House of Detention for Women - New York City
 
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House of Detention for Women

10 Greenwich Avenue at West 10th Street
New York, N.Y. 10011








The New York Women's House of Detention was a women's prison in New York City which existed from 1932 to 1974.

Built on the site of the Jefferson Market Prison that had succeeded the Jefferson Market in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, the New York Women's House of Detention is believed to have been the world's only art deco prison. It was designed by Sloan & Robertson in 1931 at a cost of $2,000,000 and opened to the public by Richard C. Patterson, Jr. on March 29, 1932. It did not receive its first inmates until some time later. Its location at 10 Greenwich Avenue gave the women inmates an opportunity to try to communicate with people walking by. After the prison was officially closed on June 13, 1971, Mayor Lindsay began the demolition of the prison in 1973, and it was completed the following year. It was replaced with a garden.

Ruth E. Collins was the first superintendent at the prison. She embraced the design of the prison, labeling it "a new era in penology". Her mission was to effect the moral and social rehabilitation of the women in her charge, giving them a chance for "restoration as well as for punishment". She commissioned a number of art works as part of her mission to uplift the women and treat them all as individuals. Among the Women's House of Detention's most famous inmates were Ethel Rosenberg, Polly Adler, and Evelyn Nesbit.

In its later years, allegations of racial discrimination, abuse and mistreatment dogged the prison. Angela Davis has been outspoken about the treatment she witnessed. Andrea Dworkin's testimony of her assault by two of the prison's doctors led to its eventual closing.

           
M.P. Möller, Inc.
Hagerstown, Md. – Opus 6056 (1931)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 26 stops, 9 ranks
Automatic Player


The Factory Specification (Nov. 20, 1931) and "Contract No. 5" between M.P. Möller and the City of New York states that Möller would build an organ with nine ranks of pipes. Möller provided both a detached two-manual stop-key console and an automatic player. All of the pipes were voiced on 5" pressure and were enclosed in a special "Artiste" cabinet of Curly Maple. The total cost of the organ was $4,750. The fate of this organ is unknown.
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed with Swell
8
  Diapason
73
4
  Octave *
8
  Clarabella
4
  Flute (harmonic)
8
  Gedeckt
2 2/3
  Twelfth
8
  Viole
8
  Cornopean
8
  Dulciana
73
  Tremulant

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed with Great
16
  Bass Flute
92
4
  Flute (from 16') *
8
  Gedeckt
73
2 2/3
  Twelfth *
8
  Viole
73
8
  Cornopean
73
8
  Dulciana
8
  Vox Humana (S.S.B)
61
4
  Viole
  Tremulant
4
  Flute (harmonic)
73
   
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
16
  Bourdon
44
8
  Dulciana *
16
  Lieblich Gedeckt
SW
8
  Viole
8
  Flute (from Bourdon)
8
  Cornopean *
8
  Flute Dolce
SW
   
           
* Player only
Couplers
    Great to Pedal   Great 4'
    Swell to Pedal   Swell 16', 4', Unison Release
    Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'      
               
Adjustable Combinations
    Pistons No. 1-2-3 affecting Great and Pedal Stops
    Pistons No. 1-2-3 affecting Swell and Pedal Stops
               
Accessories
    Balanced Expression Pedal   Great to Pedal Reversible
    Crescendo Pedal   Sforzando Pedal (with light indicator)
           
Sources:
     American Organ Archives, Organ Historical Society (Princeton, N.J.). Factory Specification (Nov. 20, 1931) of M.P. Möller organ, Op. 6056.
     "New York Women's House of Detention," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Illustration:
     New York Architectural Images web site: http://www.nyc-architecture.com. Exterior (1938).