Behind the Walls: A Photo Essay Through the Historic Lansing State Penitentiary

A rare glimpse into Lansing State Penitentiary, Kansas' oldest prison. Its decaying corridors and cell blocks hold over a century of complex history.

Until now, the only way to walk inside the historic Lansing State Penitentiary was as a guard or an inmate. In 2020, the original facility was shut down, and its last residents were relocated to a modern complex nearby. What was left was a hollow monument to the past. Its steel doors were rusting, the watchtowers stood silent, and the cells were frozen in time.

Thanks to a partnership between the Kansas Department of Corrections and the Lansing Historical Society and Museum, the old penitentiary has reopened. This time, it welcomes the public, not prisoners. Visitors can now walk the yard, look into solitary confinement cells, and see the stark architecture that defined life behind bars.

This photo essay captures the haunting beauty and enduring weight of Lansing State Penitentiary. The cracks in the stone, the remnants of routine, and the shadows of stories left untold.

(I have to give a personal thanks to Debra, who was my guide through the prison. She has a wealth of knowledge, and it's clear she cares deeply about being a steward of its history and stories.)

A view of the prison grounds looking from guard tower 3. The tall tower in the background is a guard tower of the current Lansing Correctional Facility.

The administrative building, where death row is located on the fourth floor.

As you trek up a small hill from the Lansing Historical Society and Museum, a striking limestone structure looms ahead. Lansing State Penitentiary. As it's most commonly referred to, it was initially the Kansas State Penitentiary. To the north is a four-story building; my guide, Debra, pointed out that while it's an older structure, it's still part of the active Lansing prison. It houses administrative offices, and the top floor is death row.

Capital punishment was reinstated in Kansas in 1994, but the last execution happened in 1965. Kansas has nine individuals serving death sentences. It's my understanding that only one is at Lansing. As we moved closer to the gate, the overcast skies above only seemed to add to the somber tone of the site.

Entrance into one of the cell blocks

Controls that operate the locks on doors and gates.

This Civil War-era prison opened in the 186os. Making Lansing the oldest penitentiary in Kansas, even older than the nearby United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth or the Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. When the new Lansing Correctional Facility opened, these buildings were slated for demolition in 2o20.

Thankfully, a different plan came together. One that not only saved the buildings but also provided an educational opportunity for visitors and an economic driver for the community. Lansing can now be added to a growing list of old prisons converted into historic sites - similar to Missouri State Penitentiary, Louisiana State Penitentiary, and most notably, Alcatraz.

Cell blocks, once packed, are now unsettlingly silent. The atmosphere is almost apocalyptic. Layers of paint have peeled from ceilings, walls, and metal furniture. Years of dust cover phones, control boxes, and window ledges. Books, gloves, medical masks, and other random objects still sit where they were left. Some areas still have lights, but when the bulbs burn out, they won't be replaced.

The penitentiary was built using labor from the inmates imprisoned there —something I found a bit ironic. Prisoner labor was also used to operate the on-site coal mine, a brick factory, and a twine factory. Over time, due to either cost or controversy surrounding prisoner labor, all three were closed. Inmates also once managed a large-scale prison farm, including a dairy, poultry operation, and crop fields. These programs were part of the prison’s self-sustaining model during the early 20th century. Today, to provide work for those incarcerated, Lansing has a program of building furniture.

Over its 150 years, Lansing State Penitentiary has had its share of prison riots and escapes. One of the most notorious prison breaks happened on May 30th, Memorial Day, in 1933. For the holiday, two American Legion baseball teams had an exhibition game in the prison yard. During the match, Wilbur Underhill, at Lansing for murder, bound and kidnapped Warden Kirk Pratcher. In total, eleven men escaped, taking Warden Pratcher and two officers as hostages. That night, after crossing into Oklahoma, the escapees released the warden and officers.

Newspapers across the country and in Canada reported the news of the prison break. Over the next year, authorities recaptured nine men, and two died on the run. Kenneth Conn was shot during a bank robbery in Altamont, Kansas, on July 14, 1933. Wilbur Underhill was killed on January 6, 1934, having been shot five times during a police raid in Oklahoma on December 30, 1933. Ed Davis was the last man captured. Authorities caught him in California in March 1934, and he was sent to Folsom Prison.

DETAILS

The Lansing Historical Society and Museum offers tours on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Times are 9:00 a.m., noon, and 3:00 p.m. There are two types of tours, one is a 2-hour history tour (offered at all three times), the second (the one I went on) is a photography tour. The photo tour, offered only at 3 pm, is three hours long and combines both the history tour and extra time for taking photographs.

At this time, tours are only offered seasonally, from March to October.

Click any image below to enlarge it.