Halls of Justice and House of Detention, 1838–1902 -style Tombs building in a photograph from 1893. Leonard Street, left. Centre Street, foreground. The first complex to have the nickname was an
Egyptian Revival design by
John Haviland completed in 1838. There was a rumor at the time that the building was inspired by a picture of an Egyptian tomb that appeared in
John Lloyd Stephens'
Incidents of Travel in Egypt, although this appears to be untrue. The building was 253 feet, 3 inches in length and 200 feet, 5 inches wide, and it occupied a full block, surrounded by
Centre Street, Franklin Street,
Elm Street (today's Lafayette), and
Leonard Street. It initially accommodated about 300 prisoners, and $250,000 was allocated in 1835 to build it. Various cost overruns occurred prior to its completion. The Tombs' formal title was
The New York Halls of Justice and House of Detention, as it housed the city's courts, police, and detention facilities. Although a notable example of Egyptian Revival architecture, opinion varied greatly concerning its actual merit. As Dickens wrote: "What is this dismal fronted pile of bastard Egyptian, like an enchanter's palace in a melodrama?" The prison was well known for its
corruption and was the scene of numerous
scandals and escapes during its early history. A fire destroyed part of the building on November 18, 1842, the same day that a notorious killer named
John C. Colt was due to be hanged. Apparently it was an escape attempt on Colt's part that failed, and he fatally stabbed himself in his cell. Convicted murderer and New York City politician
William J. Sharkey earned national notoriety for escaping disguised as a woman on November 22, 1872. He was never captured, and his fate is unknown.
Rebecca Salome Foster, a prison relief worker and missionary, became known as "the Tombs Angel" for her efforts to help and advocate on behalf of the many poor people held in squalid conditions at the Tombs. A monument to Foster, built in 1902 and put in storage in 1940, was rededicated in 2019 in the
New York State Supreme Court's lobby. The architects were
Frederick Clarke Withers and Walter Dickson from
Albany, who had been partners since the 1880s. This was their final major commission. In September 1900, the architects complained that construction would be delayed for a year and cost an additional $250,000 due to the unnecessary insertion of corrupt
Tammany Hall architects Horgan and Slattery into the project. The building was connected to the 1892 Manhattan Criminal Courts Building with a "
Bridge of Sighs," crossing four stories above Franklin Street. There was also an Annex with another 144 cells that had been finished in 1884. A newspaper photo in 1912 shows
Harry Kendall Thaw in The Tombs prison seated at a formal table setting, dining on a meal catered for him by
Delmonico's restaurant. He was given preferential treatment; instead of the standard-issue jail cell cot, during his confinement Thaw slept in a brass bed. Exempted from also wearing prisoner's garb, he was allowed to wear his own custom-tailored clothes. The jail's doctor was induced to allow Thaw a daily ration of champagne and wine. In his jail cell, it was reported that Thaw heard the heavenly voices of young girls calling to him, which he interpreted as a sign of divine approval. He was unshakable in his belief that the public would applaud the man who had rid the world of the menace of
Stanford White.
Manhattan House of Detention, 1941–1974 The 1902 prison was replaced in 1941 by a high-rise facility across the street on the east side of Centre Street. The
Art Deco architecture facility was designed by architects
Harvey Wiley Corbett and Charles B. Meyers. The facility is the northernmost of the four 15-story towers of the New York City Criminal Courts Building at 100 Centre Street, bounded by Centre, White, and
Baxter Streets, and Hogan Place. The three southern towers are wings of a single integrated structure sharing a five-story "crown" which house the city's Criminal and Supreme Courts, city offices, and various departments, including the headquarters of the
Department of Correction. The northern tower is freestanding, with the separate address of 125 White Street. It was officially named the Manhattan House of Detention for Men (MHD), although it was still referred to popularly as The Tombs. By 1969, the Tombs ranked as the worst of the city's jails, both in overall conditions and in overcrowding. It held an average of 2,000 inmates in spaces designed for 925. Inmates rioted on August 10, 1970, after multiple warnings about falling budgets, aging facilities, and rising populations, and after an informational picket of City Hall by union correctional officers drawing attention to the pressures. Rioters took command of the entire ninth floor, and five officers were held hostage for eight hours, until state officials agreed to hear prisoner grievances and take no punitive action against the rioters. Despite that promise, Mayor
John Lindsay had the primary troublemakers shipped upstate to the state's
Attica Correctional Facility which likely contributed to the
Attica Prison riot about a year later.
Manhattan Detention Complex, 1983–2023 The Manhattan Detention Complex consisted of a South Tower, the former Manhattan House of Detention remodeled and reopened in 1983, and a North Tower across White Street, completed in 1990. The complex housed only male inmates, most of them pretrial detainees. The total capacity of the two buildings was nearly 900 people. The jail was named the Bernard B. Kerik Complex in December 2001 at the direction of then-New York City Mayor
Rudolph Giuliani.
Kerik was commissioner of the New York City Department of Corrections from 1998 to 2000 The
New York Daily News reported that the city planned to close the complex prior to the end of November 2020. The demolition of the Tombs attracted criticism from landlords, local residents, and prison-reform advocates. Opponents claimed the redevelopment would harm local residents and businesses. Two artists also filed a lawsuit to preserve artwork that was displayed on the Tombs' facade, but U.S. district judge
Lewis A. Kaplan declined to grant an injunction, and seven murals were subsequently removed. The demolition of the Tombs was finally approved in April 2023 but was paused after further objections.
Unnamed Chinatown jail complex, 2024–present Demolition continued despite objection by local residents and was completed in August 2024. A neighboring senior residence and health clinic suffered buckling and cracks during demolition of the previous jail building that year. City officials announced in January 2026 that construction would begin shortly and it is expected to be completed in 2032. ==Notable people==