Five

CELL HOUSES

With four galleries complete and construction of the fifth floor underway, C cell house was open for inmates in 1903. After being transferred from the old military prison on Fort Leavenworth, 413 inmates were housed in this cell house and the second floor of what became the laundry building. (Courtesy Jim Will.)

By 1910, the second cell house was complete. This interior view was used by the Stewart Iron Works company as an example of their work. Once complete, each cell house contained cell space for 330 inmates. Leavenworth was the first institution west of the Mississippi River to have running water, toilet facilities, and electric lighting in each cell. Each cell house has open-face cells and a utility corridor between each row of cells. A flow-through ventilation system helps cool the cells in the summer. Inmates are issued gasoline heaters during the winter months. (Courtesy Jim Will.)

Two-man cells became common as the population grew. By the time prohibition came along, an institution designed for 1,500 had a population of 3,500. In order to keep the spread of infectious diseases under control, guards working the cell houses in the winter were instructed to open all the windows every two hours and leave them open for 30 minutes. During the summer months, inmate orderlies walked the galleries passing out water and ice. (Courtesy Benedictine College.)

Here are the two main cell houses under construction. Each became two-and-a-half city blocks long and five galleries high. A cell house contained eight- to 12-man cells, while B cell house contained two-man cells. Both cell houses have a front stairwell that is for guard use only; a center stairwell is for inmate use. (Author’s collection.)

This exterior view shows the eight-man cells of A cell house. Construction began in 1908 and was near completion in 1919 when a fire was set to wooden scaffolding. Inmate and Leavenworth city fire fighters fought the blaze that was believed to have been set by members of the Industrial Workers of the World. Two days prior, a letter was intercepted in the mail that was written by one of their members claiming the fire was to be set on the Fourth of July. Construction on the cell house was completed and the unit opened in 1924. (Author’s collection.)

A cell house, looking from front to back, is seen in this photograph. The first floor was known as the flag, and the second through fifth floors were known as galleries. The front side facing the street became know as the light side and the back facing the inside of the institution became know as the dark side. Housing anywhere from 800 to 1,200 inmates, this cell house has six guards assigned to patrol, a number one guard, and one guard for each gallery. Inmates start their day at 6:30 a.m. During the 4:00 p.m. count, all inmates are to be standing and facing the front of the cell. Once count is complete, each gallery is released one at a time as they are called for the evening meal. The cell house remains open until 9:00 p.m. After the 10:00 p.m. count, guards rotate galleries and pull each and every door in the cell house insuring it is secure. (Courtesy Chuck Zarter.)

An interior view of A cell house shows the eight- to 12-man cells. Inmates are issued two sheets, two blankets, one pillow, a locker for personnel belongings, a laundry bag, and a book shelf. Each cell contains two writing desks that are attached to the walls. Inmates are responsible for the sanitation of their assigned cells. Each cell contains a head phone plug-in so the inmates may listen to the institution radio station. (Author’s collection.)

To strengthen family ties, telephone booths were installed by the 1970s. Each inmate is allowed to make collect calls and given a 15-minute time limit. By the 1990s, inmates were responsible for paying for their own phone calls by placing money they have earned or received from their family in a phone account. (Author’s collection.)

A dormitory was located in the basement of A cell house and provided inmates with a more relaxed atmosphere. Charles S. Wharton wrote about dormitory life in his book, The House of Whispering Hate. Inmates were allowed to stay up later and every inmate’s duty was to smuggle something in to eat during the evening hours. Early inmates living in this dormitory were prison trusties that worked outside the walls. It has also served as the parolee dormitory. (Courtesy Leavenworth Public Library.)

This is a typical view of the two-man cells in B cell house. These cells measure five feet wide by six feet deep with seven-foot ceilings. Housing mostly new arrivals, this is an inmate’s first taste of life in Leavenworth. Early inmates showered once a week, shaved twice a week, and had their hair cut twice a month. Most wear the third grade black and white stripped uniform and perform menial labor. (Author’s collection.)

As the social climate on the outside changes so does the climate of most prisons. In the early days, D cell house, which opened in 1910, housed mostly inmates of color. By the 1980s, it housed older, quieter inmates. A typical one-man cell contains a corner cabinet with a sink, a toilet, a bed, a mirror, an overhead cabinet, and a writing table. These cells are smaller than most, measuring under five feet wide and less than six feet deep. Note the fish tank located above the head of the bed. After riots at Atlanta and Oakdale, Louisiana, in 1988, the cells were stripped of all these amenities and one-piece stainless steel sinks and toilets were added along with bunk beds attached to the walls. This became home to the Cubans who had participated in those riots. Since the close of the 1990s, this unit has been used as an honor wing and is currently the only cell house that remains unrenovated. (Author’s collection.)

By late 1983, a massive renovation project was underway in B cell house. Cells were made larger, plumbing was updated, showers were renovated, and air conditioning was added. The cell house was converted from one unit to two separate units by a new concrete floor. This made the units smaller, quieter, and easier to manage. (Courtesy National Archives and

Records Administration.)

By 1986, A cell house was closed and renovation had started. During the next two years, bulldozers and dump trucks were placed inside the cell house as the unit was totally gutted to the original foundation and outer shell. As construction neared completion, the riots in Atlanta and Oakdale, Louisiana, broke out. Leavenworth staff worked alongside construction workers 24 hours a day hanging doors, painting, and doing what ever it took to get the cell house up and operational. (Author’s collection.)

One of the oldest buildings on the compound is building 63. Originally opened in 1898 as the deputy warden’s office, it has served as the segregation unit. It is in this building that inmate Robert Stroud had his aviary and conducted his experiments on birds. Behind this building on September 5, 1930, inmate Carl Panzram was executed for the murder of laundry foreman R. G. Warnke. On August 12, 1938, the last execution to occur at Leavenworth was again behind this building. Robert Suhay and Glen J. Applegate were hanged simultaneously for the murder of FBI agent Wimberly W. Baker on March 16, 1937, during the Topeka Post Office shootout. (Author’s collection.)

The newest building on the compound is the special housing unit. Using staff ideas, construction began in August 1987 and the unit was opened in March 1989. Cells were constructed entirely off site and trucked into the facility. All wiring, fixtures, beds, and windows were installed prior to the cell’s arrival. The building includes an inmate law library, staff offices, property room, indoor and outdoor recreation yard, and a no-contact visiting room. (Author’s collection.)

Today very little but photographs remain of the old Leavenworth. With the renovation of living areas, the institution is more manageable, as well as safer for inmates and staff alike. Newer cell houses are more quiet and feature climate-controlled heating and air. There are cells provided for inmates with disabilities. Prior to the installation of air conditioning, inmate and staff assaults were a constant problem. Since then, there has been a dramatic decrease in the amount of such assaults. (Author’s collection.)