The Federal Detention Center, Philadelphia (FDC Philadelphia or FDC Philly) is a United States Federal prison in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which mostly holds pretrial male and female inmates as well as inmates serving brief sentences or those that are being transported to another prison within the federal prison system. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the U.S. Department of Justice. The jail, across from the William J. Green Jr. Federal Building, is on a 1 acre site the southwest corner of Arch Street and 7th Street, across from the African American Museum in Philadelphia and in the Independence Mall area. The jail is 12 stories tall across eight floors and multiple basements. It has 628 cells for United States Marshal Service pre-trial inmates, primarily from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the District of New Jersey and the District of Delaware. Federal Detention Center Philadelphia is also a United States Parole Commission Revocation Site. Upwards of 120 female prisoners, already sentenced, serve as work cadre inmates. The prison is connected to a tunnel that allows inmates and US Deputy Marshals to travel to and from the James A. Byrne United States Courthouse.

History

The proposal to build the jail at its current site, which at the time was a mostly vacant plot of land, was made public in February 1992. The museum, the businesses at the East Market Street, Chinatown businesses, and U.S. House of Representatives member Thomas Foglietta all opposed the proposal. The East Market Street businesses did not want prisoners close to their businesses. The African-American museum objected to a reminder of the incarceration of black men. Chinatown businesses stated that the prison may drive away customers and block expansion of Chinatown from the Vine Street Expressway. In February 1992, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the tunnel directly connecting the jail with the courthouse "appeared to appease nearly every critic" against the prison's construction, and that the prison did not visually appear like one. In August 1992, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the jail could damage efforts to revitalize portions of Center City. As of April 1993, prior to the opening of the detention center, there were 18 federal prisons throughout the U.S. that housed pretrial inmates awaiting proceedings in Philadelphia. FDC Philadelphia, scheduled to cost $85 million, was built so the pretrial federal inmates could be housed in Philadelphia itself. The federal government pursued building the prison at its selected site, with the legal processes for condemning structures on the site and acquiring the site beginning in March 1995 and with groundbreaking at a former parking lot on the tract in January 1997. Its formal opening was scheduled for June 1, 2000. Its ultimate construction cost was $68 million. 120 prisoners whose sentences were about to end served as a work cadre from April 1 until the prison's opening.

Facility

Each 96 sqft prison cell has slit windows, a bunk bed, a toilet, twin lockers, a writing table, a basin, and drains at the perimeters. The prison includes a caged recreation area with basketball and handball facility. The prison has facilities for reheating meals meant to be served to prisoners.

Notable incidents

Notable inmates (current and former)