Penitentiary Bed & Breakfast
Even if it makes it through the next couple of years, the handwriting is on the wall for the old Main Institution (or East Complex) at Washington State Penitentiary.
“In the long term, the Main Institution is going to close. That’s the way they’re headed,” Port Executive Director Jim Kuntz summed up at a recent meeting of the penitentiary task force.
One of the oldest (if not the oldest) prison facilities in the state of Washington, the MI has been in the crosshairs of budget cutters for a while. It isn’t surprising. Despite diligent upkeep and upgrades, only so much can be done with a structure which has some parts dating back to territorial days. You don’t have to be a financial wizard to see it just makes sense to replace it with a modern, more cost-efficient building (or buildings).
So if that happens, what’s to become of the old “Concrete Mama”?
Well, here’s an idea. Make it (or at least part of it) into a B&B.
Surprisingly, this idea has gotten a positive response from more than a few people. Hundreds of tourists visit Alcatraz every year, don’t they? How many would be willing to shell out money to spend a night or two in the same digs as Al Capone and other (in)famous characters? And if they would be willing to do that there, why not here?
Think of it. Pitch it to visitors who want a really different place to stay on their vacation, something they can brag about when they get back home. “Inmates” who toughed out their “term in the pen” (complete with a bottle of Walla Walla premium wine over dinner in the old prison cafeteria) could leave with an official certificate certifying they “had earned their discharge” from the Pen.
(And, of course, offers to purchase official T-shirts with “I did time at Washington State Pen” as well as other memorabilia would be no-brainers.)
Of course there’s a ton of details to work out, not the least of which would be getting around how to have a B&B on prison grounds. But we’ve got a lot of bright boys and girls around here. So let’s get to work.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
You’re an idiot.