Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Item
Title
A120386-4
Date(s)
- 1959-03-21 (Creation)
Extent
Name of creator
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
Interior and exterior shots of the new County-City building; jail cells in the new law enforcement wing. The combined facility for the county sheriff and the Tacoma police departments was jokingly referred to as the "joint joint." The jail was designed for maximum security and to be a more comfortable and spacious environment for the city, county and federal prisoners. It had air conditioning, a chapel, infirmary, delousing room and even a fenced rooftop exercise area called the "patio." The city jail was located on the third floor and the county jail on the fourth floor of the north wing. Jointly there were 8-9 tanks capable of holding 10-50 prisoners each. The city and county jails each had space for 140 prisoners. The day cells were equipped with showers, but the shower booths had no controls. A jailer yards away controlled both the temperature and the volume of the spray. (TNT 4/7/1959, pg. B-10)
County-City Building (Tacoma); Courthouses--Tacoma; Jails--Tacoma;