116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Iowa All Over: White Palace of the West
ANAMOSA — From the outside, it looks like a castle. Made of bright white limestone, the Anamosa State Penitentiary appears regal. It's nickname is the White Palace of the West.
The view from the outside is the closest most Iowans want to get to being inside. But tucked just behind the prison, and open to the public, is the Anamosa State Penitentiary Museum.
The museum, open seasonally from Memorial Day Weekend through the first Saturday in October, houses a wealth of history about the 140-year-old prison. The museum was dreamed up by John Thalacker, warden from 1988 to 1995, said Don Folkerts, president of the museum association.
The museum itself is located inside a building that once housed a cheese factory. A display takes visitors back to the construction of the prison. The first inmates arrived in 1873.
An exhibit features a gin pole crane, which prisoners used to lift and move heavy stone used in construction. A pulley system allowed two inmates to hand-crank the pulley to load or unload stone, Folkerts explained.
Five inmates lost their lives during construction of the prison.
Elsewhere in the museum, there are exhibits about the penitentiary's most infamous prisoners, including John Wayne Gacy Jr. Gacy was convicted in 1980 of murdering 33 young men and teenagers and spent two years in the prison in the 1960s.
There are now 1,050 inmates in the prison, Folkerts said. The average age of a prisoner is 35 and the average sentence is 15 years.
Another exhibit contains contraband made by prisoners, including blades and a makeshift tattoo gun.
There is artwork made by prisoners on display, too. Visitors can see a detailed scale model of the prison made by a lifelong inmate, for example.
'He asked his supervisor one day if he could build a scale model. Of course, it had to go up the chain of command a couple of times, (but) as you can see they finally said yes,' Folkerts said.
In addition, guests can learn about prison life through photographs and exhibits, such as one that focuses on prison dining.
Visitors also can step inside a replica of a cell and see examples of various forms of restraints used on prisoners.
The museum is now in its fourteenth season of operation. In 2014, the museum had 1,000 visitors.
'There is a mystique about prison museums that really piques a lot of people's interests, and the fact that we have a running penitentiary in addition to that …
there are different museums around the country but usually the institution has been closed down,' Folkerts said.
Folkerts said the Anamosa museum receives several bus tours a year. Those tours also stop at the National Motorcycle Museum and Grant Wood Art Gallery. Wood was born in Anamosa.
If you go
What: Anamosa State Penitentiary Museum
Where: 406 N. High St., Anamosa
When: Noon to 4 p.m. Friday through Monday, from Memorial Day weekend through the first weekend in October. Open other times by appointment.
Admission: $3
Call (319) 462-2386 or go to asphistory.com
Various replicas of forms of restraint are on display at the Anamosa State Penitentiary Museum in Anamosa, photographed on Thursday September 3, 2015. Different forms of restraint were used over the years ranging from straight jackets to more modern steel shackles and handcuffs. The museum is housed in a converted cheese factory adjacent to the 130-year-old prison. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
A gin pole crane, used to lift heavy limestone blocks during construction of the prison, is on display at the Anamosa State Penitentiary Museum in Anamosa, photographed on Thursday September 3, 2015. The museum is housed in a converted cheese factory adjacent to the 130-year-old prison. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
A display shows items considered contraband at the Anamosa State Penitentiary Museum in Anamosa, photographed on Thursday September 3, 2015. Among the items are knifes, lock picks, and even a glove cut to make finger puppets, all were confiscated by guards in the prison. The museum is housed in a converted cheese factory adjacent to the 130-year-old prison. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
Guests are able to enter an actual size cell, complete with items a prisoner would be able to possess, at the Anamosa State Penitentiary Museum in Anamosa, photographed on Thursday September 3, 2015. The museum is housed in a converted cheese factory adjacent to the 130-year-old prison. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
A scale model, built by an inmate serving a lifelong sentence, was constructed in 2006 and is on display at the Anamosa State Penitentiary Museum in Anamosa, photographed on Thursday September 3, 2015. The museum is housed in a converted cheese factory adjacent to the 130-year-old prison. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
President of the Anamosa State Penitentiary Museum Association, Don L. Folkerts of Anamosa, shows a display containing photos and information from some of the most well known prisoners to spend time in the prison, including John Gacy, at the Anamosa State Penitentiary Museum in Anamosa, on Thursday September 3, 2015. The museum is housed in a converted cheese factory adjacent to the 130-year-old prison. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
The Administration building as seen from North High Street in Anamosa, photographed on Thursday September 3, 2015. The 130-year-old prison was built beginning in 1873 when 20 inmates from Fort Madison were brought to begin construction. The prison is mostly constructed of limestone and earned the nickname the White Palace of the West. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
Living Unit C, or the South Cell House, contains as seen from N. High Street in Anamosa, photographed on Thursday September 3, 2015. The 130-year-old prison was built beginning in 1873 when 20 inmates from Fort Madison were brought to begin construction. The prison is mostly constructed of limestone and earned the nickname the White Palace of the West. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
Daily Newsletters