Exploring The Real Shawshank Prison - Shut Down in 1990

[@Jared_Wignall]

It’s awesome to see you go though the prison that The Shawshank Redemption was filmed in. It’s one of the best films ever made and it’s cool how places like this give tours as for many places similar to this either just shuts down again when the shooting of a film ends and nobody is allowed to go inside or the building or buildings are demolished and something else might be built in its place. Keep up the great work Chris, have a great rest of your day and take care!

[@magnamanv45]

I served time there from 1980 to 1984, 4 years. It was a living nightmare. The cells only had cold water, there was no hot water. A trustee would walk the ranges with a water can like they used at a gas station for filling radiators. You knew he was come cause he would be yelling "Hot Water!". The food was horrible. You would find rocks in it and Brooks wasn't joking about finding maggots in your food. Now, I know a lot of people say it's haunted, but, after being there for 4 years, I never seen or heard any ghost. Never heard any other inmates see or hear them either. So, if it is haunted, they came after I left. The thing that really surprised me was, I would see inmates return after being released and violating parole. Not me, that place straighten me right up. Another thing, it would be freezing in the winter time and scorching hot in the summer. When you first get put into population, you were celled on the second range. The first floor was to infested with rats to house inmates there. But as you did your time, you would get moved a lot. As time went by, you would slowly move up the ranges. The closer you get to the top, the closer you were to going home. But the problem was, as you moved up, the hotter it would get. My last 6 months was spent on the 6th floor, top range. It would get up to 100 degrees at night in the summer and 120-140 in the daytime. I remember when I first went in, I weighed about 240 lbs. When I got out, I weighed 125 lbs. It truly was cruel and inhumane punishment.

[@michaelhiles5350]

Yo I got there right after you left 137327 made it to j dorm worked greenhouse cut the grass around the headstones slaughterhouse 7 cows everyday 25 pigs on Wednesdays plus we had 48.000 chickens worked 7 days 18.00 bucks a month enjoy your life brother

[@terrybellar7661]

119753 funny how you never forget your name!

[@1martymcfly298]

How old were you when you did the four years? I know it was about 40 years ago. Thanks for the interesting information and for commenting on the video.

[@RansomShindawakei]

I knew Andy Defresne, and Red. We use to play chess together. Than one day, our friend Brooks was unexpectedly paroled.

[@magnamanv45]

@@1martymcfly298 I was 18, got out when I was 22

[@hamlufet]

Made me wanna rewatch the movie. So awesome to learn about the history of this place. Thanks for touring us, Chris.

[@MonicaLitman]

I was born and raised in Ohio so the reformatory was still in use while I was still there. I didn’t know Shawshank Redemption was filmed there. Thanks for the tour Chris

[@hammondj82]

Tells me that we have a government and a lot of local police departments that revolve around the almighty dollar.

[@anthonytaylor7928]

How old are u?? U mean all this time u didn't know?

[@anthonytaylor7928]

​@@hammondj82most people know that it was filmed there if ur from Ohio the dude with the comment above must be young or misinformed

[@lesliewachter1275]

I was just there a couple days ago. Never saw the movie but highly recommend touring the reformatory and paying a little extra for the Behind the Bars Tour. You won't be disappointed and all the proceeds go towards restoring the prison.

[@NeighborhoodOfBlue]

I can't fathom having never seen this movie, let alone touring the prison without having seen the movie. Please watch it! You won't be disappointed.

[@lesliewachter1275]

@@NeighborhoodOfBlue I plan on it!

[@dawnmartz8483]

Why r they restoring it?

[@ernestj3081]

Shawshank Redemption One of the best movies ever made. 👏🏻👊🏻👍🏻

[@FreeUkraine69]

I think there is many non criminals who will never do time in a prison that would probably love to come and rent a cell for a couple of days and stay as a guest in a place like this just to have a real life experience of what convicts must have had to endure for long terms in the past . What do you think? Please reply to me

[@Joseph-sq7iu]

Top 3 favourite for me and funnily enough the one of the other is a prison movie as well.

[@bogeysbaby]

It was boring

[@ernestj3081]

@@bogeysbaby it was for an intelligent audience!!

