The "New Cellhouse" at the Old Idaho Penitentiary, ca. 1912. ISHS 68-57.61.

Hours
Open all year

Open daily, noon to 5pm.  Closed state holidays.

Memorial Day – Labor Day, open every day, 10am - 5pm.

Last admission at 4:30pm.

Admission
$5.00 Adults
$4.00 Seniors
$3.00 Children (ages 6-12)
Discount for groups of 10 or more.

Location
2445 Old Penitentiary Road
Boise, ID 83712
Directions: From the intersection of Broadway and Warm Springs Avenue, travel east on Warm Springs for about 1.5 miles then turn left onto Old Penitentiary Road. Please call 208 334-2844 if you have questions.

Idaho Territory was less than ten years old when the territorial prison was built east of Boise in 1870. The penitentiary grew from a single cellhouse into a complex of several distinctive buildings surrounded by a high sandstone wall. Convicts quarried the stone from the nearby ridges and completed all the later construction.

Turn of the century convict. ISHS 1186

Over its century of operation, the penitentiary received more than 13,000 convicts, of whom 215 were women. Spurred in part by conditions that sparked a general riot in 1971 and an even more severe riot in 1973, the inmate population was moved to a modern penitentiary south of Boise and the Old Idaho Penitentiary was closed on December 3, 1973. After the Penitentiary closed in 1973, the site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Begin your visit with our video presentation recalling prison history, notorious inmates, and daily prison life. Once inside the Yard, imagine life in the foreboding sandstone cellhouses, see the contrasting beauty of the historic rose gardens, and view the effects of the 1973 riot. Visit Solitary Confinement, known as "Siberia," as well as Death Row and the Gallows. Exhibits are located throughout the site. Wear comfortable shoes and dress for the day's weather.

To search Old Pen prisoner files for a particular inmate, please click here.

See the new J. Curtis Earl Memorial Exhibit. From Bronze Age artifacts to 15th and 16th century swords, from 500 year old firearms to modern automatic weapons, this exhibit shares the story of arms and their relationship to events throughout history.

Visit Boise State University's Idaho Issues Online Spring 2005 issue for special articles about the Old Idaho Penitentiary.

Old Idaho Penitentiary Historic Site Education Programs

Download the Old Penitentiary Educational Resource Kit (Adobe format, 336 kb) for more information about interpretive programs for educational groups including pre-visit information, historical information, lesson plans and activities. Or download our Idaho Heritage Education booklet for complete information about Idaho State Historical Society educational programs. (Acrobat format; 1.7 mb.) or view just the Old Penitentiary page.

Old Penitentiary Activity Sheets are now available! Twelve worksheets help educators prepare students for their field trip to the Old Penitentiary. (Acrobat format.)

Today, the Idaho State Historical Society offers unique interpretive programs of this site for educational groups from September through May.

Our interpreters will share stories of notorious prisoners, escapes, and prison life. Your students will hear how inmates quarried the stone and built the prison themselves, and they will gain an understanding of the Penitentiary's place in Idaho history.

Please call 208-334-2844 or e-mail for additional information or to schedule an interpretive program.

Internship Opportunities
Volunteer Opportunities




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