Postcard
Date unknown - possibly during Prohibition?
Aerial View of Modern Institution
Looking east from the west wall.
The Cellhouse
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Construction Progress, 1880s
Note the rail tracks that pass straight through the institution. Female Department not yet started.
Train Gate - Inside View
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Fish Tank - Rotunda
Legend had it that there was once an aquarium in the Rotunda. Here is proof that the rumor is true.
Wanted Card
These cards, or flyers, were distributed to encourage the public to aid in the capture of the escapee.
Library in Rotunda
For a time, before they enclosed the Rotunda, the prison library occupied one level.
Prison History Book
Dick Snavely, museum founder, and Steve Wendl compiled a historical image book and were interviewed by the Cedar Rapids newspaper about it.
Playbill for Minstrel Show
Note the special date - the exact date the penitentiary name was changed to Reformatory.
Souvenir Plate
The unique, arresting look of the Administration Building made it the stuff of admiration. It's image appeared on almost everything in the early days.
Lining Up
Inmates queue up for mealtime. Notice that the Center Building, which later housed the dining hall, isn't there. Inmates were waiting to enter the old Dining Hall. Note the stockade board fence on the hill to the north. And the greenhouse just below the fence? That spot has always housed greenhouses. The present one is the fourth iteration.
Prison Newspaper
The Prison Press (later, the Reformatory Press) ran for many years, eventually morphing into the Hawkeye, a periodical with news and views about the prison.
Northeast Gun Guard Tower
A temporary guard tower over the NE corner. The guard on the tower is probably Martin McCarty - see the podcast section of the website for more information about this amazing man.
Stone Model
A stone model of the Depression-era additions of a cellhouse and hospital building was on display on the south side of the Administration Building for years. It was later broken up and buried. Pieces of it have been salvaged, and are in the museum.
Stationary Steam Engine
A workhorse piece of equipment used to power a variety of things.
The Flag
The "flag," in prison parlance, is the ground floor, referring to the flagstones that made up the floor surface.
Smile!
The occasion is unknown - perhaps recognizing the release of a favorite prisoner.
Front - Female Department
The impressive Female Department. Note presence of two story porch. It was torn off in the 1970s due to deteriorating condition.
Construction Mess
Tearing down the Insane Ward and building the new cellhouse, circa 1930s.
Hospital ward, with Steward Harry Kratochvil
Harry later went to medical school and became a doctor!
Insane Ward
Housed the insane, hospitalized, and female inmates before their own building was complete.
A Reformatory No More
This logo, designed by ASP employee Dellis Swartzendruber, became the official logo for the newly named Anamosa State Penitentiary, effective 1997.
Institutional Garden
Always a lovely scene. Flower plantings help relieve the hardness conveyed by the stone.
Administration Building Progress
The Administration Building is not yet topped out.
Modern View - Admin Building
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Flower Gardens 2
Beautiful gardens.
Dining Hall
Ready for the men to file in....
A Mess Of A Yard
The prison yard was a mess for many years while stone was brought in, cut, shaped, and placed. Note the tall, standalone guard tower. Likely manned by Martin McCarty, guard extraordinaire.
The Lions
The Penitentiary has two lions guarding it's entrance...or is it three? A third lion, it's head actually, peers down from above the entrance, supervising it's partners below. The lions were carved around 1901, probably by an inmate Munford. Each lion and pedestal weigh five tons
Tours
Two ladies in their Sunday Best wait for their tour of the prison. Tickets were 25 cents, which was used to bolster the library fund.
Racing Away
New-fangled cars started to replace horsepower.....