Proposed Design for a Metropolitan Jail
(A Possible Solution of the Cook County Jail Problem in Chicago)
By Hastings H. Hart, LL.D.
President of the American Prison Association
A SKYSCRAPER JAIL
Plan for a Metropolitan Jail Conceived by Hastings H. Hart, President American Prison Association
Designed by Francis Y. Joannes and Maxwell Hyde, Architects
The lower floor represents the Criminal Court Building, which may have any number of stories
County jails are schools of crime, according to prison officials and jail inspectors. They are so constructed and conducted that the prisoners generally come out far worse than they went in.
No metropolitan city of the United States has yet succeeded in constructing a satisfactory jail for the detention of prisoners awaiting trial. The New York City “Tombs” is a gloomy pile, properly described by its name. The ancient Charles Street Jail of Boston has recently been reconstructed at a very large expense, but does not meet the needs of the present day.