Norman's New Orleans and Environs / Containing a Brief Historical Sketch of the Territory and State of Louisiana and the City of New Orleans, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time

by Benjamin Moore Norman

THE CITY PRISONS

These edifices are built of brick, and plastered to imitate granite, they are three stories in height, occupying one hundred and twenty three feet on Orleans and St. Ann streets, by one hundred and thirty-eight feet nine inches between them. They are two in number, and divided by a passage way that is closed to the public. The principal building has its main entrance from Orleans street, through a circular vestibule, closed by strong iron doors. The lower story contains the offices and apartments of the jailor. The second story is divided into large halls for such prisoners as require to be less strictly guarded. The plan of the third story is similar. The whole is surmounted by a belvidere, with an alarm bell. The cost is estimated at $200,000.