727 Comments for Lorton Reformatory

I'm pretty sure any sense of modesty is among the first things to go upon being sentenced to an institution of this sort. I highly doubt the guys stand around surveying each others' packages, anyway. Probably not enough time, in any case. This doesn't look like the type of place where you can expect to enjoy a long, leisurely shower.

Hey, I be Hubcap and this be my brother, Hood Ornament. Over there's my third cousin, Chrome Doorhandle.

Interesting names. Hitman and Hubcap, how exactly are those two monikers related? Did he kill people and accept payment in terms of vehicle accessories?

NICE :-)

I think the recidivism rate varies based on the crime, the time of incarceration, the area in which the person lives, lots of different factors. I've read that certain white collar crimes don't have a high rate of recidivism, but that sexually-based offenses tend to have very high rates, and then you have the violent crimes like attempted murder... those folks spend so long in prison that they may end up back inside but probably not for the same reasons they were originally in. Just something they did to get back on the inside. I would think that is a number that's highly variable and hard to pin down. It's pretty high, though... our prison system has a lot of problems, and the fact that it does little to rehabilitate offenders is one of its biggest.

As uncomfortable as the barracks-style dormitory pictured earlier looked, this somehow seems worse. You get your own cell, maybe... but I'd rather be in the dorm.

MamaToFive - they can be. Really. Most people are not, but some are truly, fundamentally rotten all the way through. It's probably best to remember that, at least sometimes. I hate to be the cynic, but we would not need prisons if it was not the truth.

Oh sorry Larry D! I mixed you and A D Nilsen up. That would be the other evening when I was having some wine and posting. I need to be careful! Ooops! Hell, 54 isn't bad either. And, um, I had to stop myself from chasing some kids off my lawn (frozen tundra really, lol) a few weeks ago. ;)

So I'm thinking, once we push all the OPEN buttons, how do we close the things back up again??

Erica, this is not a functional prison facility... unless I read Motts' introduction wrong....

I would not buy one of those McMansions unless they agreed to leave the abandoned prison in my backyard. Instead of a kid's playground, we'd have an urb-ex playground. Total awesomeness!!

Those new housing developments qickly ruin the area where they were built. yet people pay a lot of money to live in these cheaply built houses

@Kathy W: I agree Kathy. 48 is not old. But I'm 54. *groan* (I told some kids to get off my lawn today)

That has to be the bluest, clearest sky I've ever seen. What a spectacular day. Really pretty against that red brick.

This somber image gives me a chill. I can see the hands of a tormented soul ideally placed on this shelf as he contemplates his fate and laments his crime. This photo is very moving.

I love most galleries but this one racks up there. thank you Motts and everyone for the commentary :)

Looks like a good pic for the end of a "Keep Kids out of jail promo" maybe a pair of hands sticking out, cant see the face.