On May 11, D and I went to Mansfield to see the Ohio Reformatory, location for several films, the most well known of which is The Shawshank Redemption. Empty for the last 25 years, the state of decay the place is in now is fascinating. And beautiful in a textural sort of way.

Transom in an office window

We took close to 400 pictures that day. Some of them were less than great, but a lot of them showed the hard conditions the prisoners were subject to. All the peeling paint, wallpaper, tile floors, doorknobs, light fixtures, and rust had us trading the camera back and forth and using our phones when we couldn’t wait to share.

I’ve put our absolute favorites into a book. The pictures on this post are just a few of what made the cut. If you love them and want to see more, you can have a book too. Contact me and I’ll give you the details on what you need to do to get one. They are 8″ x 8″ hardbound with 20 pages and 41 pictures for $30.

One of the many grates. Not all were the same pattern.

Stairs in the central office building

The Chapel

Don’t know what the rooms are but isn’t the paint really cool?!

I just loved the pastel colors of these dusty chairs and the way they were all arranged against the wall.

After our 3 hour visit, we went to Kingwood Center, another local landmark. It was tulip season, so let me leave you with this cheery picture (not in the book).