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"Going
Up River" may soon be safe for tourists
Since
being built 176 years ago, with 800 original
cells, Sing Sing Prison has had a colorful
history with its inmates, expansion of perimeters,
and the electric chair. With so much history,
Westchester County and the Ossining Society
of New York want to build a museum on the
facilities of the infamous prison to attract
tourism and build the economy.
Located
in upper state New York along the Hudson
River, Sing Sing has been referenced in
various Hollywood movies and in almost every
episode of Law & Order; going to Sing
Sing is being "sent up the river."
Built by prisoners who were later transferred
to Sing Sing, the jail opened up and locked
in their first inmates on Nov. 26, 1828,
and has been holding maximum security prisoners
ever since.
A
museum being built on the site of a working
prison with more than 1,700 of the 1,745
inmates being held in maximum security raises
concerns regarding the security of the tourists.
Ossining,
formerly know as the town of Sing Sing,
changed its name in 1901 to avoid the negative
association to the prison. The town organized
the Ossining Historical Society in 1931.
The
Ossining Historical Society is a non-profit
organization designed to help preserve and
educate the public about the history and
traditions of Ossining. The organization
supports the museum and feels it will strengthen
the local economy. The main attraction of
the museum is the electric chair known as
"Old Sparky." This is the chair
in which 614 men and women were executed.
The first execution was held in 1890 when
Harris A. Smiler was killed. Julius and
Ethel Rosenberg were also executed at Sing
Sing on June 19, 1953, after being found
guilty of espionage during the Red Scare.
"Old Sparky" is in storage in
Albany. Andrew Spano is hopeful that if
the museum were to be built, they would
be able to have the original electric chair
on display.
Spano
insists that building the museum inside
the 25-foot wired and cemented walls will
rival the popularity of Alcatraz Jail in
San Francisco, which attracts 1.3 million
tourists annually. Alcatraz is not and has
not been a working prison for many years
and no danger is involved in guiding tours.
Spano states that the museum in Sing Sing
would be built in the old Power House, home
of "Old Sparky," and away from
the operations of the prison. There would
be no tourist-inmate interaction. However,
the unpredictability of inmate behavior
will remain a factor.
Do
you remember the 1983 Sing Sing riot? Over
600 inmates rallied together and overthrew
the prison for two days, taking 17 correction
officers hostage and thrashing the jail
cells. Such events are rare and have extreme
consequences. The Ossining Society and representatives
from Westchester Country will have to find
a way to guarantee the safety of tourists
when they are on Sing Sing property and
have a plan of action for the tourists if
a situation with the inmates were to occur.
The museum is still in the stages of discussion
and there is no final word yet if it will
be built or not. If it is built, the museum
will be the first to be in the parameters
of a working prison.
Ginny
Galvin is a third year print journalism
major at CSULB.
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