herr2ck: Been Caught Stealing

Photos of remnants from March 2026.

The massive Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus formerly dominated the neighborhood now known as the Arena District. Its decline and eventual demolition were indicative of the patterns of the area during its history. The site of the demolished prison has since been obscured by condos and office buildings.

Ohio Penitentiary was located in the Arena District neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. It was bordered by Maple Street (now Nationwide Boulevard) to the north, Spring Street to the south, West Street to the east, and Neil Avenue to the west.

History

The earliest jail in Columbus was located in Franklinton. In 1804, a two-story log building with 13 whipping posts was built there. However, the first state prison was built on 2nd Street and Mound Street, across the Scioto River, between 1813 and 1815. The first inmates were Hank and Dale Evans of Pickaway County, convicted of assault with intent to murder. This small 60’ x 30’ structure had only 13 cells and was filled by year’s end, leading to its replacement by a larger prison with capacity for 100 inmates in 1818, though the older prison was retained as the warden’s house. This prison would be named the Ohio Penitentiary in 1822.

The construction of a larger jail that could hold 500 prisoners was approved in 1832, and a 15-acre site on what was the far north end of Columbus was selected, which was a gift from the citizens living there. The Ohio Penitentiary opened on its current site in 1834, with its construction supervised by Nethaniel Medbury. The first portion was known as “West Hall” and was three stories in height, built of Columbus limestone.

At first, the Ohio Penitentiary was also a “territorial prison,” meaning federal prisoners and prisoners of war during the Civil War were incarcerated there. A women’s prison on the premises with 11 cells was built in 1837, which was replaced by the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville in 1916.

An 1874 illustration of the prison. (Wikimedia)

Most sources really don’t discuss the jail’s architecture, but its Italianate design seemed much too late for 1834. Indeed, zooming in on images of the block along Neil Avenue reveals a datestone reading “1876.” This actually dates to a renovation and addition to East and West Halls, which added a fourth floor. The prison’s East Hall was built in 1861, bringing its capacity to 700 prisoners, and the New Hall (the last major cell block) was completed in 1877. The majority of the buildings on-site were completed before 1877. A hospital on the site, known as James Hospital, opened in 1895 and was renovated in 1944.

A map of the penitentiary that shows its greatest extent before demolition. (Knowlton Archives)

In 1885, Ohio required that inmates sentenced to death must be executed at the Ohio Penitentiary, instead of in the counties where the crime was committed. Inmates were hanged until 1896, when Ohio became the second state to use the electric chair. This method continued until 1963, when a moratorium on executions was passed, and in 1972 the death row would be relocated to Lucasville’s Southern Ohio Correctional Facility.

The jail during its 1930 fire. (Ohio History Connection)

A major fire occurred at the Ohio Penitentiary on April 21, 1930, when a burning candle ignited rags on the roof of the wing along Neil Avenue. The prisoners had been locked in their cells for the night and most guards left them there, even when smoke began to enter the rooms. The fire was also unusually smoky due to the combustion of lumber forms that were being used to convert one of the buildings to a concrete structure. Some inmates would be rescued after others took a guard’s keys. The situation eventually devolved into a prison riot, and the prison guards were backed up by 500 soldiers from Fort Hayes, who set up machine guns and had orders to fire on escaping prisoners.

Officials alleged that the fire began as part of an escape attempt, though this has been questioned by historians as an attempt to avoid blame for poor management. One source details that the candle was supposedly meant as a timing device for escape, which was timed to ignite during the inmates’ dinner. However, due to winds that day, it apparently did not start until later. In all, the fire claimed 322 lives and sent 230 other inmates to the hospital, making it the deadliest prison fire in American history.

Ohio Penitentiary aerial view in 1932

1932 aerial view of the prison. (Columbus Dispatch)

Notable inmates in the prison’s history include Confederate General John H. Morgan (who escaped in 1863), Chicago gangster Bugs Moran, writers O. Henry and Chester Himes, and alleged murderer Sam Sheppard. However, many served only cursory sentences there or were transferred to other prisons.

An overhead view of the complex with new concrete buildings. This has to be the 1950s or 1960s…downtown is a sea of parking lots. (WOSU)

Three riots took place in the mid-century era of the Ohio Penitentiary, one on Halloween in 1952 and two more in 1968. The 1952 riot involved 2,400 prisoners, who burnt down the chapel, personnel building, deputy warden’s office, storage building, and laundry. The 1968 riots happened three months apart (June and August), the first resulting in more fire-damaged buildings, and the second involving guards that were taken as hostages. In 1955, the prison also reached its peak population of 5,235 inmates.

Ohio Penitentiary in March 1997, immediately prior to its demolition. (Columbus Metropolitan Library)

Most inmates in the prison would be transferred to the newly opened Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville in 1972. The closure process of the Ohio Penitentiary began in 1978, when the ACLU sued the prison and alleged that prison conditions violated the 8th Amendment. At the time, the facility was extremely overcrowded, housing 1,990 prisoners in a space rated for 700. In 1979, the prison was renamed to the Columbus Correctional Facility, and a federal consent decree ruled that it would be closed by December 1983. The inmates would be moved to other facilities through August 1984, when the prison finally closed.

The former prison sat abandoned for more than a decade after its closure. The Ohio National Guard used it as a training site, and it was operated as “The Demon Pen” during Halloween. It also became popular with urban explorers. The state sold the building and property to the city of Columbus in 1995, as the surrounding Arena District was considered an extremely valuable site for future development. Mayor Buck Rinehart, apparently champing at the bit, operated a wrecking ball on the building before demolition was approved, and he was ordered to have the damage repaired. However, he got his way in the end, as infamous demolition contractor S. G. Loewendick & Sons razed the prison complex in 1997, despite efforts from preservationists to save the historic buildings.

Photos

I have some photos of ornamental remnants, which are sitting in the grass outside the Municipal Light Plant. However, this is not every single remnant--stone blocks are located at the children’s fountain in North Bank Park, as well as roof pinnacles off of New Public Lane.

A good look at the entire collection: