Inside the New King County Jail
A detailed look at the 'infallible' brick and iron lockup built to replace older, makeshift holding cells in 1870s Seattle.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The new jail, which was sure to banish all fears of escape, is now comfortably fitted up and occupied by county prisoners. Considering the character of the building, the manner in which the floor was laid, the cost of labor, the materials of which it is constructed, the security of the facility, and the urgent need for a better prison, the planning is impressive. The building, as drawn by the architect, creates a structure of formidable strength. The walls of the first story are two feet thick. The jail has a concrete floor six inches thick, which, when it settles, will be as hard as granite. In the rear of each corridor, closets are constructed with all the latest modern appliances and well-drained. The outside walls are built of sandstone, two feet thick. Though the jail occupies a low piece of ground, such excellent provision has been made for its drainage that it cannot be troubled with dampness. Each of the ten cells is eight feet high, with a door two feet wide and a heavy iron grating. The cells are separated from each other by thick brick walls and covered by heavy segmental arches, each of which is inlaid with heavy sheet iron.
“The new jail, which was sure to banish all fears of escape, is now comfortably fitted up.”
This 1876 report highlights the perennial civic obsession with 'security' and 'modern facilities' in incarceration infrastructure. While the materials have shifted from sandstone and iron to reinforced steel and surveillance tech, the city's struggle to balance humane conditions with the perceived necessity of 'escape-proof' architecture remains a constant in Seattle's civic discourse.
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