727 Comments for Lorton Reformatory

Kaibil and Bill Many are right on point. This gate actually leads to the Hill or Medium Security facility. This was the Hole.

This was the walkway to the chow hall that also doubled as the visiting hall and movie theater. As intriguing as it looks it presented a gaunlet of blind spots from which an attacker could pounce.

In the early 80's the DC DOC obtained file cabinets from the State Department that were filled with top secret documents. They sat on the floor of the Butler Bldg. for at least months before govt. agents locked down the facility in an effort to recover the documents.

There was actually a temporary structure herer called the Butler Bldg. which housed the school, religious worship rooms and the law library. The yard was on the other side of the Butler Bldg. behind the general population dorms before it all became a lock down facility.

There were three gates to the sally port to enter the maximum security facility which could only be opened one at a time and they were controlled from the guard tower that overlooked the facility from the southeast corner.

My time working at Lorton's Max unit was 1975. It seems like yesterday.

As a 25 year old I worked as a Correctionasl Officer "behind the wall" at the Max unit for a year, prior to moving on to a new Federal Prison in NC. Lorton's inmates were a tough and often dangerous crowd. However at that time we ran a tight ship, with a good group of officers. It was an experience!!

I worked with one of the last persons to be executed at lorton

My favorite poem of all! Would make a nice screen saver ;) THanks for sharing!

why not convert it to housing. the facility is more sound than the vinylville housing next door. Probably ideal of elderly housing or a school too.

I worked at Central Facility (Reformatory) and retired from DCDC. It is bitter sweet to see what is happening to it. Lorton was a hell of a prison to work, but I now know I enjoyed all of my career and the people I worked with. I have a lot of fond memories.

My school is located right near this prison, some students walk by the prison on a daily basis. The Correctional facility has been turned into the Lorton Workhouse Arts Center and you can vist the grounds. Other parts are still closed off but being renovated i believe.

Hey Motts seeing this and other prison related galleries gave me the question Have you ever thought of doing a photo shoot at The Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfeild?

Based on the putty stuff on the other cells walls, they apparently let them put up inoffensive posters and stuff. Since this isn't a nudie I'd imagine it didn't violate the rules.

These actually aren't half bad. I saw a lot of nekkid lady graffiti on the seclusion cell walls but it was all the really amateurish, nasty type you might imagine. Mostly indecipherable gang tags though as best I recall.