High-Rise Prisons

History and Design Characteristics

Experimentation with high-rise prison facilities began in the 1970s, when the U.S. federal government began to construct metropolitan detention centers for the purpose of detaining persons accused of federal crimes. Soon thereafter, many state and local jurisdictions began to employ the high-rise design in the construction of prisons and jails. Since this time, the majority of facilities built according to the high-rise plan tend to be located in urban areas, presenting accused persons and those charged with their care the unique advantage of proximity to court services and other municipal buildings housing criminal justice–related divisions and departments. The facades of many high-rise institutions are architecturally designed to blend in with the urban landscape in which they are built.

Most high-rise facilities detain offenders prior to trial and sentencing. Many hold women and men, as well as some juvenile offenders. To keep these populations separate, housing units are usually contained within one floor allowing for the housing of multiple security levels in one site (i.e., different security levels on different floors). Likewise, the functional units such as medical, education, or recreation are located on different floors, eliminating contact among subpopulations.

Profiles of High-Rise Facilities

Several high-rise prisons that can be found in metropolitan settings in the United States are profiled below. Many details of these facilities conform to the theoretical plan originally developed for the building and use of these facilities. Nevertheless, each facility presents its own unique contribution to the inmates and neighborhood that it serves. A discussion of the pros and cons of high-rise institutions follows the profiles of these facilities.