Marquette Branch Prison
|
State House of Correction and Branch Prison
|
|
Prison, c. 1911
|
|
 |
|
| Location | 1960 US 41 South; Marquette, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 46°30′44″N 87°22′57″W / 46.51222°N 87.38250°WCoordinates: 46°30′44″N 87°22′57″W / 46.51222°N 87.38250°W |
| Built | 1889 |
| Built by | Wahlman & Grip |
| Architect | William Scott & Co. |
| Architectural style | Richardsonian Romanesque |
| NRHP Reference # | 77000720 |
| Added to NRHP | November 23, 1977 |
The Marquette Branch Prison (MBP) is located in Marquette, Michigan on the south shore of Lake Superior. The prison, which opened in 1889, is a state facility that holds about 1,100 inmates in maximum and minimum-security housing. The inmate population consists of adult males, aged eighteen and older. The prison was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as State House of Correction and Branch Prison on November 23, 1977.
MBP was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in order to maintain its original buildings. MBP has become one of the state's most outstanding tourist attractions because of the beautiful flower gardens and other landscaping around the prison grounds. MBP was a prison full of attempted escapes, bloodshed, and reconstruction during the 19th century.
The first outdoor game to feature an official NHL team was held on February 2, 1954. The Detroit Red Wings played an exhibition game on an outdoor ice surface, in 21 °F (−6 °C) degree weather, against inmates at Marquette Branch Prison. After the first period the Red Wings led in the game 18–0; the rest of the game the score was not kept.
During the late 19th century the population in the Upper Peninsula quickly grew as did the number of criminal convictions. Lower Michigan prisons (Ionia and Jackson) were becoming overpopulated and the cost of moving prisoners from the Upper Peninsula to the Lower Peninsula prisons was becoming expensive. Talk of building a prison in the Upper Peninsula began. The Business Men’s Association of Marquette, Michigan argued that Marquette provided a “centrally located community with excellent transportation and water facilities as well as the natural resources required to build the prison.”
The Michigan legislature appropriated $150,000 to fund the proposed prison. The prison board of commissioners approved the site for the Marquette Branch Prison. A total of ten companies submitted bids for the prison. The lowest bid ($135,817.00) belonged to Wahlman and Grip of Ishpeming and they were given the contract. The first buildings included an administration building, east and west cell block wings connected by a rotunda, a dining hall, a hospital, and a power house. Construction began with the rotunda and west wing in July 1886 and all buildings were completed by June 22, 1889.
...
Wikipedia