H I S T O R Y
The site for the WITHOUT ALARM exhibit is the former Los Angeles City Jail located in the Lincoln Heights area of Northeast Los Angeles. The evolution of the Los Angeles jail system began with the city's incorporation in 1850. During its early years, Los Angeles was a city plagued by the violent problems brought on by gold prospectors passing through. In the early 1850's the city had a "barless, cell-less, small adobe building on Fort Moore Hill." Prisoners were chained to iron protrusions attached to large logs, either placed inside the jail or in the surrounding yard. With the surrounding land being annexed and the population increasing, the police force and its facilities expanded. By the turn of the century, the East Side Police Station in Lincoln Heights acted as temporary detention for prisoners. In 1931, previous buildings on the site were demolished, and the Central Police Station and Jail were constructed in the Art Deco style. Almost entirely of concrete, the jail provided accommodations for 625 prisoners. In 1949, the police station building.