Luring Tourists Up the River to The Big House
New York, NY —
About 1 million people visit Alcatraz Penitentiary every year, making it one of the top attractions in the San Francisco area. So Westchester County officials have a plan to lure tourists "Up the River" to Sing Sing prison. As WNYC's Fred Mogul reports, they say if Sing Sing gets even a fraction of the numbers Alcatraz does, it would pump millions of dollars into the local economy.
FM: Marketers are obsessed with the value of "branding." It turns out that if you want a prison with valuable name-brand recognition, "Sing Sing" is a pretty good bet.
JM: I didn’t even know Sing Sing was here. How do you pronounce it? "Ossiling"? [Ossining.] Ossining, Ossining -- I never even heard of Ossining.
FM: Jim Miller and his wife Linda have been driving around the country with their big white show-dog, Stratus. The Californian couple was meandering up the Hudson, when they saw an Ossining sign for a "Visitor Center." They pulled their RV over to take a look. They didn’t find a trailer hookup, but they did find a little one-room historic museum with a permanent exhibit on Sing Sing – a half-mile up the hill from the guard towers and razor-wire. Miller's used to cramped quarters, but he was taken aback by a replica cell from the 1820s.
| Prisoners at Sing Sing in Ossining, NY (Courtesy of Ossining Historical Society) |
FM: A muddy tape loop of prison sounds doesn’t exactly convince you you're in Sing Sing’s A-Block or mess hall. Still, the small exhibit is effective and sophisticated. There are set pieces, like an old electric chair and a modern cell you can go into. You get historical facts and stories – like the jail-break of Willie Sutton, the man who robbed banks, famously, "cause that's where the money is" -- and you learn about different philosophical approaches to crime and punishment. Tracey Corbitt, one of the planners responsible for the county proposal, is confident that there’s enough material – and demand – for a much larger museum.
TC: It would go on the actual history of how it was constructed, the history of the area, some of the prisoners that were there. And, of course, people would have the option, to go and possibly tour a replica of the death chamber and the electric chair.
FM: Local and county officials for years, have been itching to make a much more substantial Sing Sing Museum next to the prison. They envision it dovetailing with a planned path along the Hudson River. And they hope summer boat tours that already hop from historic mansion to historic mansion will include the 177-year-old prison. This week, Westchester County Supervisor Andrew Spano requested 6 million dollars from the state. He says the project would take advantage of money pledged by Governor Pataki to develop attractions in the Hudson Valley.
| The building on the left, a former power station, would the main building of the proposed museum. |
AS: The challenge is that you don't want to trivialize it. You want to make sure it's an educational experience, that people get an understanding – especially young people – what prison is all about. But at the same time, you want to enhance tourism and enjoy the experience that they have.
FM: In some ways, turning it into an attraction would take Sing Sing full circle. Tourists came here in an earlier era. They watched inmates work in prison factories, and there were theatrical performances and even barn-storming baseball games. And those who couldn’t visit Sing Sing in person were allowed in via movies, like James Cagney’s "Angels With Dirty Faces."
CAGNEY: I don't want to die, oh please. I don’t want to die, oh please. Don't make me...
FM: In 1953, the world’s eyes and ears turned to Sing Sing.
ANNOUNCER: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg have gone to the electric chair. Julius Rosenberg was pronounced dead at 8:06.45 tonight. His wife Ethel was pronounced dead at 8:16 tonight.
FM: Author Ted Conover worked as Corrections Officer at Sing Sing in the late 1990’s for his book, Newjack. He thinks if a museum in a working prison is done right, it could shed light on a largely clandestine world -- one that stigmatizes both prisoners and guards, and one in which authorities operate outside of public scrutiny.
TC: I think it ultimately would be good for all involved if the general public were a bit more aware of our prisons, and how they run, and what we’re trying – and failing, I might add -- to achieve with them.
FM: Conover says he wouldn’t hesitate to take his family to a Sing Sing museum – if it were well-executed. Frank agrees. He’s a convicted thief, who didn’t want to use his full name. Frank spent four years there in Sing Sing in the late 60s and early 70s, and he says he would happily return there – as a tourist rather than an inmate.
F: I definitely would go back. You know, curiosity is a big thing, and I think a lot of people, just to be curious, would go there to see what it's all about.
FM: Frank admits he's biased, but he thinks a Sing Sing attraction would be "a heckuva lot better than Alactraz."
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Links:
» Statement by Westchester County Executive Andy Spano
» Ossining
» Ossining Historical Society
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