Page:California Highways and Public Works Journal Vols 8-9.djvu/14

 separating them which contains the various plumbing pipes and ventilation ducts. The cells are 4 feet 6 inches wide and 11 feet long. Each contains a bed, lavatory and toilet fixture and each cell has mechanical ventilation. The cell fronts are built of heavy steel grilles having a grille door. Entrance to the cell is from balconies along the cell fronts, which serve the stairways at each end of the tiers. The cell doors, besides having a separate lock on each door, are securely locked by a heavy continuous steel bar dropped down in front of the door at the top which is free from any attempted tampering from the cell. This bar is controlled with a lever arm at one end of the tiers and secures all doors simultaneously.

The windows in the building covering the cell tiers are constructed of steel sash and

Section through new cell block, Folsom State Prison.

frames giving an abundance of natural light. By reason of the fact that certain sections of the windows open with awning type operators, plenty of air can be admitted when desired. It is needless to say that heavy steel bar grilles, embedded in the concrete walls on the outside, protect these window openings from any possible escape.

On the interior of the walls of this building completely surrounding the cell tiers are two guard galleries, constantly patrolled at night, which makes possible observation and control of the cells at all time. The guard galleries can not be reached from the cell balconies.

Convicts as other persons require medical attention, so a hospital building is very important and is a part of the unit comprising the new cell block. The Division of Architecture has planned a new modern prison hospital which is being constructed. The plans for this hospital unit have been drawn to permit the best arrangement for dental, medical and surgical care, bearing in mind also the safety of the attendants handling the convicts while confined to the hospital.

This building is also constructed of heavily reinforced concrete being a three-story structure. The first floor contains a pharmacy, a laboratory with a vault for the storing of narcotics, etc., record room, doctor's office, clinic containing operating table, dentist chair, sterilizers, dark room, etc. On the second floor is a medical ward, kitchen, diet kitchen and serving pantry, dining room and quarters for nurses and attendants. On the third floor are two operating rooms having in conjunction with them an instrument room and sterilizing room, an acute surgical ward, a fracture room, doctor's washup and dressing dooms and rooms for fluoroscopy and radiography.

The present Administration Building was constructed prior to the year 1900. Not only has it become obsolete, but it is not located in the proper position that an Administration Building should be. This is due to the growth of the prison beyond the original plan.

The 1929 legislature approved an appropriation which authorized the construction of a new Administration Building. This construction is now being accomplished, as a unit of the new cell block and hospital building, comprising an extension of the same.

The new location is closer to the main entrance gate of the prison proper. The extension portion will be a two-story structure of the same type of construction as the other parts of the unit. The administration quarters will be on the first floor and will include an entry and reception room, warden's office, office for the secretary to the Marden, board room, office for clerk of the board, room for narrative writers, files, barber shop, visiting room and prisoners' tank separated with a steel grille and screen to prevent a personal contact between visitors and prisoners, a mail department, telephone exchange, room for auditor, and a room for auditor's clerks having a file room and vault.

The second floor portion will be an extension of the hospital and will contain a medical ward, pulmonary ward, dining room and eight cells. A portion of this structure will contain a basement where the morgue will be located as well as an execution chamber.

The hospital and administration units are served with an elevator, stairways and (Continued on page 16.)