New York Women's House of Detention

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New York Women's House of Detention
Map
LocationGreenwich Village, New York
StatusClosed
Opened1932
Closed1974

The New York Women's House of Detention was a women's prison in Manhattan, New York City which existed from 1932 to 1974.

Built on the site of the Jefferson Market Prison that had succeeded the Jefferson Market in Manhattan's Greenwich Village,[1] the New York Women's House of Detention is believed to have been the world's only art deco prison.[2] 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.[3] It did not receive its first inmates until some time later. Its location at 10 Greenwich Avenue gave the women inmates an opportunity to try to communicate with people walking by.[4] After the prison was officially closed on June 13, 1971,[5] Mayor Lindsay began the demolition of the prison in 1973,[6] and it was completed the following year.[7] It was replaced with a garden.[8]

Ruth E. Collins was the first superintendent at the prison.[9] She embraced the design of the prison, labeling it "a new era in penology". Her mission was to effect the moral and social rehabilitation of the women in her charge, giving them a chance for "restoration as well as for punishment". She commissioned a number of art works as part of her mission to uplift the women and treat them all as individuals. Among the Women's House of Detention's most famous inmates were:

In its later years, allegations of racial discrimination, abuse and mistreatment dogged the prison. Angela Davis has been outspoken about the treatment she witnessed.[10] Andrea Dworkin's testimony of her assault by two of the prison's doctors led to its eventual closing.[11] Audre Lorde described the House of Detention as, "a defiant pocket of female resistance, ever-present as a reminder of possibility, as well as punishment."[12]

In 2022, the historian Hugh Ryan published a history of the prison called The Women's House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison.[13] He writes, "It was one of the Village's most famous landmarks: a meeting place for locals and a must-see site for adventurous tourists. And for tens of thousands of arrested women and transmasculine people from every corner of the city, the House of D was a nexus, drawing the threads of their lives together in its dark and fearsome cells."[14]

Pop culture[edit]

Hellhole: The Shocking Story of the Inmates and Life in the New York House of Detention for Women, published in 1967 by Sara Harris,[15] recounts her time as a social worker in the prison, and the shocking scenes she witnessed.

Jerry Herman's Off-Broadway musical, Parade, opened in 1960 and featured a song called "Save the Village",[16] originally entitled “Don’t Tear Down the House of Detention.”[17] Melvin Van Peebles' musical, Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death, which opened on Broadway in 1972 features a song, "10th and Greenwich" and is considered the first lesbian love song in Broadway history.[17]

The prison featured prominently in the 2004 film House of D.[18]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Women's house of detention protects the first offenders; New York's model prison". The New York Times. March 8, 1931. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  2. ^ Gold, Ed (2005). "Where 'The House of D' once loomed, garden blooms". The Villager. 74 (51). Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  3. ^ "Luxury jail here for women ready". The New York Times. March 29, 1932. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  4. ^ Kaufman, Michael T. (October 15, 1970). "Davis case goes to city's courts". The New York Times. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  5. ^ Spiegel, Irving (June 14, 1971). "Women's prison closed; Inmates moved to Rikers". The New York Times. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  6. ^ Schumach, Murray (October 10, 1973). "City begins demolishing women's jail". The New York Times. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  7. ^ Neumaier, Joe (April 23, 2005). "Duchovny: Film is both personal and universal". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  8. ^ Schaefer, Stephen (April 26, 2005). "The Duchovny files; 'X-Files' star steps out on a limb with directorial debut". Boston Herald. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  9. ^ Blanshard, Julia (January 9, 1932). "Modern skyscraper prison will be "school" for women". The Meridan Daily Journal. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  10. ^ "Angela Davis taps past for passion". Contra Costa Times. September 27, 1998. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  11. ^ Jeffery, Simon (April 11, 2005). "Feminist icon Andrea Dworkin dies". The Guardian. London. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  12. ^ "The House of D". Village Preservation. 2020-07-22. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  13. ^ Ryan, Hugh (2021). The Women's House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison'. New York: Bold Type Books. ISBN 978-1-64503-664-7.
  14. ^ "Before Stonewall: The Women's House of Detention Changed Queer History". The Advocate. 2022-05-10. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  15. ^ Harris, Sara (1967). Hellhole: The Shocking Story of the Inmates and Life in the New York House of Detention for Women. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co.
  16. ^ "Parade! by Jerry Herman". www.jerryherman.com. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  17. ^ a b Ryan, Hugh (2022). The Women's House of Detention. Bold Type Books. p. 239. ISBN 9781645036647.
  18. ^ Simon, Jeff (April 29, 2005). "Cell order". The Buffalo News. Retrieved May 18, 2011.

40°44′03″N 73°59′58″W / 40.73417°N 73.99944°W / 40.73417; -73.99944

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