Albany Penitentiary

Albany Penitentiary was an American prison in Albany, New York that operated from 1848[1] until 1931. The prison was designed by Amos Pillsbury, also the first superintendent.[2] 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."[2] After the closure of the Arsenal Penitentiary, Albany became the destination for prisoners of the District of Columbia.[3] In 1910 the state prison commission issued a report with "scathing criticism of existing conditions" in the penitentiary.[4] 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."[5]

Yard view, Albany Penitentiary, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views

The turn-of-the-century Bertillion-system mugshots from the penitentiary are kept in the Albany Hall of Records.[6]

References
  1. Coffin, Edwin Tristram (1920). "Albany (New York)" . Encyclopedia Americana. Vol. I.
  2. "ALBANY PENITENTIARY.; History of the Institution--Its Industrial Features--Interior of the Prison--Political vs. Business Management. (Published 1873)". 1873-02-24. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
  3. "The Albany Penitentiary". All Over Albany. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
  4. "Severe Condemnation of Albany Penitentiary". Press and Sun-Bulletin. 1910-10-20. p. 7. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
  5. 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.
  6. Crowe II, Kenneth C. (2019-01-24). "Haunting mugshots capture Albany prison's history". Albany Times-Union.
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