Plans and Illustrations of Prisons and Reformatories — John Shaqi
Plans and Illustrations of Prisons and Reformatories
Science
Plans and Illustrations of Prisons and Reformatories
Prisons -- Design and construction; Prisons -- United States; Reformatories -- United States
Kilby Prison is designed essentially as an industrial prison. There are
about 3,000 State convicts in Alabama. The labor of the majority of
these heretofore has been leased out, principally to mining and lumber
corporations. The State is poor in revenue and backward in education.
It is, therefore, essential that these convicts be put to productive
work in order that they may be at least self-sustaining. By act of the
Legislature the leasing of convicts must cease after January, 1924. In
order to receive these convicts from the mines and lumber camps and to
place them into productive work this prison is being constructed.
As will be noted from the ground plan, the prison, exclusive of the
administration building, is contained within a surrounding walled
enclosure. The wall is about 20 feet high, 12 inches thick at the top,
and 20 inches thick at the bottom, and sits on a concrete mat 6 feet
wide. At the four corners of the wall are concrete guard towers, and on
one side there is a lock gate 120 feet long, equipped with steel doors
suspended with rollers. The walls are 1,000 feet long at the front and
are 1,200 feet long on the sides. The wall is constructed in sections
30 feet long. Expansion is taken care of by the construction joints.
During cool weather these joints were painted with tar, the thickness
of the coating depending on the temperature at the time of the pouring.
The concrete aggregate was mixed in the proportion of 1: 2: 4 parts
of cement, sand, and gravel, the sand and gravel being mined on the
property by the State. At the top of the wall four strands of barbed
wire are mounted, alternate strands being charged to a potential of
6,600 volts, and the other strands being grounded. The connections to
these strands are such that in case the charged wire is either cut or
short circuited, an electric siren will blow.
It will be noted from the ground plan that the administration building
is in front of the prison on the outside of the walls. Thus all
free office employees work outside the prison. The administration
building is a one-story building of brick and concrete. Connecting the
Administration Building with the cell house is a corridor flanked on
either side by rooms whose purposes are set forth in the ground plan
drawing.
MAIN CELL HOUSE
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account