The Ohio Penitentiary site

Ohio · United States · Execution site

The arena stands where the state penitentiary was. The old cafeteria was built in the room where hangings had been carried out.

This arena in Columbus, Ohio stands on the site of the Ohio Penitentiary, and the accounts come from the years the prison was still there.

The cafeteria had been built in the room where executions were carried out. Inmates and staff reported things in it, and reported them clearly enough that the broken windows and the traffic noise outside could not account for what they heard.

The prison's real history is worse than anything reported in it. On Easter Monday 1930 a fire broke out while the men were locked in their cells. Guards would not open the doors. Three hundred and twenty two prisoners burned or suffocated to death, and it remains the deadliest prison fire in American history.

The penitentiary was demolished in the 1990s.

The arena is open for events.

FAQ

Where is The Ohio Penitentiary site located?

The Ohio Penitentiary site is in Ohio, United States.