The Ohio State Reformatory

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and made the tour very interesting and fun. After the Behind the Bars guided tour, we explored until closing time. There is a lot to see and learn. We took a little break and enjoyed coffee in the cafe. Highly recommend spending the day here.

A great time at this historic landmark. Amazing architecture at this 130 year old establishment. Tour was informative and fun. So many things to see and do. Tips: Dress for the weather, and wear appropriate shoes. You are on your feet the entire time. Tour guide was a prophet. You can tell they like their job and it made the trip e en better. We took the Shawshank Tour and we recommend it.

​We visited during the fall, and it was a fantastic experience. We opted for the "Hollywood meets history" guided tour, and our guide was both engaging and knowledgeable, providing a great balance between the prison's operational history and its fame as a filming location. ​The Tour Experience: There are several different tour options available, ranging from self-guided to specialized behind-the-scenes tours. I highly recommend rewatching The Shawshank Redemption (or other films shot here) right before you visit so the locations are fresh in your mind. However, even if you aren't a movie buff, the historical architecture and the stories of the inmates are equally impressive and interesting. ​Tips for future visitors: ​Weather & Timing: I recommend visiting during the cooler months. Many areas of the prison do not have AC, and the stone building can get quite warm in the peak of summer. A fall visit was perfect for us. ​Seasonal Events: We arrived just before they set up for their Halloween event ("Blood Prison"). It looked very well done, and we’d definitely consider coming back specifically for that. ​Plan for Multiple Trips: Because there are so many different tour paths (History, Hollywood, Paranormal), this is a place you could easily visit multiple times and see something new each time. ​Logistics: Wear comfortable walking shoes; there are many stairs and uneven floors. Parking is available on-site and is easy to navigate. ​Overall, it is absolutely worth a visit. Whether you are there for the cinematography or the history of the, the Reformatory does not disappoint.

It was such an amazing place to visit. There is so much history to learn here. We booked a tour, and lucky us we were the only two people on the tour, so our amazing tour guide customized the tour to our liking. Some areas were off limits because they were setting up for the Halloween prison, and in some areas, we were not allowed to take pictures because of that, as well as some areas still house prisoners to this day and it's a federal offense to take pictures of them. Loved all the history and picture opportunities of the Shawshank Redemption film. It is very interesting to see the cells and the chapel, the x marks the spot, and the attic. You can every sponsor a cell to be restored. Very cool place to check out. We would highly recommend you to visit here.

I had an exceptionally memorable experience during my visit to the Ohio State Reformatory. The site was rich with historical significance, yet it conveyed an ominous atmosphere that left a lasting impression. Exploring what life was like in a prison during Ohio's early days proved to be both fascinating and educational. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, especially since we managed to conquer the challenging escape room themed around a zombie apocalypse, which added an extra layer of excitement and adventure.

Visited on Sunday 12-21-2025 and walked right in with no crowd, family got the self guided tour and had a blast, the Shawshank museum was a fun visit, but just being left alone to walk around and explore is where it’s really at, daughter enjoyed how creepy the cellblocks were and getting to learn the history of the prison, it is definitely something that is a great for a one day visit and glad we choose to do this on our drive home, the coffee shop scolefield cafe served up a decent cup of coffee, for 85 dollars for three people and the time we spent wandering around we got our moneys worth for sure. If you go here with an expectation you’ll be let down but if you keep your mind open and exploration hat on you’ll have a great time. They don’t allow ghost hunting equipment which is fine no one has ever actually caught a ghost in real life yet so just leave it at home.

We have visited OSR on many different occasions. We visited once just to take the tour, another time for the Shawshank event, a couple of times for a murder mystery dinner, and once we brought 50 people to the location for a massive ghost hunt. Every time we visit, we are not disappointed. This is one of those locations that keeps calling you back. We do intend to visit again in the future, just not sure for what event or capacity. When asked, What is the scariest or creepiest place you have ever been to out of the 460+ you have visited?, this one ranks up there in the top 5.

