New York Women's House of Detention

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The New York Women's House of Detention was a women's prison in New York City which existed from 1932 to 1974.

Built on the site of the Jefferson Market Prison that had succeeded the Jefferson Market in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, the New York Women's House of Detention is believed to have been the world's only art deco prison. It was designed by Sloan and Robertson in 1931 and opened to the public with a luncheon on March 29, 1932. It wasn't to receive its first inmates until some time later. Its location at 10 Greenwich Avenue gave the women inmates a fantastic opportunity to taunt and curse people going about their business on 6th Avenue. The prison was demolished in 1974 and replaced with a garden.

Ruth E. Collins was the first superintendent at the prison. She embraced the design of the prison, labeling it "a new era in penology". Her mission was to effect the moral and social rehabilitation of the women in her charge, giving them a chance for "restoration as well as for punishment". She commissioned a number of art works as part of her mission to uplift the women and treat them all as individuals.

In its later years, allegations of racial discrimination, abuse and mistreatment dogged the prison. Angela Davis has been outspoken about the treatment she witnessed. Andrea Dworkin's testimony of her assault by two of the prison's doctors led to its eventual closing.

The prison featured prominently in the 2004 film House of D.