Earlier this month The Bowery Boys released “The History of Jefferson Market and the Women’s House of Detention“, an exceptional episode that covered how the prison was central to liberation movements, including The Black Panthers and Gay Liberation Front. Prison abolition and injustice are of course elements of the discussion.
When the Women’s House of Detention opened in 1931 — sometimes referred to as the world’s only Art Deco prison — it was meant to improve the conditions for women who were held there. But the dank and inadequate containment soon became symbol of abuse and injustice. // In this special episode — recorded live at Caveat on the Lower East Side — Tom and Greg are joined by Hugh Ryan, author of The Women’s House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison to explore the detention center’s place in both New York City history and LGBT history.
The History of Jefferson Market and the Women’s House of Detention