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Harris County Jail At 701 North San Jacinto St.


window_crazy

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I am looking for information about the windows of the Harris County Jail at 701 N. San Jacinto.

I paid for a GHPA walking tour of downtown recently and the guide claimed that the windows are part of an architectural facade that surrounds the jailhouse proper. He was unsure how to respond when I reminded him that the windows are lit at night and one can clearly see bars in some of them. I've received conflicting reports from those I know who have spent time inside -- most say there are NO windows in the cells, but one insists he had a window in a shared cell and he could look out over the bayou.

Can inmates see out of those windows? All of them, or just some? What's the architectural story here? (It is difficult to find any information about this except for a link from an old HAIF forum post in which the link was broken.)

Many thanks for specific information and any SOURCES in advance!

P.S.: I know it was cold storage before it was a jailhouse -- just looking for info about the windows.

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Interesting - I went on the same tour last year and was told the same thing about the windows. Recently I was in the area and told a friend about it, and he seemed skeptical. It was daytime though, and hard to tell...

Maybe someone around here has more insider information

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Interesting - I went on the same tour last year and was told the same thing about the windows. Recently I was in the area and told a friend about it, and he seemed skeptical. It was daytime though, and hard to tell...

Maybe someone around here has more insider information

Yes.. some of the windows are indeed real.. and some are not.. the ones which are real do have bars in the inside of the window to keep obvious break-outs/ins.. I'd say about 50% of the windows are open.

The cells there are primarily group style with a "pod" in the middle overlooking 2 or 3 large rooms (as I recall).. I couldn't guess how many groups of rooms are on each floor, but they each have at least 1 real window..

Cheers!

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Yes.. some of the windows are indeed real.. and some are not.. the ones which are real do have bars in the inside of the window to keep obvious break-outs/ins.. I'd say about 50% of the windows are open.

The cells there are primarily group style with a "pod" in the middle overlooking 2 or 3 large rooms (as I recall).. I couldn't guess how many groups of rooms are on each floor, but they each have at least 1 real window..

Cheers!

Correct. In a pod system, the jailers are in a secure room in the middle of the "day room", a central common area where inmates congregate to play cards or watch TV. The day room is surrounded by the cells where the inmates sleep. Many of these pods are set up as a dayroom with two floors of cells. There are numerous windows, though if I remember correctly, they are not at floor level and not in the cells.

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Correct. In a pod system, the jailers are in a secure room in the middle of the "day room", a central common area where inmates congregate to play cards or watch TV. The day room is surrounded by the cells where the inmates sleep. Many of these pods are set up as a dayroom with two floors of cells. There are numerous windows, though if I remember correctly, they are not at floor level and not in the cells.

Indeed, the windows are not floor to ceiling.. I guess I should have been more explicit.. they're more like.. "If you stand on a chair you might be able to see through them.. " From what I recall they were in the actual group cells.. but it has been a while since I was there so I may be a little hazy ..

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Indeed, the windows are not floor to ceiling.. I guess I should have been more explicit.. they're more like.. "If you stand on a chair you might be able to see through them.. " From what I recall they were in the actual group cells.. but it has been a while since I was there so I may be a little hazy ..

thanks, folks, for the first-hand knowledge! this really helps.

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  • 13 years later...
  • The title was changed to Harris County Jail - Architectural Facade?
  • 2 weeks later...
  • The title was changed to Harris County Jail At 701 N. San Jacinto St.
  • The title was changed to Harris County Jail At 701 North San Jacinto St.

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