This is quite the place for a visit. Not only do they have memorabilia from the movie Shawshank redemption, but good stories as well. I took a three hour tour of the prison,which was very informative. My guide Steve knew his facts. I showed up at 12:30 and walked right in. I was the only person on the three hour tour so I had to guide all to myself. Highly recommend stopping here for a visit.

While on a road-trip south, we decided to visit the Ohio State Reformatory-the site of where Shawshank Redemption was filmed. There are all types of tours available from self guided to bus tours showing all the filming sites. We focused on just the prison and opted for a guided tour. The tour lasted approximately 1 1/2 hours and covers most of the prison. The prison opened in 1886 (completed in 1910) and closed in 1990. Many of the sites used in the movie were shown. Especially interesting were the six stories of cells and the "attic" where prisoners also were put. Also interesting is when the movie was released in the US, it was somewhat of a flop. Europe and Asia had a much better box office result. Once the movie became available on video, it became a cult classic almost overnight in the US. (Shawshaw Redemption competed against Forest Gump and Pulp Fiction in 1994) When doing the guided tour, you also have the opportunity to do the self guided tour if you want to revisit certain areas or spend more time. The facility also has a gift shop and small restaurant.

Forgot this review... The stories, history, REALness, and character of this place is worth it! The steel bars and construction is SOLID unlike today's TRASH buildings and products of America including the prisons. This place could be rehabbed and used today. This place is HUGE and the chapel is grand. The prisoners scribbled on their walls and the graffiti is STILL visible. Really cool to see their marks of who they are going to jump, their names and dates, and their drawings lol. The story of this place is fascinating. Sold for $1 dollar to the people who maintain it as a historical landmark, they BANK off tours I'm sure, and they also rent it out for the Blood Prison, which ALONE is worth a whole trip to Mansfield Ohio! BUT, you have to do the touching and grabbing option because it's HILARIOUS, tho ya might get injured, but it's all in fun! Great place and fun people. I love exploring!

Have always wanted to tour the reformatory and set aside a day to see it. We paid for the audio tour which was well worth it. Gives you many facts you wouldn't get otherwise. We are planning to return in the spring.

I wanted to do this tour for some time. So I took my son here. We both loved doing the self guided tour. Maybe next time we will do the behind the scenes tour. They take you in the basement with that tour. And I think to a higher up not accessible floor too. I enjoyed it. And will take other people here as well.

We did the Beyond the Bars tour. Our tour guide was Austin and he did a great job of telling the history and keeping it interesting. The Beyond the Bars tour was a bit of an extra cost but we got to go into areas not covered by the self-guided tour. The attic area was probably my favorite and seeing the inmate "artwork" dating back to the 1930s was really interesting. The guided tour was almost 2 hours. When we finished that, we got sandwiches at the cafe, retrieved our friend who didn't want to do the guided tour, and then headed back inside for the self-guided tour. The self-guided tour covered more of the areas that were used for Shawshank. There was also an electric chair that had been used previously (but not at this location I believe). It still gave some gravity to the location. There is also a gift shop with a lot of Shawshank merchandise and they keep the movie on a loop in the cafe. This was definitely an interesting place to visit and I'd love to come back for the ghost tours!

We had a great time here. It was old and creepy. Just how I like it. All of the staff were friendly and knowledgeable and I like the fact that you could just basically just wander around at your own pace.

This was a very interesting tour. Our grands, 10/12 were just ok with it. We did the Hollywood tour, lots of Shawshank info and relics. The cell areas were the best to see. Beautiful architecture and restoration in areas. Private group owns the property now, monies generated goes to the restoration and maintenance.

This was awesome! The gothic architecture, the checkered history and its use as a backdrop to the movie Shawshank Redemption. It's worth taking the "Behind the Bars" tour to learn more about the good intentions when it was built to the horrific conditions and its inevitable close. We spent over 2 hours in both the tour and the self guided walking tour where you can go many places within the facility. Highly highly recommend!

