Charlestown State Prison, state prison in Massachusetts
Charlestown State Prison was a state prison in Massachusetts built around 1805 from stone and brick on a small area near the Charles River. The six-sided main building with radiating wings held cells with basic furnishings, workshops for various trades, dining areas, and chapels where prisoners served long sentences.
The prison was designed in 1805 by renowned architect Charles Bulfinch and replaced an earlier facility on Fort Independence. It was one of the oldest continuously operated prisons in the country and closed in 1955, after which the buildings were demolished.
The prison became linked to the Italian immigrant community through the case of Sacco and Vanzetti, two Italian men executed there in 1927 whose deaths sparked worldwide protests. Their story represented for many people the prejudices against immigrants and outsiders in American society at that time.
The site is now part of Bunker Hill Community College and can be reached via the Orange Line to the Community College station. Although the original prison no longer exists, visitors can explore its history through local museums and stories of the area.
In 1892, four prisoners escaped through a sewer pipe while friends waited outside with dry clothes and none were recaptured. In 1959 one of the longest prison protests in American history took place when four inmates held guards and other prisoners hostage for three and a half days to draw attention to poor conditions.
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