[@LeBasketballGuy]

One thing I miss since converting to streaming is flicking through the channels and seeing either this movie or Goodfellas on. Seems like those two were on the most, partly because they're so good, partly because they could fill a 3 hour block with commercials. It's been about 10 years since cutting the cord, think I need to watch those soon.

[@scottrider641]

This facility is close to my home. I have visited a few times. You did a great job capturing the best points of interest of the tour. Thanks for this great, well presented video. Thanks, Chris. Great job as usual

[@AlonnahCasey]

This is by far my most favorite movie of all time, the story is heartbreaking, Thank you for sharing

[@OhioGuy330]

Great video thank you I live in Ohio myself & appreciate it when people showcase what our state has to offer

[@flatlineracer3207]

Wow this is one AWESOME video! From one of my all-time favorite movies. Thank you.

[@Liz-cmc313]

Excellent tour of one of the best movies ever made. Thanks Chris.

[@larrybuckner8619]

Now I gotta go rewatch that movie.

[@LyonessQueen]

Thanks for sharing! Shawshank Redemption is one of my favorite movies ❤

[@ToddEWalnuts]

Cool video, Chris. Shanks for uploading this and bringing us along. Shawshank Redemption is such a classic movie. One of the best ever made. It was cool to see behind this scenes with your tour. Have a good weekend. Thanks for all that you do to provide us with entertaining videos.

[@GraveVisitations]

Loved this tour thanks Chris. One of my favourite movies

[@playmangostingiu2217]

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to take a glance of how looks like this place. I'm a fan of that movie, it's a masterpiece, I watched it several times, never tired and always noticing new details. Thank you so much

[@catcrazy67]

Fascinating tour I need to visit Im about 1 hour north of Mansfield in Ohio

[@cosmos7492]

Amazing video thanks for showing us around Chris enjoyed it as always

[@frankwafer6919]

Thank you for the wonderful video,it was an excellent movie!🤔💯👍!

[@fritz1990]

Awesome video. Thanks! Loved the Shawshank redemption movie.

[@jodysales2362]

"Andy crawled to freedom through five hundred yards of shit-smelling foulness I can't even imagine- or maybe I just don't want to. Five hundred yards... that's the length of five football fields; just shy of half a mile." Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding

[@joshuapaul349]

He must have had a hell of an immune system.

[@user-tb2jy9lu3d]

Red never was good at math, apparently. 500 yards = 1,500 feet, which is not "just shy of half of a mile" which would be 880 yards or 2,640 feet.

[@AlonnahCasey]

I can repeat that in my soul, you can literally feel the heartache in Red's voice, beautiful comment ya know that's life for us all I'm afraid

[@jodysales2362]

@@AlonnahCasey one of my favorite movie quote and I can't hear it with hearing Morgan Freeman's voice. Lol

[@AlonnahCasey]

@@jodysales2362 facts cookie 🍪

[@dezertraider]

FANTASTIC..ONE OF MY FAV CHRIS,THANK YOU,,SAFE TRAVELS

[@wendysmith8246]

Chris Thank-you!! One of my favorite movies!! So cool to see this!!!!❤

[@mikebas7325]

Thanks for taking us on this tour with you, had no idea that movie was filmed here. I'm not too far from the area, might have to take a tour of it.

[@dennisneo1608]

Chris, you're a great documentary maker. Shawshank is one of my favourite movies. Top 10 for sure.

[@theathjr]

My top 3 favorite movies of all time. This video was AWESOME. I have to visit before I’m done on this earth.

[@JimmyJolly-d8v]

Shawshank Redemption was one of my favorite movies all time and is one the best movies ever . Watch it alot

[@MaarkiMarko]

I enjoyed the movie Shawshank Redemption, and I enjoyed the tour of the prison it was filmed in. The chapels condition is so sad. I remember the video you did at the prison in New Jersey. This was very interesting! Thank you, Chris.

[@donbustle5845]

I worked at the Ohio correctional prision in Lebanon ohio in 1986. As part of our orientation I did get to visit the Mansfield prision back then to see its operation. While it looked nothing like your video today it was pretty creepy even back then. It was still quite an amazing facility. The administration wing was quite fasinating and in full use in 1986. Ohio's electric chair was kept at the Lucasville prision at that time. During my orientation visit to Lucasville I was able to see it there. Shawshank is one of my all time favorite films.