I knocked this cool place off my bucket list! What an interesting, cool, and terrifyingly sad place OSR is. The architecture and massiveness of this place is incredible. The level of care and dedication the organization that owns it has to restore it back to life is astounding. Some places in the reformatory are still in movie production condition after Shawshank Redemption was filmed the over 30 years ago. Other areas of OSR are still being restored. And still other areas feel like inmates could be returning any minute. I didn't feel any paranormal activity while there but did encounter moments where I did feel a heavy sense of pain, panic, anxiety, fear, sadness, and loneliness. The staff were incredible and they were very knowledgeable about the history of OSR. I took the time Beyond the Bars tour that took us through most every area of the place and that was amazing. One recommendation. Please watch Shawshank Redemption before going. It will make the experience even more interesting.

We did a private tour with our Mini Cooper Club. Steve and Tom were our guides and they were amazing! So informative and took their time with us and answered all our questions. I highly recommend the private tour! And ask for Steve and Tom!

06/0302022 Went to this place last year. But it still is in my mind and impressive. If you are looking for an attraction to see this is it. The prison is no longer in use, but it is where the movie Shawshank Redemption was made. Spent four hours on the self guided tour, and to me it was worth it.

Went here yesterday and loved it. Experienced a few different paranormal activities. Definitely worth the drive and the money to go and check this out.

If you find yourself anywhere near Cleveland, The Ohio State Reformatory is a must see. Located in Mansfield roughly an hour and a half south of Cleveland. We were visiting friends who live in Hartville and it was about the same hour and a half drive. The reformatory's claim to fame is that it was the location where the movie "Shawshank Redemption" was filmed, but it is oh so much more than that. We took the self-guided tour. We paid, I think, $20. If you're taking the self-guided tour the extra $5 for the wand is a must. As you walk through the prison there are numbered plaques throughout on the wall. Push the corresponding number on the wand and listen to the story about that particular site in the prison. The tour does, of course spend ample time on the filming of "Shawshank", but as I said, it is so much more. At one time this was an actual working prison. There is so much rich history to hear about and see while on the tour. There are several locations where people have purportedly experienced paranormal activity. There are interviews with former inmates. Hearing stories former inmates was totally cool. It was fascinating to hear everything about the prison. From the movies that were filmed all or in part at the reformatory to actual prison history. It was just a really great experience. During our visit to Ohio we visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Pro Football HOF, even the house where "A Christmas Story" was filmed. The Ohio State Reformatory was my favorite. And that's saying something because I'm a huge music (metal) fan, a huge football fan (Go Seahawks!) and "A Christmas Story" is my 2nd favorite Christmas movie next to "Die Hard". The Ohio State Reformatory is most definitely a must see.

This place is definitely a must see if you're in the area. And if you were into the history, then it's worth the trip as well. They do certainly market for the movie footage, but seeing Old Sparky was both intriguing and spooky.

We had a busy road trip from Chicago to Ohio. My fiance planned this stop for me and oh my! I loved it. I am a huge fan of Shawshank redemption and had no idea that this jail was located in Ohio. We booked tickets for our family, including 2 younger girls and I was nervous that it would bore them but they had a blast. The history of the jail is so interesting and the girls were fascinated by every room they saw. I would come back in a heartbeat

