Brick, Brick, Wall and a Few Buildings Too! (Part 1)

The Capital City Needs A New Federal Penitentiary – Part 1

When President John Quincy Adams tapped Charles Bulfinch, the architect from Boston, to design the first federal penitentiary on the northern acres of Greenleaf Point, who knew the role this structure would later play in the history of the United States – specifically in regard to the Lincoln assassination.   Bulfinch, as the 3rd Architect of the Capitol, had redesigned that building, incorporating a new central dome to it. He succeeded Benjamin Henry Latrobe, who was the 2nd Architect of the Capitol, and Stephen Hallet (a.k.a. Étienne Sulpice Hallet) who was Major Pierre Charles L’Enfant‘s draftsman and the 1st Architect of the Capitol.

It Began in Boston

Bulfinch made his name and reputation in New England, specifically in Massachusetts and around Boston -designing several buildings. Among these facts was why in 1817 he was named the Architect of the Capital. In addition to the work done on the Capitol, he designed a prison in Alexandria, Va. (1826) and also designed the Federal Penitentiary (1827-28), Washington DC.

An In-depth Penitentiary Study

To get a better perspective about a penitentiary design,  Bulfinch sought out a variety of prisons both existing or those being built in New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.  Armed with that knowledge, he then prepared a report to the President that highlighted his actions and the conclusions and recommendations for the new penitentiary that would be built for the Capital City located at the northern end of Greenleaf Point.

Results  and Recommendations for the Penitentiary

Read a copy of the report Bullfinch-report-to-congress

A Penitentiary Design

Based on his report and details in it, the new District of Columbia Penitentiary would be a four-story brick building with twenty cells on each floor or a total of one hundred sixty cells surrounded by a perimeter wall.  The front of the penitentiary would face north.  Within the courtyard would be a separate building – that’s where the kitchen, mess hall, and the shoe factory would be.

Courtesy of the DC History Center

Built in 1826 on the grounds of the Washington Arsenal, the Washington Penitentiary was the first operated by the Federal Government. Designed by Charles Bulfinch, the three-story main building could accommodate 160 prisoners. In 1862, the prison was closed, the building was transferred to the Arsenal, to be a military arms warehouse. It is best known as the site of the trial and execution of the alleged conspirators in the assassination of President Lincoln on April 14, 1865. Some of the penitentiary buildings were demolished in 1867, others in 1903; only the eastern house of the facility remains.

What the Future Held

The penitentiary was completed in 1827 and never filled to capacity and the shoe factory didn’t provide enough income to maintain the facility since the combination of types of prisoners along with the number wasn’t sufficient. Yet less than four decades later, it would be the site of what would be the incarceration, trial, and hanging of four of the Lincoln assassination conspirators including Mary Surratt – the first woman hanged by the US  federal government.

WASHINGTON DC BOUNDARY STONES

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Brick, Brick, Wall  – Part 2 –

After that fateful day – 07 JUL 1865  what happened Next?   (COMING SOON)