These photographs are part of a larger group taken by Leslie
Granda-Hill during the middle of 2007. The project began
as a short tour of the soon to be demolished Essex County
Penitentiary. It turned into an ongoing series of visits that
revealed more and more about this interesting facility.

Leslie became fascinated both with the historical building, the
architecture, the craftsmanship and the story, as well as the
current building... which became a depressing and desolate
environment for many inmates and employees.

The building is currently being torn down to make way for
modern condominiums. The imminent demise of the
penitentiary is indicative of a society more concerned with
short term rewards than rare treasures that should be
preserved for their craftsmanship and historic value.

Once it is gone it cannot be replaced. How sad that very
soon, all that will remain of the Essex County Penitentiary
will be a few photographis such as these...

Leslie Granda-Hill

This video is about 12 MB, but is a silent version of the slideshow and video I put together for the exhibit.

This video is about 43 MB, which is pretty big, but it has the music track that I put to the show and which I think really helps tell the story.