We visited for two reasons: One, because Ohio State Reformatory is a famous landmark in the Mansfield area. And two: Because MrBeast once filmed one of his challenges here. Guess which reason belongs to my children? So yeah, MrBeast did visit this abandoned prison, but that's not the only reason to visit. Ohio State Reformatory is an amazing piece of history, and not just that, but: It's kind of creepy! In that way that large, abandoned prisons can be. We chose to opt out of the group tour and just walked around the prison by ourselves. This was a great choice, because we could walk as fast or slow as we wanted. We took more time around certain places. (Like the prison cell where a prisoner set himself on fire. What the heck! That was kind of disturbing to read, but that happened.) And we walked fast up stairs and past places that didn't interest us as much. This prison is very large, and I imagine you could spend all day here. We spent about an hour there walking at a pretty quick pace. Personally, I really liked visiting this prison because of the photo ops. There are so many spaces that are worn away, crumbling, and full of remnants of history. I loved just walking around with my camera, taking photos of all of the patina and rust. There are certain areas that you can't take photos, though. There's an actual low-security prison located next door that you can see from certain windows, and there are signs telling you not to take photos out the windows. Also: This was the filming location of the Oscar-winning film, The Shawshank Redemption! Part of the museum in the prison is dedicated to the movie, with info and props from different scenes. On the first floor, as you exit, there's a gift shop where you can buy Reformatory things. It is a little disorienting. It's like, you've just spent an hour or more absorbing the lives of prisoners, and then you're met with a room selling t-shirts and keychains making light of the things that happened in the prison. There is like a whole range of human emotions going on here when you visit the Reformatory, and they all culminate at the gift shop as you pay for your Straight Outta Shawshank mug.

I decided to check this out due to having some time, and I do love to see movie locations and the Shaw Shank Redemption was filmed here. I will not lie. This place is not for the faint of heart. If you don't like feeling trapped and / or are easily scared, then this may not be for you. This is a huge decommission prison, and lots of deaths were here in addition to very harden criminals. They have a few tour options, and you can even just do a self-guided with or without audio. It does cost $5 more for the audio. You get to walk through most of the entire prison. Some areas are closed off due to restructuring the areas. There are many signs throughout the prison that say paranormal activity, as you see in my pictures. At one point, I walked into the solitary confinement area and heard some strange noises that made me decide not to go any further in that area. I was pretty freaked out. The place is beautiful from the outside, but inside it is Alcatraz meets haunted mansion. Just imaging walking over 200 feet past all these cells, and on the left, you have bars, and on the right, you have the cells that are destroyed and rotting. This was by far one of the scariest things I have encountered. I also enjoyed being able to see it and how massive it is. I was a little disappointed that I asked for a travel agent discount or "FAM" ticket even after explaining I was also a travel reviewer with a lot of readers and experience. I paid full price for my ticket, which was $25. I did not opt for the audio, and since I think the audio would have talked about the paranormal activities, I am glad I didn't. All in all, if you either want to be scared or just have curiosity about what a real prison looks like, check this out. There are signs that there are certain locations where you can not take pictures due to the real working prison right behind this one. If this review helped you at all, please mark as helpful and follow me. Plus, I am starting a YouTube series travel blog, and you can follow that at https://www.youtube.com/@Dangoeswild

If you're a big fan of Shawshank Redemption, it's essentially sacrilegious to not visit this prison! Driving up and seeing it for the first time was breathtaking. It's such a beautiful building. We did the "Behind the Bars" guided tour, which showed us parts of the prison not open to the general public like the sub-basement. It was neat! It lasted about two hours, then we explored the rest of the building afterwards. I loved the administration parts of the prison and rooms that were used in the movie. They did a great job with displaying props from the film. There's also a small industrial museum on the ground floor. Seeing the prison cells in person was incredible. The whole experience was amazing. I'm dying to go back during Halloween! This is a must see place that's great for all ages.

OSR does a great presentation of History, crime and punishment. The architecture is a powerful presence. The tour leader was an excellent presenter. We're going to watch all the films that were shot there.

What a place. We highly recommend checking this place out. Take a self guided tour or a private tour. The choice is yours. We chose the self guided & spent about 2.5 hours & still felt like we could have taken longer. Wether you're there for the movie facts from Shawshank, the paranormal or simply for the architecture alone.. You should go :)

Not as great as some other places I've been to, but still really fun. Definitely worth stopping by if you're in the area.

Great place to visit. Went on a self guided tour just to get a feel for the place and see if one of the guided tours would be worth the extra money. A guided tour, from the one we watched would be great fun. Will return. Love the people in the gift shop too!

We've visited here about 4 times and always enjoy coming. It's a great stop if you: like the Shawshank Redemption movie, like history, like creepy/paranormal places. We always do the self guided tour so we can take our tone and take lots of photos. Check out Groupon before you go, they usually have deals in ticket prices.

