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New York Women's House of Detention

New York, Italy

New York Women's House of Detention

The New York Women's House of Detention, often referred to as the "House of D", was a women's prison in Manhattan, New York City from 1932 to 1974. Built on the site of the Jefferson Market Prison that had succeeded the Jefferson Market in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, the New York Women's House of

Detention is believed to have been the world's only Art Deco prison. It was designed by Sloan & Robertson in 1931 at a cost of $2,000,000 and opened to the public by Richard C. Patterson, Jr. on March 29, 1932. It did not receive its first inmates until some time later. The prison's central location at 10 Greenwich Avenue gave the female inmates an opportunity to see below to the crowded street and attempt to communicate with people walking by. After the prison was officially closed on June 13, 1971, Mayor Lindsay began the demolition of the prison in 1973, and it was completed the following year. The Jefferson Market Garden, now on the site, has a historical marker recognizing the site's history. Ruth E. Collins was the first superintendent at the prison. She embraced the design of the prison, labeling it "a new era in penology". Her mission was to affect the moral and social rehabilitation...

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