State Correctional Institution – Cresson was a medium-security, all male correctional facility, located off U.S. Route 22, about 10 miles west of
Altoona along Old Route 22 in the Western part of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
On January 8, 2013 state officials announced the prison would be closed. The prison closed June 30, 2013 and the land was put up for sale by the state.
Creation of SCI-Cresson
Under Executive Order of then-Governor
Dick Thornburgh
Richard Lewis Thornburgh (July 16, 1932 – December 31, 2020) was an American lawyer, author, and Republican politician who served as the 41st governor of Pennsylvania from 1979 to 1987, and then as the United States attorney general fr ...
in January, 1983, This facility, formerly the
Lawrence Frick State Hospital for the mentally ill, was to be transferred to the
Bureau of Corrections for its current use. The
construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and ...
/
renovation
Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, ...
process at Cresson was allocated at $20.6 Million. Construction/renovation began in 1984, and the design of the new housing units for inmates was
prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to ...
d in future institutions across the Commonwealth. The activation team was created in the fall of 1986. SCI Cresson opened in 1987, becoming a medium-security correctional facility for men.
Notable inmates
*
Joseph Kallinger - Serial killer and rapist; died in 1996
[https://www.inquirer.com/archives/]
*
John du Pont
John Eleuthère du Pont (November 22, 1938 – December 9, 2010) was an American convicted murderer and philanthropist. An heir to the du Pont family fortune, he was a published ornithologist, philatelist, conchologist, and sports enthusiast. Du ...
- Convicted murderer
See also
*
List of Pennsylvania state prisons
This is a list of state prisons in Pennsylvania. It does not include federal prisons or county jails located in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Historical (closed)
* State Correctional Institution – Greensburg, Greensburg, Pennsylvania, C ...
References
External links
Penna. Department of Corrections - SCI Cresson
{{DEFAULTSORT:State Correctional Institution - Cresson
Prisons in Pennsylvania
Buildings and structures in Cambria County, Pennsylvania
1987 establishments in Pennsylvania