by Heather Hoggan
The site for the WITHOUT ALARM exhibit was 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 eyars, 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 protusions 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 was torn down and replaced with a five
story addition which created more prison space. During the early 1950's,
the expanded Lincoln Heights jail was a model correctional facility, praised
by visiting officials who found it to be clean and quiet, with excellent
correctional methods. The effectiveness of the jail extended to activities
benefiting the community. An article in the Los Angeles Police Beat magazine
told a sotry of how the "fifth floor of City Jail looked like Santa's
workshop as the women prisoners under the able direction of St. Laura Churchill
and crew, undertook the making of five hundred stuffed toy animals for the
needy children of the community."
By the late 1950's, however, the jail was becoming costly and over-crowded,
housing up to 2800 prisoners. In 1958, the county had taken over most of
the responsibilities of the entire Los Angeles City jail system. For a time,
the LIncoln Heights Jail continued to be used as a drunk tank. It was last
used as a jail during the Watts riots in 1965, then formally closed later
that same year.
The Lincoln Heights Jail is still owned by the city of Los Angeles. It is
home to the Los Angeles Youth Athletic Club, The Bilingual Foundation for
the Arts theater company, and the Aztlan Foundation which provides workshops
in Latino art and culture for the community.
years protrusionsstoryLincolnThe site for the WITHOUT ALARM exhibit was
the former Los Angeles City Jail located in the Lincoln Heights area of
Northeast Los Angeles.
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