Sing Sing Prison Museum

Following the footsteps of other infamous US correctional institutions such as Folsom Prison and Alcatraz, Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York, is undertaking a museum project. The still-active prison has been the focus of plans to open a museum in some of its former buildings for 30 years, without success. Now plans are underway, and the museum board has launched a $50 million fundraising initiative to renovate two historic structures, design and build new exhibitions and create an institute for criminal justice. Sing Sing opened in 1825 on a 130-acre site on the Hudson River and was the third prison built in New York state. The original building – that will form the museum’s core – was constructed by 100 convicted criminals out of stone quarried on site. The new museum aims to educate visitors about the prison’s past and its fearsome reputation. Over six hundred prisoners were executed there, including its most famous inmates, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of espionage and executed by an electric chair in 1953. In December 2020, the [newcolumn]museum received a $364,746 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The museum is required to raise $1.1 million to match NEH funding. The main part of the museum (the Power House) will be situated outside the prison walls in a former power station, complete with permanent displays and a theatre. Before completing the main museum, project organisers plan to create a preview centre to open in 2022. It will hold exhibitions, programs and a museum office. Museum officials have appointed Ennead Architects and Thinc Design to conduct community engagement workshops, design the Preview Center experience and create a new museum concept plan. Sing Sing Prison Museum is slated to open in 2025 in time for its 200th anniversary. (Updated 29 November 2021)