Lorton Correctional Complex
|
D.C. Workhouse and Reformatory Historic District
|
|
The historic prison from the quad
|
|
 
|
|
| Location | Laurel Hill, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Area | 511.3 acres (206.9 ha) |
| Built | 1910 |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Beaux Arts |
| NRHP Reference # | 06000052 |
| VLR # | 029-0947 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | February 16, 2006 |
| Designated VLR | December 7, 2005, March 27, 2012 |
The Lorton Reformatory was a prison built in 1910 for the District of Columbia, United States, in what is now known as Laurel Hill, Virginia. It closed in 2001. It was operated by the District of Columbia Department of Corrections. Lorton was also the site of a bunker used by the government from 1959 to 2001 that housed emergency communications equipment to be used in the event of a war with the Soviet Union.
Plans for the workhouse were ongoing in 1910 with Snowden Ashford as the Municipal Architect responsible for the workhouse while Leon E. Dessez was the special architect who was appointed by the commissioners to draft plans for the new workhouse. It opened in 1916 as a facility for less serious offenders in the Lorton Correctional Complex. It is located in nearby Lorton in southern Fairfax County, Virginia. In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed a special Penal Commission to investigate deplorable conditions of the District of Columbia's jail and workhouse in Washington. As a result, the Commission recommended a complete change in the philosophy and treatment of prisoners in D.C. The United States Congress acted upon this recommendation, and a 1,155-acre (5 km2) tract north of the Occoquan River was purchased in 1910 through condemnation proceedings.
Classically inspired, symmetrical dormitory complexes were constructed instead of cellblocks. The brick buildings were built by the prisoners themselves, using brick manufactured at the on-site kiln complex located on the banks of the Occoquan. It became known in its later years, however, as an outdated and badly overcrowded facility. The last prisoners were removed from Lorton Reformatory late in 2001. As a result of the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997, felons from the District of Columbia began going to Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities.
...
Wikipedia