the prison hollywood just can’t forget and an unlikely tour, a look at ohio’s state reformatory
Looking for a bit history? An unusual architecture tour? Perhaps some not-so-glam Hollywood making of stories? Well, the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield might be for you. Back in November of 2022, my family took an eight-hour road trip to get lost in deteriorating prison in Ohio. We were also visiting the National Museum of the US Air Force on the way. The reformatory caught our attention for history and architecture, I’ve never toured a prison before.
A brief history lesson of the prison
the ohio state reformatory was built in 1896 with the idea of reforming prisoners rather than simple punishment. They were given religion, education, and a trade. It worked, according to the reformatory historians. The reformatory model ended in the 1960’s, and an implemented a model we use today. However, the prison aged into deplorable living conditions for the inmates and was shut down in 1990. It’s actually right next door to a modern day correctional facility, but no pictures of that are possible. The reformatory will force you to delete any photos per our tour guide. So fair warning.
the shawshank connection
But the main attraction of this building has to do with its connection to the film, The Shawshank Redemption. This reformatory is the prison Hollywood just can’t forget as several movies have been filmed there. The exterior looks like a castle, the interior like an old home, and the prison itself give films a range in which to work. There is a display on location that’ll go over the six most popular films for a little backstory if you ever visit. The most popular being Shawshank and there are bits of movie history and behind-the-scenes info sprinkled alongside real history of the building itself.
When we arrived, the building was massive and castle-like. There’s a short introduction before you’re allowed to freely explore the first floor.
Amongst other tidbits, I found this ironic piece of information about inmate named Charles Justice.
This museum gave had some odd finds, things the inmates put together for some not-to-innocent reasons. The most unusual was from the 1980’s, so not too old I hope, a tattoo gun made from the motor of a cassette player, toothbrush handle, duct tape, bell wire, and the tip of ball point pen. They also had cardboard cut-outs of the characters from Shawshank.
Upstairs we regrouped, as we got to hear more about the reforming aspect of the prison. The guide also mentioned there was a major overpopulation issue at the prison at multiple points, including during the Great Depression.
This lighting feature was a big deal to the guide, mentioning how perfectly planned the interior architecture was for this.
An intimate look at the aged prison
As we entered the prison, it got significantly colder. We entered from the second floor of the building, the chapel is in between the prison and the museum side. From the chapel you can peek at the modern prison nearby. Again, no pictures of the modern prison were allowed.
We walked through the prison corridors, narrow hallways, and iron bars all over. It was darker than I’d thought it be, but we did go in November. There was random lighting in places. When I mentioned getting lost in the reformatory, I meant getting lost in time. This was a difficult portion of the tour as you walked through prison corridors and the cells themselves. Cells were small and tucked in the interior but that didn’t save prisoners from the cold.
Seeing the massive height of the building and large windows, I couldn’t help but to think how winter would’ve been. This prison received inmates in 1896, and looking near the windows, there were spots where the fireplaces would’ve been. Our tour guide mentioned, it would’ve only been able to warm the prison guards since you needed to huddle around them. If that wasn’t bad enough, the guide mentions summers were brutal and I don’t believe there was much ventilation.
a sad anecdote
There was a mention of an inmate, James Lockhart, who set himself on fire in a cell in 1960. When prison guards tried to rescue him, James kept himself further in the cell. When looking online, there’s mentioned of bullying and harassment from other prisoners.
We passed through the hospital wing; it was very isolating even though I came with a group. It’s massive and there’s lot to explore, but very few people were touring. It feels like you have the place to yourself. Not quite as charming as it sounds. I took this shot with a picture of the hospital wing as it was. Not too different really, the building has just been run down with time.
take a look at the real thing yourself
With the overall spooky look of the building, the prison strangely hosts escape rooms, ghost tours and I even saw decorations for a haunted house event they had. The building dives into all sorts of interests the public might have surrounding the building. So, you’ve got options. I’ll leave information about the Ohio State Reformatory in case you’d like to take a walk through the prison corridors.
