Fans come from long distances to see the room where Andy hijacked the prison audio equipment to blast Mozart into the prison yard, where Red asked the parole board repeatedly for early release, where Andy tells Red about a buried treasure at an oak tree near Buxton. Combining several architectural styles, Cleveland architect Levi Scofield designed the building to look like something other than a prison — a castle, perhaps, or a college, with turrets, angular roof lines and imposing stone walls.
Eventually, the reform movement fell out of favor. In , a fire at the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus forced the relocation of hundreds of violent prisoners to Mansfield. One of those lawsuits eventually forced the closure of the prison in In , the Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society bought the building from the state, and started the long, expensive job of restoring it.
Much of it remains unfinished; Clark advises visitors to clean their shoes after tours because of the lead paint inside. Tours begin in the front half of the building, location of the prison administrative offices as well as the living quarters of the warden, assistant warden and chaplain. Much of the furniture here is not original to the film — the crew took set pieces with them, according to Clark.
Not original to the prison, it was added by the film crew in Salvation lies within. Among the most poignant places on the tour: the room where Brooks ends his own life, after finding life too difficult outside of prison. In the movie, the scene takes place at a halfway house called the Brewer, the exterior of which is the historic Bissman Building in downtown Mansfield a stop on the Shawshank Trail; see related story.
The interior, however, was filmed inside the prison. From the spacious, well-appointed front half of the prison, visitors cross into the rear, more sinister space. Two large cell blocks jut to east and west, housing , inmates over plus years of operation. And we believe everyone deserves access to accurate independent coverage of their community and state. Our readers helped us continue this coverage in , and we are so grateful for the support. Help us keep this coverage going in Whether it's a one-time acknowledgement of this article or an ongoing membership pledge, your support goes to local-based reporting from our small but mighty team.
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Jump to comments 6. Cleveland Scene on Social Media. Most Popular Most Read. On November 2, , a paroled inmate returned to the prison and shot year-old prison guard Urban Wilford in an unsuccessful escape attempt.
The murderer, Philip Orleck, was arrested two months later and was executed in the Ohio Penitentiary electric chair a year later. A year-old prison guard named Frank Hanger was beaten to death with an iron bar during an escape attempt by twelve prisoners on October 2, The pair then murdered the entire family in a cornfield off Fleming Falls Road. Daniels was later executed in the electric chair. When she removed the box, her hidden pistol fell to the ground, discharged and fatally wounded her.
The warden died from a heart attack while in his office a few years later. Only one emerged alive, the other had been killed and stuffed under the bunk. A man hanged himself in the hole and another set himself on fire. The prison is said to be extremely haunted, both by the many inmates who served their time there and by employees who worked there. The magnificent architecture of the Reformatory has been noticed by Hollywood and the building has appeared in several movies.
The prison was still in operation in each of those movies. Filming for Air Force One took place in and included the construction of a faux prison wall and some other props.
Soon after the filming of Shawshank Redemption , the state demolished all of the outbuildings and the prison wall. Being on valuable property, the State of Ohio wanted to use the land to expand the new Mansfield Correctional Institute located just beyond the old reformatory. Luckily, the land was turned over to a preservation group in that now controls the old prison. Tours are available at the site and a haunted attraction is hosted every Halloween season.
Ohio State Reformatory's sign at the end of Reformatory Road. The Reformatory as seen from the sign in the previous photo. The prison as we drove up the driveway. A view of the reformatory from behind bars.
This building served as one of the administration buildings. It served as the gift shop during our visit. The Ohio Historical Marker that sat just in front of the prison. The small building in at the center of the facility served as the OSR office when we visited.
This was the false wall that was used during the filming of Air Force One. The wall's gate. A wide shot of the wall. It is actually made from wood, not stone. The false wall as seen from the administration building. This was the area where the prisoner was released in Air Force One. This appeared to be an old fire hose wagon. Some old chemical fire extinguishers on the front lawn. A hallway in the admin building. The Superintendent's office. A closer look at the superintendent's office.
The grand staircase of the office area. A desk was in one of the offices. The library was about the size of a small walk-in closet. This cabinet probably contained a fire hose at one time.
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