The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-07-31
WILL COST HALF A MILLION.
Plans of the New State Reformatorl
 Ready,

IlutlS Ol IIlG INGW DldtC IlcLOl Ready.
 At recent meeting of the directors
 of the state reformatory, plans for the
 reformatory which is to be built at Hartford were accepted.
 The site of the proposed buildings is
 on slight eminence not far from Ce- dar Hill and commands an excellent view of the Connecticut valley on the east.
 On the opposite side of the avenue the directors have purchased a lot of about
 thirty acres, which is to be used for farm purposes.
 The buildings of the institution are to Ibe located seven hundred feet in the rear of Maple avenue and large tract in front is to be artistically laid out with elms, naples and other foliage trees
 The eleven acre tract is to be enclosed by a wall twenty-five feet high This 1 is to be built of stoneSand will be suffi- | ciently wide at the top to form a prom enade for the guard. At each of the four corners there will be watch tow CT, where the guard may retire in stor- my eather.
 1 The institution buildings, as designed,
 consist of an administration building, | located in the center of the facade. | The first floor is to be used for general purpose. the second to be devoted to the
 uses of the guard, and the third will be | the chapel, which is to have a seating | capacity of one thousand, and galleries capable of seating large number of visitors. The guard house will be sur | mounted by a tower thirty feet in di- ameter and dome. the pinnacle of which will be one hundred and forty l feet from the ground. Projecting on either side of the guard house will be a cell block These will each be two hun l dfed and forty feet long by twenty five | feet wide and will each contain two hun 1 dred and ninety-six cells. The cells are | to be of modern steel construction At
 the end of the left wing will be two | story school building.
 1 In the rear of the school building will 1 be two blocks, each two stories high l Radiating from the guard house are to be two cell blocks, each of sufficient size to contain two hundred and four cells and so arranged that they can be 1 extended as the number of inmates grows.
 l The acceptance of the plans by the ! directors of the reformatory is another l important step in the changes of meth l ods of dealing with the refractory boys I of the state. The movement for the l new building was instituted by Henry 1 G. Newton of Hartford. and the bill as- surfing it was passed by the last legisla-
 ture It was pushed through by his ef- 1 forts, aided by few other friends of l the proposed change.
 l Since the passage of the bill the di- I rectors have been giving a large
 amount of time to practical investi- I gation of what has been done in othe,
 states. They have made an effort tc l ascertain the best system for this state
 not by the adopion of a new system for I merely one or two years, but perma ;l nently. The acceptance of the plans
 submitted marks a radical change il the method of dealing with criminals ir I this state.
 The directors report that they have ! found that in most cases there are A many defects arising from lack o1 \ buildings and room. Of the proposed N buildings only one, the administration 1I structure, is to be erected at once. The
 others will be added to it from time te
 time, but there is no definite plan fol the time of completing the whole. Il ! may not be done for twenty-five years 4 The board of directors as constituted
 at present is as follows: Professor J JJ. McCook of Hartford, president H George W. Swan of Norwich, secreta. ! ry; Walter Hubbard of Meriden. F. A
 q Spencer of Waterbury and E. M. Cha. {, pin of Meriden.
 I The total cost of the plant, as con. templated, will probably be half a mil
 lion dollars.