Loved this experience. Please, please please come hydrated and ready to walk and climb stairs in extreme heat. Bring a personal fan and bottle of water. This is completely worth the price of tickets. Take all the guided tours if you can. Interesting and eye opening.

This is such an interesting place. The outside looks like a castle and the inside is obviously a prison but some parts have a lot of historical items and feel. I've done a self guided tour, blood prison twice (during covid it wasn't as fun bit they had very little prep time), and their murder mystery dinner. Might do Inkcarceration rock concert too. The place feels fine no matter the weather. It's a part of history. (Warning: lead paint in cells so might want to avoid that portion if preg or have a breathing issue.)

WOW. Kinda creepy. We paid the extra $5 per person to participate in a guided tour. Well worth the expenditure. You were taken to areas where the self guided tours didn't go!! I sure hope they gain enough funds to preserve this facility. If the walls could only talk. It eventually became a maximum security facility. During its early reformatory days each inmate was required to learn a trade and to support his faith while incarcerated. The Chapel I'm confident was beautiful in it's day. Three inmates were allowed to assist the priest during service. As he got more comfortable with the three he would leave them alone at times until it was found that they were trying to dig a hole in the wall and escape. See my pics. I am looking forward to coming back to do a tour with a prior inmate as the guide!!

This is an amazing facility built during the civil war. It had a long and storied history as a reform prison over 100 years until it was closed due to the horrible conditions. It is now Muesum and conference center. It has been used in several major motion pictures most notable the Shawshank Redemption. There's movie memorabilia and an industrial museum was opened last year. For people more adventurous than me there's over night ghost hunting events. There's an annual Shawshank run each summer and it's a major event with 2,000 runners/walkers. About 7K from the prison thru downtown and back. Check in out!

Very informative, interesting. A must see while in Mansfield! There are 4 types of tours one behind the Hollywood scene, to the inmate perspective and 3 behind the bars. My sister in law and I chose the inmates perspective. Gives you the day to day life of an inmate back then. Their story telling ability really does take you back behind the bars. I highly reco.mend this tour. You can also do a self guided tour on tour own. Lots of walking and stair climbing, but so worth it. We spent almost 4hrs and we could've stayed longer if given the choice to roam.

Such an impressive building full of history to be explored. I took the self guided tour on a Friday. It was busy but no packed. Masks were required! You have the option of buying the wand to walk around with that gives information for parts of the building. There are rooms with artifacts and then mostly empty rooms. I would say my favorite part was walking around the cell blocks. It gives you an erie feeling knowing all the cells held inmates and there are so many cells. Throughout there are also movie props from Shawshank Redemption which was filmed there. Neat place to visit. I reccomend visiting at least once.

