Red Hat Cell Block, Louisiana State Penitentiary | |
![]() Red Hat Cell Block | |
Location | Louisiana State Penitentiary, Angola, Louisiana |
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Coordinates | 30°57′56″N 91°36′49″W / 30.96556°N 91.61361°W |
Area | less than one acre |
Built | 1935 |
NRHP reference No. | 03000041[1] |
Added to NRHP | February 20, 2003 |
The Red Hat Cell Block is a former prison housing unit of the Louisiana State Penitentiary in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana which, for a time, also contained the state's execution chamber and electric chair.
After a 1933 escape attempt, prison authorities constructed a new prisoner cell block,[2] a one-story, 30-cell building at Camp E.[3] That cell block, which became the most restrictive inmate housing unit in Angola, was colloquially referred to as "Red Hat",[4] after the red paint-coated straw hats that its occupants wore when they worked in the fields.[5]
After a federal court ordered Louisiana prison authorities to enact reforms at Angola,[2] Warden C. Murray Henderson phased out "Red Hat",[6] and in 1972 Elayn Hunt had "Red Hat" officially closed.[7] Red Hat became a dog kennel.[2] In 1977 Camp J took "Red Hat"'s role as the most restrictive housing unit in Angola.[5] On February 20, 2003, the National Park Service listed the Red Hat Cell Block on the National Register of Historic Places as #03000041.[4]