The building was constructed between 1881 and 1904 under the supervision of the architects
Josep Domènech i Estapà and , and based on the
panopticon "
model" prison design proposed in 1787 by the
utilitarian philosopher
Jeremy Bentham. La Model was inaugurated on 9 June 1904, with its original name being
Cellular Prison, but it was informally given the name
Model because it was to serve as a model for the new penitentiary reform undertaken in those years; Over time the name became official. Throughout its 113 years of history as a prison it was empty on two occasions, at the beginning and at the end of the
Spanish Civil War. The first time was on 19 July 1936, when anarchists liberated the 851 prisoners. On 23 January 1939, some hundreds of prisoners were taken to the borders with France by
Servicio de Información Militar, some of them being executed and others freed. Three days later, hours before the entrance of fascist troops into the city, all of the remaining prisoners were liberated, including both members of the
nationalist faction and militants of the
CNT and the
POUM. In 1984 the prison became famous after an inmates' riot and the escape of the well-known criminal . The penitentiary center closed permanently on 8 June 2017, and is currently used as a center of memory, open to the public for guided or unguided visits. == In popular culture ==