You are here

Western Pennsylvania » Ridge and Valley » Blair County » Hollidaysburg and Vicinity » Blair County Prison

Blair County Prison

-A A +A
1868–1869, Edward Haviland; 1983 addition, L. Robert Kimball and Associates. Mulberry and Union sts.
  • (William E. Fischer, Jr.)
  • (William E. Fischer, Jr.)

Employing a formidable Gothic Revival castellated style, thought best to impress the wayward with its awesome power, this prison is a condensed version of the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia by the architect's father, John Haviland. A three-story central watch tower above the entrance is flanked by two-story-high polygonal bays. The one-story side wings of the stone edifice are greatly foreshortened compared to those of the Philadelphia prison. The rear addition in the 1980s brought the prison into the twentieth century. A second golden-colored cement block addition on the west elevation is more recent.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Lu Donnelly et al.
×

Data

What's Nearby

Mellon Bank (Hollidaysburg National Bank)
Blair County Courthouse
Highland Hall
Sill House (William and Caroline Jack House)
Sunbrook Farm

Citation

Lu Donnelly et al., "Blair County Prison", [Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/PA-01-BL3.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of PA vol 1

Buildings of Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania, Lu Donnelly, H. David Brumble IV, and Franklin Toker. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2010, 323-323.

If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.

SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.

,