell, with running water. 



Although ease of administration and 

 sanitation have been given great attention, 

 there has been no neglect of the primary 

 purpose of the buildings — to confine pris- 

 oners. In fact, the close observation made 

 possible by the circular arrangement, the 

 elaborate construction to prevent egress 

 at the windows, and the front and 

 doors of glazed steel make escape 

 all but hopeless. 



The circular construction makes excellent lighting possible. Each cell has an outside window and 

 gets the benefit of the skylight. The guard enters his cage through an underground passage so 

 there are no resounding footsteps to warn the prisoners when he is approaching or leaving 



Fresh air is furnished through ducts in 

 the triangular shaft between each pair of 

 cells. Air is drawn from the outside over 

 blast heating-coils and through a water 

 spray washer; it then passes directly to 

 each cell in the building. As each cell is 

 really an individual room, the air leaves 

 through the transom over the door and 

 is forced out through the central space and 

 into the open air through an opening in 

 the skylight. In the usual prison the 

 cells are supplied from the foul air in the 

 corridors. Of course the windows, opening 

 on the outside, may be used for supple- 

 mentary ventilation. 



The heating system, which is entirely 

 independent of the ventilating system, is 

 sufficient to maintain a uniform tempera- 



The plan of construction is, in its way, 

 as remarkable as the plan of the buildings. 

 All the work is done by honor prisoners 

 working under the direction of a general 

 superintendent and a foreman chosen by 

 civil service examinations. Although the 

 new buildings are outside the old prison- 

 walls and the men are unguarded, not one 

 attempted to escape at the time of a 

 recent outbreak in the penitentiary proper. 

 The work has been considerably delayed 

 because the number of honor men has not 

 been as large as was planned for. 



Though the general plan marks a radical 

 departure from the old style prison, there 

 seems to be little doubt that it will be 

 widely copied by other states when new con- 

 struction work of this kind is undertaken. 