[@kellyshomemadekitchen]

My Dad was there in the late 60s and my brother did two years there in the late 80s right before they closed it down.

[@gborch]

Great video man thank you so much. I love that movie. You have no idea how many times I watched it maybe 50 times that’s no joke. I wonder how they ended up with that boat and did they fix it up?

[@Dawna-gp1zk]

Your best video yet! Excellent presentation!

[@nikkigardiner9426]

Thank you, Chris! ❤

[@dianemakarevitz798]

Excellent video, Chris! I love Shawshank Redemption and Morgan Freeman so this was a real treat! ☮️❤️

[@randywatson2]

That’s a great movie. Watched it for probably the 20th time last weekend

[@Mypandaloves]

Cool tour. Awesome to see all the cool stuff

[@Perspective125]

Thanks very much for your video. I've watched just about every documentary ever made on the Mansfield Reformatory. Learning about the various stages of Work Farm to Incarceration, etc. It's fascinating! You've done a wonderful job, especially interspersing your video with cuts from the movie, great work!

[@Carolbearce]

I love the movie Shawshank. Thank you for sharing this with us.

[@deannaharby5677]

My favorite movie---thank You !!!

[@davem8836]

I'm always amazed at how quickly things deteriorate if not maintained.

[@ninaappelt9001]

Except Roman roads

[@bigbasil1908]

@@ninaappelt9001 Well Roman roads tend to be covered by a lot of soil that has built up over the many centuries. Most Roman stone stuff in Britain was robbed out to build other buildings after the Romans scurried back to Rome.

[@annethyg]

My grandfather was one of the physicians on call for the prison before it closed

[@Dawna-gp1zk]

wow

[@dml5053]

love this!....one of fav from your channel ...great job!

[@emke9326]

What a treat! Thank you for this😊

[@Gypsy839]

It’s a beautiful building❤

[@andrewbryce7927]

I love this movie. That was so cool 😎 to watch. Thanks, Chris. appreciated 😊😊

[@deloradeabel8487]

Fantastic tour!TY

[@MsSnowMews]

one of my fav movies, thanks for showing this..

[@Salty_Balls]

I've been through the Halloween Haunt at Mansfield several years. We started the haunt on the stairs at 20:45, going up into the offices, eventually through the mess area and cells. It's a fantastic haunted attraction.

[@butters1473]

Man I love this. How they haven’t done it up and painted it.. it looks so cool. Thanks for the video!

[@terrysmith7076]

Fantastic video I'm a big fan of Shawshank movie. Thank you for sharing ☮️

[@justhavinfun9492]

Thanks for the tour! 👍

[@kellymcgrane2690]

Thank you Chris!! Great tour. Very informative. I've seen the movie About a dozen Times. 💓

[@DrQuagmire1]

funny how the inmates had the balls to sue this particular prison for inhumane conditions, and yet, look at the crimes they committed that brought them there in the first place. what does that tell you??

[@Kuypers125]

That you have no problem sounding like a sociopath

[@dennisneo1608]

It tells me the world is topsy turvy!!!!

[@Ganiscol]

I'll just quote Mr. Dostoyevsky, because he is still right: 'A society should be judged not by how it treats it's citizens, but by the way it treats it's criminals' Of course, the US is still failing miserably on most counts. Not least because of the privatization & industrialization of punishment over actual rehabilitation.

[@NeighborhoodOfBlue]

That humane conditions matter, and that torture doesn't lead to reform.

[@NeighborhoodOfBlue]

@@Ganiscol You are a good person

[@cardinaloflannagancr8929]

There are a few areas you need to get the guided to for them to be included. The one is a catwalk (west attic), that looks straight down you can see on the self guided tour somewhat through a door up on the top tier. Plus you were able to go in the yard and the guard tower (weather permitting though). Also the sub basement. I did the self guided and can't wait to go back and see the rest. One thing I learned was the shower scene where andy meets Boggs. That shower room actually you do not stay in place that one was called the car wash. As you actually walk continually supposedly to prevent soap dropping or things of the sort. Along with in theory at least a more efficient and consistent time for people to go through.

