The Big House (1998 TV series)
Maximum security prison with a storied past and cultural impact.
East Jersey State Prison, originally Rahway State Prison, is a maximum security facility in Avenel, New Jersey, that opened in 1901 as the state's first reformatory. It has housed notable inmates and been featured in various media, contributing to its cultural reputation.
Quick Facts
- Established
- 1896
- Opened
- 1901
- Original name
- Rahway State Prison
- Location
- Avenel, Woodbridge Township, New Jersey
- Architect
- John Rochester Thomas
Facts from the source article.
General information
The prison's mailing address is in Rahway, New Jersey, but the facility itself is located outside Rahway in nearby Avenel. Its large dome is a well-known local landmark visible from US Route 1–9 and New Jersey Transit's North Jersey Coast Line. The prison occupies a 21-acre walled compound containing administration buildings, cell houses, classrooms, a chapel, shops, and other structures. Originally, the prison was surrounded by hundreds of acres of farmland where inmates worked. Just south of the prison is the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center (A.D.T.C.), New Jersey's facility for incarcerated sex offenders. Officers assigned there also operate the Special Treatment Unit (S.T.U.) for civilly committed sexually violent predators who have completed their sentences but are deemed unsafe for reintegration. In its early years, inmates were categorized on a conduct-based grading system with varying privileges; all entered at the second grade level. The daily routine began at 5:45 a.m. with lights out at 9 p.m., and inmates attended school or worked half the day. Vocational training included tailoring, cooking, shoe-making, printing, electrical work, farming, plumbing, and painting. Today, the Education Department offers programs such as auto-body, auto mechanics, culinary arts, painting and decorating, and horticulture, along with primary and secondary education courses. College classes are available through Union County College's Project Inside program.
History
In 1895, the New Jersey Legislature voted to establish the state's first reformatory, named the New Jersey Reformatory. It opened in 1901 with 193 men aged 16 to 30. By 1912, the inmate count reached 525, and by 1928 it had grown to 745. That year, 59% of admitted prisoners were under twenty, 32% were twenty to twenty-four, and 9% were twenty-five to twenty-nine; 79% were White and 21% African-American. The first superintendent, J. E. Heg, served only a year, succeeded by Joseph W. Martin until his death in 1909, then Dr. Frank Moore until 1929. Architect John Rochester Thomas designed the original prison in 1895, with construction beginning on state-owned Edgar Farm in 1896. By 1908, two four-tiered cell houses existed: one with 256 cells measuring 9'x5'x8.6'H, the other with 384 cells of 7.1'x5'x8'H. In 1929, with the opening of reformatories at Annandale and Bordentown, Rahway became a prison for adult males. Additions in the 1930s included industrial and laundry buildings, and in 1932, Two Wing dormitory added 300 beds, raising capacity to 900. Three Wing was built in 1951, increasing capacity to 1,000. Renovations continued, with Five Wing created in 1967 and Six, Seven, and Eight Wings added from 1985 to 1988. Around 2008, yellow paint was removed from wings 1–4, restoring the original brick. From April 17–22, 1952, a riot occurred after officers beat inmates with nightsticks; prisoners took officers hostage until being gassed.
In popular culture
East Jersey State Prison has gained a reputation in popular culture due to its notorious conditions, longevity, and high-profile inmates. It has been a setting for documentaries, fictional movies, TV programs, music recordings, and music videos, and has been referenced in books, news programs, and songs. Rubin Carter, a former middleweight boxer, spent over 18 years at Rahway from 1967 to 1985 after being convicted of murder and sentenced to two life terms. While imprisoned, he wrote an autobiography, The Sixteenth Round: From Number One Contender to Number 45472, published in 1975, which helped overturn his convictions and became a cause célèbre. Chuck Wepner, a heavyweight boxer whose 1975 loss to Ali inspired Sylvester Stallone's Rocky, was an inmate at the prison when Stallone met him during filming of Lock Up (1989). Wepner also inspired the films Chuck (2016) and The Brawler (2019). Other boxers incarcerated there include Dwight Muhammad Qawi, sentenced to five years for armed robbery in 1973 who became a two-time world champion after release in 1978, and James Scott, a title contender who fought bouts inside the prison, including against Qawi. Tommy DeVito, later guitarist for The Four Seasons, spent time at Rahway as a juvenile offender. The Escorts, an R&B vocal group, were discovered by record producer George Kerr during an inmate variety show; he petitioned the federal government to record an album with them. A mobile recording unit was brought to the prison, and in 1973 the group released All We Need Is Another Chance, which reached #41 on Billboard's Hot Soul Singles, followed by 3 Down 4 to Go.
More in A&E Original Programming
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced