Manhattan Detention Complex

Manhattan House of Detention, The Tombs

Description

Manhattan House of Detention was closed by Federal Judge Morris E Lasker in 1974 because of its poor conditions and replaced by the Manhattan Detention Complex. Also known as the Tombs.The Tombs is the colloquial name for the Manhattan Detention Complex (formerly the Bernard B. Kerik Complex), a municipal jail in Lower Manhattan at 125 White Street, as well as the nickname for three previous city-run jails in the former Five Points neighborhood of lower Manhattan, an area now known as the Civic Center. The original Tombs was officially known as the Halls of Justice, built-in 1838 in the Egyptian Revival architecture style.It was a replacement for the Colonial-era Bridewell Prison located in City Hall Park, built-in 1735 and demolished in 1838. The new structure incorporated material from the Bridewell to save money, mainly granite. The four buildings known as The Tombs were: Tombs I, 1838–1902, New York City Halls of Justice and House of Detention Tombs II, 1902–1941, City Prison Tombs III, 1941–1974, Manhattan House of Detention Tombs IV, 1983/1990–present, Manhattan Detention Complex (known as the Bernard B. Kerik Complex from 2001 to 2006)


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