Bayview Correctional Facility was a medium-security women's prison located at the south corner of West 20th Street and 11th Avenue in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, directly across the avenue from the

Chelsea Piers Chelsea Piers is a series of piers in Chelsea, on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located to the west of the West Side Highway ( Eleventh Avenue) and Hudson River Park and to the east of the Hudson River, they were originally ...

sports complex. It was one of the few state penitentiaries in the middle of a major city in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

History

Bayview consisted of one large building and did not have grounds and a fenced perimeter, although an annex was later added. The building was designed by

Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon, founded as Shreve & Lamb, was an architect, architectural firm best known for designing the Empire State Building, the tallest building in the world at the time of its completion in 1931. The firm was prominent in the pr ...

and it began its life as housing for sailors before being converted in the 1970s into a jail which held a maximum of 323 women, which represented approximately half of New York State's female prison population. Covering the entire south wall of Bayview is the ''

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

'', a mural painted by New York artist

Knox Martin Knox Martin (February 12, 1923 – May 15, 2022) was an American painter, sculptor, and muralist. Born in Barranquilla, Colombia, he studied at the Art Students League of New York from 1946 until 1950. He was one of the leading members of the N ...

in 1970. Venus was commissioned by

Doris Freedman Doris Chanin Freedman (1928–1981) was a pioneer in the field of public art, active in New York City. She was the daughter of architect Irwin Salmon Chanin and his wife Sylvia Schofler. Freedman graduated from Albright College, Pennsylvan ...

of CityWalls (later the

Public Art Fund Public Art Fund is an independent, non-profit arts organization founded in 1977 by Doris C. Freedman. The organization presents contemporary art in New York City's public spaces through a series of highly visible artists' projects, new commissions ...

). Today, Venus is almost entirely obscured by the neighboring building 100 Eleventh Avenue, completed in 2010. Featured on the New York State Correction Officer Informational Page's "History of Bayview" is the following statement: Before

Superstorm Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as Superstorm Sandy) was an extremely large and devastating tropical cyclone which ravaged the Caribbean and the coastal Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in late October 2012. It was the larg ...

hit in October 2012, Bayview's 153 prisoners were evacuated and sent to other facilities. The building sustained worth of damage as a result of storm damage and remained closed due to NYS Budgetary reasons. Following the announcement that the building would be sold, a number of plans for its future developed. Among those was a center for women's advocacy under the auspices of the NoVo Foundation, which was abandoned in 2019. As of 2020, the building's future status is unknown.

References

{{Authority control 2012 disestablishments in New York City Chelsea, Manhattan Defunct prisons in New York City Government buildings in Manhattan Women's prisons in New York (state) History of women in New York City