Punta Carretas jail, Historical memory site in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Punta Carretas is a former penitentiary with thick stone walls, watchtowers, and early 20th-century architectural features typical of the period. The building displays a fortified layout designed for security and control of its inhabitants.
Built in 1915, the facility operated until 1986 and housed both regular inmates and political prisoners during Uruguay's military period. It served as a major site of detention and repression during the dictatorship years.
The conversion into a shopping center in 1994 shows how the city chose to repurpose rather than erase difficult history. This transformation reflects a deliberate approach to dealing with the past in Montevideo's urban landscape.
The site is now a shopping center but maintains information plaques explaining its past and showing original structural elements. It can be accessed via public transportation and is located in a central Montevideo neighborhood.
In 1971, 111 inmates escaped through a tunnel connected to the city's sewer system in one of the most famous prison breakouts. This event remains a striking chapter in the facility's story.
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