Sing Sing Prison Museum

Following in 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. However, now plans are in place for the $50 million project. 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 core of the museum 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 electric chair in 1953. 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. A passageway will be constructed through the prison walls, allowing visitors into the heart of the oldest part of prison complex, no longer in use. Sing Sing prison museum is slated to open in 2025 in time for the 200th anniversary of the institution.