[@jamesholt7612]

Awesome place and the movie was great.

[@MrPocketfullOfSteel]

Hey Chris!!! I believe this bumped another video out of your "Top Ten." Very well done, IMO. It's not often after watching a video, that I stand and actually applaud. I did for this one. haha! *Roll on.*

[@raymondhoagland4976]

Very interesting and informative, thanks for the tour Chris !

[@macwyll]

Thanks for making this video. I have a big interest in architectural structures and how elegant most of them are and what the years do to them.

[@R118GSiVVC]

Amazing tour, thanks Chris!!

[@TommySG1]

Very interesting video man 🤙 I too saw this over a dozen times, the movie was written so well.

[@alrise1776]

Shawshank is one of my favorite movies. Tombstone is my # 1 favorite. The Green Mile was great too

[@kennydemartini2169]

You were less than a half an hour from my home. Thanks for covering the prison, and I hope you enjoyed your time in Ohio.

[@minimumrage323]

Greatest movie of all time.

[@Marco-qe5zw]

Thats a fact.

[@user-tb2jy9lu3d]

They got the math wrong at the end. 500 yards = 1,500 feet, which is not "just shy of half of a mile" which would be 880 yards or 2,640 feet. Also, when Andy crawls out of his cell and breaks open the pipe with a rock, sewage sprays everywhere and is pressurized....yet how? The other end of the pipe was completely open, so that was impossible. One of my favorite movies, but they messed up on a lot of details that I would have expected them to get right. The opera song that Andy Dufresne plays over the loud speakers is Canzonetta Sull'aria from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Le nozze di Figaro".

[@miuqe1468]

the methane in that pipe would have killed him before he made it out

[@user-tb2jy9lu3d]

@@miuqe1468 That too.

[@minimumrage323]

Yep. This movie would have been categorized under fiction in Brooks' library.

[@user-tb2jy9lu3d]

@@minimumrage323 Right next to Alexandre Dumazz according to Heywood.

[@DianeC.]

Hi!!! I'm from Northeast OHIO... I have rode past here. I had a friend who was a " Ghost Buster" and took his equipment there. He did find things...Nice Video!!!...🦋

[@EQMVB]

AWESOME video!!

[@gborch]

I hope you get 1 million hits on this one of the best videos I’ve ever seen on KZbin

[@samanthab1923]

Very cool. Remember first seeing this place on Scariest Places 07. GH was there in 05 but didn’t name it. GA followed with 09. 👻

[@graysonbuttercheeks3136]

“Everybody needs a friend in here…I could be a friend to you.” Boggs…. I literally had a boss that looked like him and talked like him. He was frightening. I watched my back.😬

[@mvol5973]

Little known fact, the "Brooks was here" is not the original from the movie. The original was stolen from the building during one winter while the place was shut down and the staff created a new one

[@tammyhall1008]

This video right fen here is the ABSOLUTE BEST BEST BEST IVE EVER SEEN ON KZbin and Believe me I’ve seen ALOT‼️❌‼️🐀👏VERY EDUCATIONAL about the jail and the movie 🎥

[@marlyfreely74]

excellent video. very enjoyable. thank you

[@nateludy6749]

Man that brings back memories. I lived not far from there and visited that place a few times.

[@billgoeckel6344]

Awesome video thanks for sharing this !

[@Hangmanaudits]

2nd Video love prison history , I visit prisons and police stations in Scotland .

[@MSlank]

Great video as always. I've been watching your vids since the Wraith location episode. Just wondering what tour you did since I will be visiting it soon. Thanks and Keep it up!

[@davechattoe9144]

I can only imagine the psychological wear and tear of making the prisoners build their own wall to surround themselves in prison. That's pretty messed up.

