Jails
For the early history of jails, see History Pages: 22 - The Institutions.
In 1890, Santa Cruz County replaced the 4-bed 1864 jail with a larger (2 stories above half-basement + tower) jail, adjoining the 1882 Hall of Records (aka the Octagon, which still has the back door that once opened directly into the jail) on Front Street, between that building and the 1876 Santa Cruz City Hall. The 1905 Sanborn map (detail at right) showed the resulting civic center arrangement, which also included an enclosed "perp walk" between jail and courthouse. The city apparently had its own small jail, identified as "Lock-up" on the map. The small building abutting the lock-up, labeled "Storage", is identified in later photographs as the city jail, so it may have been re-purposed after 1905.
Both the City Hall and the 1890 jail were replaced by an even larger jail in 1937. The current county jail was built in 1981, and the 1937 building remained vacant until it was re-purposed for commercial uses in 1993. It was incorporated into the MAH complex, joined to the new museum wing by the 2-story-tall entry hall. At some point prior to 1937, the county acquired the former City Hall property and one or more additional properties along Front Street, beginning with the one with the buildings labeled "Office" and "Tin & Plumbing". That "Office" structure was about where the museum entrance is today.
See also
- The Sidewalk Companion to Santa Cruz Architecture (4th ed. 2023), Chapter Four, item (31), page 100 (1864 jail)
- County jail
- Craig R. Wilson, "History of Santa Cruz County Jails", Santa Cruz Public Library, Local History Articles.
- "Jail", Santa Cruz County historic photograph collection, UCSC Digital Collections.
- The Sidewalk Companion to Santa Cruz Architecture (4th ed. 2023), chapter five, items (59) and (61) (1890, 1937 jails)
