The
New Jail For Kings County
Spanish Version Click Here
The Hanford Journal (?) May 7, 1897
“Of which the
above is a picture, is to be completed by November 1st,
1897. The architects are McDougall Bros. of San Francisco and
Bakersfield. [McDougall Bros. also designed the Carnegie Museum
building.] The contractors are Owen & Griffith of Exeter, Tulare County.
The contract price of the building is $9505.65.
“The jail proper
will be built of granite, with roof of corrugated
steel, truss construction. The front portion of the building,
in which
the Sheriff’s office is located will be of clinker brick, with arch,
pilaster and trimmings of granite, and with a metallic shingle
roof.
“There will
be four granite cells in the building, separated from the
main cell room, which latter area is to contain eight large
steel cells.
The front portion of the building will contain the general office,
rooms
for the Sheriff and Under Sheriff and a hospital ward.
“The jail will
face north and be located on the north-east corner of the
tract on which the new court house is now being erected.
“When completed,
Kings County will have one of the strongest jails in
the State and one of very neat architectural design.”
Griffith & Owen
were the proprietors of the granite works at Exeter and
also furnished the granite columns which stand in the south
entrance to
the courthouse.
The original contract
price for the jail was $9.585.65, but the
following specifications were altered and the price increased by
$1,157.35: granite substituted for concrete in the front steps;
granite
sill course substituted for brick; concrete in place of brick
in
foundation; granite walls 9 inches thick in place of concrete
in cell
walls.
In 1964 the new jail
was built and the building remained vacant for a
year before being turned over to the Art League to be used as
an art
gallery. The Art League stayed for ten years. At that time, the
courthouse was vacated and there was talk of demolishing the
courthouse
property, but the community rallied to save the building. Max
Walden, a
Santa Cruz entrepreneur was brought in to give advice on how the
courthouse could be turned into a useable facility. Eventually,
both
buildings were turned over to Mr. Walden, who opened the old
jail
building as an eatery and bar.
I did not record
the source of this additional information: “The front
of the building was made of brick with its granite entry and
tower
suggesting Gothic and Romanesque styles of architecture. The walls of
the rear portion, which held prisoners, were made of heavy granite
slabs, each weighing 1 1/2 - 2 tons. All of the jail portion
of the
structure is solid granite, and there are 13 layers of slab built up.
“The 40 x 40
upstairs (the floor was removed over the rear, cell,
portion of the building, opening most of the space up to the
room below.
A portion of the second floor was retained and forms a balcony which
surrounds three sides at the second story level.) consisted
of a women’s
cell (all in the same cell) and two 12’ X 17’ rooms,
one of which had
been a cell for juveniles (11-17 all in the same cell) and the
other for
picture taking and fingerprinting.
“There is a
widespread belief that one of the women prisoners, named
Mary, hung herself, and that her ghost still inhabits the building.
It
is said that her silhouette frequently appears against the windows. One
of the cooks told a Hanford Show-Offs tour guide that Mary had
recently
disarranged the straightened table in one of the cell booths
and shut
the door, which had been left open.
“The main floor
held two 12’ X 17’ rooms used by the sheriff and a
secretary, [these are the two rooms to the left of the front
door] plus
an 18’ X 24’ main room booking area. [the bar area] To the
rear were
four eight man cells measuring 12’ X 15’ with lifting
suspended bunks,
which were raised vertically during the day. Floors were concrete
and
the cell area had a gutter around the perimeter so it all could be hosed
down.
Two small solitary
confinement cells were at the west side of the rear
area, as well as showers with iron grating overhead and latticed
metal
security doors housed in granite, also a washroom. These cells have been
outfitted as dining booths and storage spaces. In all, the building
contains 3,700 square feet.
The projected
completion date for the building was November 1, 1898,
however it was actually completed at the end of that month.
It may not
have been occupied until early 1899.
