Abandoned Ohio State Reformatory – I love visiting abandoned buildings and this has been on my list for a long time. Best know for the prison where The Shawshank Redemption was filmed. So much history here and was well worth the drive north to see it! Construction took over 20 years to complete due to funding delays. It finally opened in 1896 and quickly became the home of some of the worst criminals in the American penal system. Described as ‘brutal’, ‘inhumane’, ‘disgraceful’ and ‘unfit for human habitation’. The penitentiary was originally built to house 1,000 inmates, but at its height there were 3,000 housed there. The penitentiary was closed by court order in 1990.
Ohio State Reformatory – Mansfield, OH | Barge Photography
Mansfield, OH
The East Cell Block
The Chapel
East Cell Block | When the Reformatory was built, the cells were built for just one inmate per cell, but was changed to two per cell. 
The Reformatory Library
East Cell Block
Reformatory Legal Services
East Cell Block
Shower/Washroom – Was used in the film Shawshank Redemption. For this scene, there was no water supplied to the Reformatory when the film was produced, so the Mansfield Fire Department was call in to supply the water for the scene. Dry ice was used in the drains to give the effect of the water being warm. Given the extremely cold water, luckily for the cast and crew it was produced on the first take! 
Room used in a scene in the Shawshank Redemption
West Cell Block
Solitary Confinement 
The Warden’s Dining Room
Ohio State Reformatory | Barge Photography
Ohio State Reformatory– Mansfield, OH