Wow! What a fascinating place to visit. If you like history or movies or the supernatural then you need to go to the OSR! The history of this place is amazing and seeing it in person on how these inmates lived is a sight to see. Or if you are a fan of the Shawshank Redemption or Air Force One then this place is also for you. Lil Wayne and Godsmack also filmed music videos here and the staff will point these out along the tour. Lastly, the OSR is a hot spot for paranormal activity, so get your ghost investigation gear ready! I found myself at the OSR via Oakland University via Alumni Office coordinating alumni to have a night of ghost hunting. The price per person was $75.00 which included a tour from 7p-9p, pizza/pop, and then 10p-3a of having the place to yourself to connect with the supernatural. We had an amazing tour guide and fellow alumnus, Lon show us around and connected with the spirits at the reformatory. All the staff were amazing and you can tell they love to volunteer at the OSR. The tour from 7p-9p is not the same tour as the one during the day. I wish we had more time to take a day tour because you get to see the reformatory in a different light and go into different rooms full of history. However, the tour we went on were the hotspots within the place and stories of haunting/frequent spirits. Make sure you wear your walking shoes - no matter the tour you go on because this place is huge! I easily walked almost 7,000 steps within 8 hours. I also recommend to wear layers. It can easily be very hot or you may encounter cold spots where a light jacket is needed. The building is gorgeous but in desperate need of repair (which OSR is slowly doing). Lots of lead based paint chips falling from the walls along with dust and other crumbling areas. Along our tour we also were shown where the scenes within Shawshank Redemption were filmed and this is very cool. Highly recommend re-watching or watching if you have not seen it before coming to the OSR so you can really connect the scenes to the actual building. The OSR rents/buys out equipment you can use for your ghost hunt. During our stay the most successful equipment were the dowsing rods (I do not think these were very expensive to rent or buy). The spirits communicated quite a bit via the rods. However, using your cell phone for both taking pictures and recordings are a great way to try to communicate with the spirits. The spirits who roam the OSR are all human and none appear to be evil/demonic. But on the way out the OSR recommended to tell the spirits to stay at the OSR and they are not welcomed to follow you home. Many members of our group included myself experienced something during our ghost hunt. With a building that huge and with so much history you more than likely will run into someone or something. The only downside is when you start your ghost hunt there are so many people walking around that it is distracting. If you can stay up late then I recommend drinking coffee and staying as late as you can. The reason for this is most of the people started leaving around midnight/1am which helped cut down on the distractions of others. At one point there were four of us in the attic and it was about 2a and not a human soul in sight. You were able to take in the whole room and not mistake a fellow ghost hunter for a ghost. We had a great experience and would highly recommend you check this wonderful place out! It is in the middle of nowhere within the bible belt but hotels are decently adequate in the area and worth going!

This place is awesome! Love there Halloween shows and there tours.

This place was awesome for anyone who is a big fan of Shawshank Redemption. They've really dedicated it to the film with original artifacts as well as artifacts dating back decades from the prison system. No one was ever executed here but I have no doubt that it's very haunted. I'm no Lorraine warren but I had the same feeling here that I did when I visited the Winchester mystery house, which is one of the most haunted places in America. The first floor of the cell block has been turned into a haunted house for the month of October. We had fun.

The grounds were clean and easy to navigate. I didn't do a tour inside the build due to cost and couldn't get the wheelchair in. The gentleman working the door was kind enough to let me in to go to the gift store where I spent some money. The cashier there was super friendly and helpful also.

Toured the jailhouse for the first time today. Did enjoy the gothic style building architecture. The cost to get is for an adult I felt was a little high. The self guided tour is very real and interesting. While walking around, you have to imagine what stories would be told if the jail cells could talk. There are several props from the Shawshank Redemption movie. Very cool to check those out. I was disappointed that the jail cells from the movie are actual jail cells at the Reformatory. I was looking forward to seeing the jail cells used by characters portrayed by Tim Robbins & Morgan Freeman. Also disappointed that you are unable to walk around the yard also showcased in the movie. However, being able to visit the view several other locations where the movie was filmed kind of made up for it!!!

So much yes. I've been wanting to come here for years and I finally got to this week. It is fascinating, eerie, sad, and morose. The architecture is beautiful. The steep spiral staircases leading to the cells. The way that the cells are stacked upon one another. The narrow catwalks on each level where even the least faint of heart might experience vertigo. The gritty, grimy simplicity of the living quarters. The cold, dank hallways that allow only a light stream of sun to come through, even on the brightest day. Yup, this is the place for me. I had read reviews before-hand stating not to spend money on the audio wand. I would agree with that.....there are videos at various points throughout the structure that play, explaining the area that you are in. I found the hospital area, the library, and the "car wash" (i.e. Shower area) to be particularly grim. But most of all the cells themselves. The warden's quarters were quite lovely, and although they have fallen to decay and dilapidation, it is easy to see that it was once a very beautiful place to live. I liked listening to the videos of former inmates talking about how they somehow rigged wires to produce heat to make cheeseburgers. (Where did they get ground beef????) I am very interested in coming back to do the ghost tour. (If you know anything about me, you know the paranormal fascinates the bejeezus out of me!) In broad daylight I was feeling the heebie jeebies, so I think I would be in my element to come back at night. Cool place. Loved being here. If these walls could talk.....

We drove from Indy today to tour the Ohio State Reformatory. Being fans of the movie "Shawshank Redemption" we really enjoyed the parts of the self-guided tour that highlighted the parts of the prison that were used for the movie. But we learned so much more about the buildings! The hand wands are $5 and a must for the tour! There are plaques all over the buildings that tell you what number to press on your hand wand to hear more information. A nice touch was that the parts that involved the movie were voiced by Morgan Freeman! However, the "Behind the Bars" tour was the BEST part! "Little Kyle" was our tour guide and I can't say enough about how much fun he made this tour. He REALLY knows the history of the reformatory from when it was built to when it closed. He was full of energy, stories of the buildings, and had great jokes and quips to keep us well entertained. I'm sure he has done this tour hundreds of times - but you can tell he loves what he does and he wants the tour guests to have fun too! On the BTB tour, you are taken to many parts of the prison that aren't open to the general public. That, together with the self-guided tour, really made this a fun-filled day! We felt like we really got a good feel of the history of these buildings! Plan time to take this tour - wear good walking shoes and be prepared for 30+ flights of stairs! But don't let that keep you from doing this tour! They are mostly well spaced out so it isn't too hard to do, and the two times there were multiple flights to go up we took our time and never felt rushed.

"There must be a con like me in every prison in America." If you are a fan of The Shawshank Redemption then this is a must stop. "His judgement cometh and that right soon"

I love this movie and I love this place. Wish I lived closer, then I'd be here every month! I love this movie more than life itself. I'm obsessed. I went on the first week of December and there were only 4 other people besides me. So I was alone to roam this place by myself. It was like a dream come true.

Just go. The only other jail I have toured before was Alcatraz. I'm a big fan of the Shawshank Redemption which was the main reason for my visit. The Ohio State Reformatory is approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes from my house. Thankfully the guided tours have recently resumed. My family visited on a Sunday. Our tour was scheduled for noon. We arrived around 11:15 and were able to walk on our own. We did that and then joined our scheduled Hollywood tour at noon. Tour lasted for approximately 90 minutes which was highly informative. I would certainly recommend the guided tour. We easily spent 2.5 hours and could have spent an additional hour or so there. Whether or not you are a Shawshank fan, there is plenty to see and appreciate. If you are a fan of the movie, architecture of that time period, or prisons, you need to visit. It is definitely worthwhile!

On a whim we stopped with the kids, we weren't sure if they'd be interested, but they ended up loving it. We took the self guided tour and rented one of the little listen along stick things (don't waste your money) that we hardly used because it was practically impossible to hear. We wandered through the restored rooms reading the history and then made our way to the cell block. I was very claustrophobic and couldn't tell you a whole lot about the inside of the cells, other than to say that I would never want to have to spend time in one. It was fascinating to explore the cell block and different rooms as we made our way through the prison. We enjoyed all of the info on Shawshank Redemption and had fun posing with the cutouts of Andy, Red and Brooks. We were happy that the visit reinforced that our kids don't want to do anything to end up in prison. To quote my little guy, "Prisoners don't mess around."

This is the prison they filmed Shawshank redemption we were driving by and I saw it on the side of the road we say let's go over there we did and it was cool and we got to have some pictures we didn't get to do a tour but we got to take some pictures and walk around and look at it so that was nice

This place ought to stoke more than a few conversations. First there is the history of the place. Then the fact that it has been the set of more than a few Hollywood productions. Now add that it's haunted and been seen on almost every ghost show investigation.

