Derelict Michigan Prison

By Rebecca Drew

EERIE images offer a last look at the decrepit remains of a Michigan prison that once housed convicted prohibition bootleggers who were forced to sleep outside in tents.

From peeling paint on the ceilings, graffiti clad walls and rusting jail bars the prison has been left to rot since it was abandoned thirteen-years-ago.

Other shots show gym apparatus strewn across an empty room, whilst another shows a row of ceramic hand basins. Another image looks directly into rows of the isolated prison cells.

The stunning shots were taken by photographer Jeff Hagerman (36) at the Detroit House of Correction in Plymouth Township, Michigan, USA. To take his pictures, Jeff used a Canon 5D Mark III camera.

“This is an abandoned prison that was built almost one-hundred-years-ago that is currently being demolished,” said Jeff.

“I had seen pictures of this prison online, so I ended up doing a little research and made the eleven-hour drive up to see it for myself.

“I just wanted to see and photograph the place before it gets destroyed.

“Once able to gain access to the property, I have a pretty limited amount of time before someone could ask us to leave, so I move pretty quickly.

“I don’t take many photos, so I take a little extra time to compose my shot the way I want before firing away.”

The first Detroit House of Correction opened in 1861. In 1919, the city bought land in Plymouth Township to build a new centre and a year later a prison camp was opened where inmates slept in tents.

In 1986, it was renamed as Western Wayne Correctional Facility which was used as women’s only prison until it closed in 2004.

“I love this type of photography because it shows a glimpse of the inside of buildings most people won’t get to see,” added Jeff.

“Prisons are some of my favourite abandoned locations to visit.

“I always wonder who may have been incarcerated there and what they may have done to land themselves in prison.”

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