(BOP) - With the 2018 Winter Olympic Games underway in PyeongChang, South Korea, it is a perfect time to highlight the history of the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Ray Brook, NY. In 1976, Congress appropriated federal funds for the construction of an Olympic Village near Lake Placid, NY, with the stipulation that any federally financed Olympic facilities must also have a "secondary use." Construction of a federal prison in upstate New York received bipartisan support as the secondary use, and Lake Placid, NY won the bid to host the 1980 Winter Olympic Games.
The Olympic Village would house the world's best athletes for two weeks in five dormitory-type buildings. Following the terrorist attacks at the 1972 Olympics, safety and security was of the utmost importance. Needing nearly 1000 "sleeping rooms," each approximately 8-by-13 feet in size to accommodate at least two athletes, the cinder-block walled rooms were designed with either a single, narrow window with a steel rod running down the middle of the glass, or with no window at all. Additionally, two 11-foot electrified fences encircled the Village. The architectural design, and the remote location, contributed to the International Olympic Committee's approval by meeting the strict security requirements needed to protect the athletes and to the Department of Justice's ability to convert the Village into a federal correctional institution after the Olympic Games.
In addition to the five dormitories, the Village consisted of 6 other permanent buildings that contained cafeterias, a medical facility, recreation center, shopping center, full service bank, post office, and a chapel. However, by September 26, 1980, when FCI Ray Brook was dedicated, the "sleeping rooms" had been turned into cells, the world's premiere athletes were replaced by hundreds of incarcerated men, and most of the Village's entertainment elements were removed. The shopping center serves as the institution warehouse and the recreation center, which had housed a discotheque, game room, and a 350-seat theater, is now where the prison chapel, chaplain's office, Psychology Department and commissary are located.
Photo credits: Olympic Regional Development Association (ORDA) - Olympic Museum