Welcome to the Archives of The Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture. The purpose of this online collection is to function as a tool for scholars, students, architects, preservationists, journalists and other interested parties. The archive consists of photographs, slides, articles and publications from Rudolph’s lifetime; physical drawings and models; personal photos and memorabilia; and contemporary photographs and articles.
Some of the materials are in the public domain, some are offered under Creative Commons, and some are owned by others, including the Paul Rudolph Estate. Please speak with a representative of The Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture before using any drawings or photos in the Archives. In all cases, the researcher shall determine how to appropriately publish or otherwise distribute the materials found in this collection, while maintaining appropriate protection of the applicable intellectual property rights.
In his will, Paul Rudolph gave his Architectural Archives (including drawings, plans, renderings, blueprints, models and other materials prepared in connection with his professional practice of architecture) to the Library of Congress Trust Fund following his death in 1997. A Stipulation of Settlement, signed on June 6, 2001 between the Paul Rudolph Estate and the Library of Congress Trust Fund, resulted in the transfer of those items to the Library of Congress among the Architectural Archives, that the Library of Congress determined suitable for its collections. The intellectual property rights of items transferred to the Library of Congress are in the public domain. The usage of the Paul M. Rudolph Archive at the Library of Congress and any intellectual property rights are governed by the Library of Congress Rights and Permissions.
However, the Library of Congress has not received the entirety of the Paul Rudolph architectural works, and therefore ownership and intellectual property rights of any materials that were not selected by the Library of Congress may not be in the public domain and may belong to the Paul Rudolph Estate.
LOCATION
Address: 784 Fairfield Avenue
City: Bridgeport
State: Connecticut
Zip Code: 06604
Nation: United States
STATUS
Type: Government
Status: Demolished
TECHNICAL DATA
Date(s): 1961-1964
Site Area: 24,829 ft² (2,306.7 m²)
Floor Area: 10,000 ft² (929.0 m²)
Height:
Floors (Above Ground): 1
Building Cost: $111,107 (1964)
PROFESSIONAL TEAM
Client: State of Connecticut
Architect: Paul Rudolph
Associate Architect:
Landscape:
Structural:
MEP:
QS/PM:
SUPPLIERS
Contractor: L. F. Pace and Sons Construction
Subcontractor(s):
Addition to Juvenile Detention Home
Original plans called for “a one-story fireproof building to house 18 children in the rear of the present juvenile court building.”
The addition is constructed at the rear of the former Rakoezi building which is bought by the State of Connecticut in June 1960 for $266,000 by the William Penn Fraternal Association.
The campus, located on Fairfield Avenue, consists of 10,000 square feet with 28 beds, an all-purpose room and an outdoor activity yard.
The facility is designed as separate from the court building, but with a connecting corridor. Because of a shortage of funds, a proposed passageway to connect the detention building with the main court building is eliminated from the project scope.
The steel and concrete masonry building has 14 individual rooms and two double rooms for the children and includes separate recreation rooms for buys and girls, a full kitchen, a dining room with a raised roof and facilities for conversion to a gymnasium, library, interview room and supervisors’ area. The rear of the property provides a fenced-in playground and parking facilities.
The original budget in 1962 is $95,000. By December 1963 the estimated cost of the project is $100,000. Funds are appropriated by the 1961 General Assembly.
On April 30, 1964 Judge Margaret C. Driscoll announces the building will be named ‘Mead Hall’ in honor of Stanley P. Mead of New Canaan, the first judge of the First District Juvenile Court for the State of Connecticut, who retired in 1960.
The facility opens on Friday, May 01, 1964.
A class-action lawsuit filed in 1993 challenges the conditions in centers in Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven.
A $17.2 million bond is approved on August 25, 2005 to build a new detention center to replace Mead Hall, which critics say is housing up to 50 children at a time.
The result is a new juvenile detention facility designed by Jeter Cook Jepson/Ricci Greene Associates and completed by Turner Construction in 2008. The new building is down the road from the original facility, which is located at 790 Fairfield Avenue.
The building is demolished.
“A modern children’s receiving center today is a step nearer reality. We are fortunate to have obtained the services of so distinguished an architect for the first center.”
DRAWINGS - Design Drawings / Renderings
DRAWINGS - Construction Drawings
DRAWINGS - Shop Drawings
PHOTOS - Project Model
PHOTOS - During Construction
PHOTOS - Completed Project
PHOTOS - Current Conditions
LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION
RELATED DOWNLOADS
PROJECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
“Work Starts in the Fall on Youth Detention Home.” Bridgeport Post, January 28, 1962. p. 89
“State to Build Juvenile Home.” Bridgeport Post, December 13, 1962. p. 1, 4
“Pace Gets Contract For Juvenile Home.” Bridgeport Post, February 19, 1963. p. 4
“Event May 1 to Open New Juvenile Home.” Bridgeport Post, April 25, 1964. p. 23
“Juvenile Facility is Named in Tribute to Stanley Mead".” Bridgeport Post, April 30, 1964. p. 1, 2
“Juvenile Detention Center Receives Necessary Funds".” Pittsfield Berkshire Eagle, August 27, 2005. p. 15
“Detention Center Drawing Criticism.” The Berkshire Eagle, January 2, 2010. p. 10