From Shawshank to tattoos: A history of the Ohio State Reformatory
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An outside shot of the Ohio State Reformatory. Photo: Courtesy of Destination Mansfield
One of the most distinctive landmarks in all of Ohio is a roughly 80-mile drive southwest of Cleveland.
Why it matters: The Ohio State Reformatory dates back 130 years, having been a prison, a premier haunted destination and the site of major conventions and festivals.
State of play: ParaPsyCon 7, which attracts everything from ghost hunters and UFO researchers to Bigfoot believers, takes place at the reformatory this Friday through Sunday.
- It's just a warm-up for several events planned there this summer, most notably the annual Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival (July 17-19) that drew 90,000 attendees last summer.
Flashback: The reformatory, designed by prominent Cleveland architect Levi Scofield, opened in 1896.
- It served as a prison until 1990, when a federal court ordered its closure following a class-action lawsuit alleging unconstitutional conditions.
The Ohio State Reformatory Preservation Society formed in 1995 and has rehabilitated the facility, which is now an official museum that hosts walking tours, escape rooms, car shows and more.
The intrigue: The reformatory is also a popular filming location, most notably for 1994's "The Shawshank Redemption."
- Other movies filmed at the prison include "Tango & Cash" (1989), "Air Force One" (1997) and "Judas and the Black Messiah" (2021).
If you go: The reformatory hosts a variety of tours almost daily through mid-July.
- There are also several paranormal events from late July through August.
