The Ohio State Reformatory was designed by Cleveland architect Levi Scofield. Scofield designed the striking limestone building to be an uplifting, inspiring, and intimidating structure. The Reformatory was originally called the “Intermediate Penitentiary” since it accepted inmates who were too old for juvenile corrections but had committed offenses more minor than those that sent others to the Ohio State Penitentiary. The facility admitted its first inmates in 1896 after ten years of construction.
The goal of the institution was truly to “reform” and rehabilitate its inmates, who received three things during their time at OSR: religion, education, and a trade. Inmates were admitted for 18 months, and if they showed progress, they could be released after that time. If not, they received another 18 months. The model was successful and OSR had a high success rate and a low recidivism rate.
By the early 1960s, however, the state pulled its financial support from the Reform model and began converting OSR into a maximum security facility, a purpose for which it was never intended. By the 1980s, the conditions had deteriorated to the point where the inmates sued the state of Ohio. The lawsuit was successful, and construction began on a new modern facility nearby. The Reformatory was finally closed in 1990. It sat empty for several years until local activists rallied to purchase the building from the state (for $1) and committed to repairing and restoring this historic structure.