Hand drawn tourist map of New Jersey's prisons, 1955

Jim sez, "Rutgers has an interesting collection of historic maps online, including what appears to be a 1955 tourist map ... of prisons."

The hand-drawn map has normal touristy captions notations like:
- High Point State Park [Highest Point in NJ]
- Lake Hopatcong (largest in NJ) Popular Summer Resort
- Newark's Airport is world's busiest

But the map is dominated by prisons:
- Here maximum and limited security for industrial type prisoner under 30 (Ref't'y Rahway)
- Here minimum custody for older men of common labor type and men nearing time of discharge (Prison Farm Bordentown)
- Here minimum security for men 18-30 trainable in vocational and agricultural work (Annandale Farms)

GIF Link (Thanks, Jim!)

[#1 posted by dan winckler , June 21, 2008 8:18 AM]

It seems like the map was a promotional item for the American Prison Association's conference in Atlantic City in October, c. 1955. I like that the big arrow pointing towards the conference makes it seem that it will take place on a small sailboat. :D

[#2 posted by Bruce Arthurs , June 21, 2008 1:40 PM]

Well, "prison architecture" is a worthy subject all on its own.

I can see a small fandom of prison architecture ("prarchies"?) doing a guide to the most impressive prisons.

Personally, I find a lot of 19th-century prisons impressive (in an "it's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there" way), what with lots of handsome brickwork and iron scrollery to admire. (See SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION.)

[#3 posted by Green House Brand , June 21, 2008 7:23 PM]

cory, thank you so much for posting this, as a life long jersey resident i love this. I adore its hand drawn-ness that no longer exists in the world today.

[#4 posted by Beanolini , June 23, 2008 2:59 AM]

Dartmoor prison in the UK (still in active use) attracts a number of tourists, due to its notorious history and scenic location. There's even a museum and gift shop where one can buy novelties made by the prisoners.