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Essex County Jail in Newark, New Jersey (via)
Essex County Jail was built in 1837 to replace another burned down prison. It is a two-story square building attached to a cell block wing, crafted from brownstone and brick. It includes garden paths, courtyards, and a greenhouse used for the better-behaved inmates to work and enjoy.
In the late 1800’s the building was expanded and technological improvements were made, including running water. The prison has over 300 cells. An interesting feature at this facility are the thick glass panes installed as flooring for the narrow catwalks that line the cell blocks, designed so guards could keep an eye out above and below.
In 1970 a new prison was built on a different location and all the inmates were moved. From this point the building was used by the Essex County Narcotics Bureau. They used cells as storage rooms for evidence. In 1989 the bureau left the building behind and the facility became abandoned. They did left piles of confidential reports and photographs behind which caused controversy in a 1998 New York Times article.
The prison is the oldest standing government building in the city of Newark, and although it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, no efforts have been made to preserve it. It was used as a filming location for scenes in Spike Lee’s movie “Malcolm X” in 1992.
