Chapter III: Part 3

A study of the plans will reveal the fact that the center wing houses, the administration offices, the receiving rooms for prisoners, the social service offices, and all departments general to the institution, such as visitors’ rooms, commissary rooms, main dining-room, kitchen, main auditorium, chapel, hospital wards, educational rooms, and library. Thus located, they are close to the administrative center and make for easy supervision.

TEN CELL BLOCKS

On both sides of the central wing are placed the cell blocks, connected by a corridor wide enough to serve as recreation space. By this arrangement privacy is assured the prisoners and freedom from the gaze of visitors to the more public departments of the institution. Ten cell blocks, five on each side, and each three stories high, afford opportunity for the segregation of prisoners, which is so essential. General baths and barber-shops are placed in the center of each group. The cell blocks in the main are of the outside type, though for the most hardened prisoners and for punishment some inside cells are provided. The floors, however, are entirely separated, the regulation cell block being avoided.

The prisoners enter by a private drive, and through one of the exterior courts, into the receiving room, which is adjacent to the social service offices and close to the administrative offices.

The kitchen and main dining-room occupy the extreme south end of the center wing, and the latter is accessible to the prisoners without traversing the more public corridors. Directly above the dining-room is placed the auditorium, with a stage, all equally accessible to the prisoners. Opposite the auditorium is the chapel. The second floor of the administration building is given over to the hospital, dispensary, etc.; the third floor to classrooms and library; also quarters for guards.

A MODERN FACTORY

The Industrial Building forms the south group. It is planned along the line of modern factory construction, with concrete floors and ample daylight. It is arranged for progressive woodworking, the raw material being received at one point, passing through the machines to the other end of the plant, then up to the second floor, and back to the shipping-room adjoining the receiving-room. Dry kilns of the most approved type and proper trackage for railway shipment are provided; also a garage for trucks and a machine shop.

The power and heating plant is located on the center axis north of the Industrial Building. The general laundry adjoins the heating plant. On the second floor of this building the gymnasium is placed. This building divides the open space into two courts for the recreation of the two classes of prisoners. Each court is adequate, in size for baseball and other games. The ground occupied rises considerably to the north, whereby opportunity is offered to keep the recreation courts fully 12 feet below the first floor level, and for a full basement, which affords ample and well-lighted space for the Commissary Department, tailor shop, shoe shop, and other shops and store-rooms of all kinds.

PRISON WALLS OBVIATED

As will be noted, save for a short connecting wall, the buildings themselves form the enclosure of the courts, whereby forbidding walls are obviated.

The buildings throughout will be fireproof constructed, in the main of reinforced concrete, and faced on the exterior with tapestry brick. Spanish tile will be used for the roof of the center building. Such trimmings as occur will be of Bedford limestone. The exterior is treated in the character of Lombard brick architecture, which style lends itself particularly well to the problem. All ostentation has been avoided and architectural effect has been sought in the general grouping and proportions rather than in the ornamentation; nevertheless, the psychology of attractive buildings has not been overlooked.

Particular attention will be paid to the proper setting of the buildings and to the planting of trees and shrubs about them. Placed a considerable distance back from the main road, and partially concealed by trees and the undulating land, a certain degree of privacy desired by the Board will be secured.

The aim of the Board and its architect throughout has been to produce a group of buildings economical in construction and maintenance, though attractive and sanitary, and easy of supervision, while assuring the prisoners privacy and comfort. Through proper surroundings it is hoped to strengthen their manhood.

Reception Cottage at the Hawthorne School (for Delinquent Boys)

Maintained by the Board of Jewish Guardians at Hawthorne, New York

_By_ HASTINGS H. HART

RECEPTION COTTAGE

HARRY ALLAN JACOBS, _Architect_]

The Receiving Cottage of the Hawthorne School is an admirable example of a dormitory cottage for boys. We present herewith a photograph of the exterior, together with the first-and second-story plans.

The hall on the first floor terminates at one end of the house in the living-room, and at the other end in the dining-room, economizing space. The living-room has windows on three sides, and has an attractive fireplace. The dining-room at the opposite end of the cottage has also windows on three sides. The kitchen is so arranged as to give cross ventilation, both east and west and north and south, in hot weather. The first floor has also a small sewing room, with suitable storage.

On the second floor there are two dormitories, each containing 10 beds. Each dormitory is connected with shower bath, toilet, and locker room, so arranged that the day clothing of the boys is locked up at night. The second floor contains a commodious room for the matron, with bath and a room for a monitor.

The arrangement of the cottage is such that there is not an inch of waste space and its appearance outside and inside is very attractive. The building is thoroughly well constructed, with excellent hardwood floors which are maintained in perfect condition after five years’ use.

The Hawthorne School has developed by the process of evolution, which has produced four types of cottages, each new one presenting improvements upon its predecessors. It illustrates the advantage of building institutions by successive steps in order to profit by experience.

One-Story Cottage at the Thorn Hill School (for Delinquent Boys)

_By_ HASTINGS H. HART

The Thorn Hill School is an institution for delinquent boys maintained by Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and located at Thorn Hill, 20 miles north of Pittsburgh. When the school was instituted, in 1911, on the advice of the writer, two wooden shacks, without basements, with a capacity of 24 boys each, were built for temporary use. These buildings were well constructed, with floors of southern pine and were ceiled with southern pine, and equipped with good plumbing.

Soon after some excellent two-story brick cottages of modern construction were built. The superintendent said to one of the house fathers: “You have done so well in this temporary cottage that we intend to give you one of the new cottages.” The house father replied that he and his wife would prefer to remain in the one-story cottage. This preference led to a study which resulted in the construction of three one-story brick cottages, two of which had a small basement under a part of the building, and the other had no excavation. The first two one-story cottages were planned by Mr. T. E. Billquist, architect, and have been in satisfactory use for a number of years.

The writer said to one of the cottage matrons: “You have worked in a one-story cottage and in a two-story cottage: which do you prefer?” She replied: “The one-story cottage is greatly to be preferred. The matrons in the two-story cottages are tired to death climbing up and down stairs. When they are upstairs, the boys are doing mischief on the first floor, and vice versa. But I can stand in the door of my room and can see the kitchen, the dining-room, the living-room, the porch, the dormitory, and the locker room, and it makes the work very much easier.”

We submit a photograph of the exterior and floor plan of a one-story cottage, which was built without any excavation. Heat was supplied by natural gas, which simplified the problem. The dormitory contained 20 beds and was readily overlooked from the adjoining room of the house father. The foundation and the floor were of concrete, and the superstructure of brick. A large part of the work of construction was done by the boys.

In the first two cottages small basements contain heating apparatus, lavatories, and playroom for stormy weather. All of these one-story cottages are attractive in appearance inside and out. The temporary one-story “shacks,” built in 1911, are still in use. They cost only $4,000 each.

The one-story plan is gradually coming into favor. At Mooseheart, the great institution for dependent children, maintained by the Loyal Order of Moose, they have adopted as a standard cottage unit a one-story cottage for 16 children, with two dormitories containing eight beds each.

Designed by FRANKLIN H. BRIGGS, _Superintendent_]