[@stevemason5173]

I have been there several times since 2013. Not as an inmate, but as a curious tourest. It is about 30 to 40 minutes from my house. On our first trip, we discovered they were preparing for a 20 year anniversary celebration of the filming and trying to raise money for the restoration. The place was in shambles and allot of vandalism had gone on and a few of the movie props left behind were stolen from the site. The original board where Brooks carved his name was stolen and a replica made, along with the safe in the warden's office. We were informed the last remaining buildings we see today and in the film were scheduled to be torn down on the day they received the phone call from Hollywood. All the destruction equipment was on the way. Much of area and buildings have been torn down behind the main building and replaced with a newer more modern reformatory. The filming of this movie saved a gorgeous landmark filled with interesting history in Mansfield Ohio. The cemetary seen in the movie is real and still there, but no longer able to be seen or visited. There are a set of railroad tracks that run between the prison and the cemetary that I have walked and explored that cemetary several times between the closing of the prison and the filming of the movie. They have done a very fine job od restoring the areas where the filming took place as of today.

[@wvcaver774]

I remember seeing parts of this place from US 30 back in the 70's and 80's and gave me the shivvers !!!

[@Little_Man152]

Great video. Enjoyed it very much. 👍

[@kevinclapton7835]

in the 70s i had a bad drug problem and i was here for 4 long yrs roaches crawling out of ur eggs on yhe plate ..violent stabbings rapes in the shower screams at night from new guys getting raped ...taught me to behave for the rest of my life..

[@paranormaltraveler-pennsyl1721]

that’s absolutely fucking horrible. I hope you’re doing better nowadays!

[@kevinclapton7835]

@paranormaltraveler-pennsyl1721 I saw the light so to speak thanks for caring

[@GaryPMMBourne]

very well done........ thankyou

[@kimhall5863]

Really well done~thank you❗️

[@martinUTFR]

One of my favorite films 🎬

[@jburnett8152]

Nothing is worth even one day. I've seen the movie several times. It's always been one of my favorites. Morgan Freeman was great in this movie. Thanks Chris. I'll send you a cake.🎂

[@lookup17]

Ohhh, I’ve been there numerous times, let me tell ya, some of those prisoners have never left. Serious paranormal activity there. Great vid!

[@mikelambert8324]

Exactly

[@justinboger1348]

Great tour. I was looking into this building after watching the movie. Must have been miserable to be an inmate there. I visited a similar one in Belfast, North Ireland.

[@michaelhiles5350]

Oh yeah did 4 years 84 88

[@Nunya_Bidnez]

I went there for a Haunted House one year. It was AMAZING!

[@b_doc6142]

Dude, I love the content, but I feel like I need to send you a Olight marauder mini LED flashlight, to help you out with your lighting that would make a big difference in your videos then a camera light or a lot of the other videos I watch. For example, this one in the dark cell. but when you do caves, etc., that flashlight would definitely enhance your content to have much cleaner brighter light

[@CraigFThompson]

Morgan Freeman starred in a movie that was made here decades ago; does anyone else remember "Brubaker"?!

[@ritagail4559]

Can you plz do one on al copones old hotel on Michigan and cermack in chicago plz try thank you mobile instinct your awesome

[@BigBlueGr8ness]

Very cool thank you 👍🏻👍🏻

[@ronaldmiller2740]

THE PRISON JAILS LOOKED LIKE A GIANT HUMAN ,,BIRD CAGE LOOKING UP AND DOWN.. THANKS ,, CHRIS...

[@debbiepatrick399]

This is really interesting, thank you

[@ritagail4559]

Wow I really loved seeing this you have such great content I love everything about it thank you for sharing this I would like to see more like this and I enjoyed the video that you and Lamont did on Emmitt till that young man suffered beyond belief plz do more content like this thank you again can you do one on auchwitz I hope I got that right

[@IntoTheUnknown420]

Never seen the movie all the way through. Something i need ro do. But love old places. I want to check out Moundsville.

[@tommydrozdowski4733]

Thanks

[@tomcat9506]

🐾14:00 You’ll often find a toilet situated in a seemingly odd place in hospital wards, as the nurses would use the toilets to empty bed pans 🐾🐾🐾

[@b_doc6142]

Love the content I went 20 years ago when they did a yearly haunted house, which is awesome at the prison I don’t know if they still do it or not

[@dgonthehill]

ty for tour