Took my family of 5 today to the Reformatory and we loved it! Yes I'm a big fan of Shawshank Redemption and I just rewatched it last week in preparation for this but none of my kids have seen it (and won't till they are adults) but we all loved our excursion here. Took us a full 2 hours to fully see everything and listen to the self guided tour. I asked if there were any guided tours available but sadly there were not but it was still fun. Our youngest was 8 and he did great watching for signs and listening to the audio by himself. Our 10 year old girl got pretty spooked by the time we got to the cells, that was fun! They talk a lot about different areas being haunted so she kept asking Mom and I if different #s were scary before she would play them Absolutely worth the visit, but probably can be done in 90 min without kids and at $30/ea not something we'll need to do again for another decade or 2... I would suggest to the Reformatory, add a couple staff around the building and post pricing at the ticket counter. We never saw anyone other than the ticket person. Overall a great experience!

Absolutely enjoyed this tour! To me it blew away the tour of Alcatraz I did years ago. You have a choice of doing a self guided tour or a audio tour where you carry an electronic device that looks like a tv remote. When you get to certain signs you hold the device near the sign and it tells you things. I decided to just do the self guided tour, I paid $23.00, which was the veterans rate. It took me about two hours to complete and probably could have taken longer if I wanted. You are able to tour the cell area's, the library, the showers, the chapel and so much more. The hotel room that Brooks stayed in in Shawshank Redemption is actually in the reformatory. For those in to paranormal stuff apparently there is plenty of it there.

Go! Go! Go! It doesn't matter if your a Shawshank redemption fan or a historical fan This place is the coolest place I've ever visited.

I can not begin to express how cool this place is. It's an easy day trip from Cleveland. Driving up you have an impression of Stephen King's "The Shining". It looks more like a castle than a prison. The front area you see is actually warden's quarters and administrative offices. This area has been much restored and is beautiful both architecturally and in interior detail like the stained glass windows and woodwork. Some areas are furnished and available to rent for meetings and banquets purposes. I bought the self guided tour online before arriving, then paid for the audio "wand" enhancement option for a nominal fee. This helped identify some areas with minimal signage and gave some interesting historical facts. People kind of bunched up at the beginning but the crowd thinned as most folks kind of rush through and don't read the placards providing detail. The beginning is kind of a museum of items with significance to the building and inmates who resided here over the years. There is a room dedicated to the electric chair, Sparky. . The prisoner areas are very dilapidated which actually adds to the ambience of the tour. It's hard to believe that this was a functioning prison up until 1990. The chapel was the spookiest part. I was able to sit in a pew with no one else in the room for several minutes. Known for its paranormal activities, I experienced nothing of the sort. There is active work being carried on as you visit. No ghosts or whispers that I could hear. If you have an issue with heights, you might want to rethink this trip. The cell blocks are 6 tiers high with catwalks to move through. Windows soar on an outside wall with open space floating between the cell and the exterior wall. At least prisoners would see daylight, weather and maybe even some stars. On weekends they offer guided tours and are much more crowded. October ushers in Haunted tours and paranormal visits. Many of these fill up a year in advance. They operate a kind of haunted house experience as well. There is a snack shop and a gift shop but the photo ops are your best takeaway. I was able to use my phone flashlight to look through chinks in the wall and explore some small spaces that were unlit by windows. I definitely recommend. Then go home and rewatch Shawshank Redemption. Many scenes will have familiar backgrounds for you. A lot of people come for movie buff reasons but there is some great history and architectural delights here. Just in general a super co trip. The real prison, built to replace it is right behind and observable through several windows. I saw those inmates in the yard outside. No pics allowed, It's a maximum security facility.

So we stopped in, and did the self guided tour. It's nice having "free range" and being able to take your time and see things at your own pace. (Within limits, from my understanding you get to see more with the guide) my only "meh" is not getting to know certain facts. the audio wands, are great and all, sound was loud and clear with some really great information ranging from Hollywood, to historical to paranormal, but there are so many things I saw throughout the tour and had questions! And on a self guided tour, you cant get them answered. It was definitely nice though, right now they are doing renovations. But alot of it also looks like its original, which makes it that much more worth it to see in my opinion. I'd recommend it. I'd do it again, as much as a self guided tour sounds intriguing, I probably would do a guided if given the option.

It was okay. It's the first time I have ever paid for a tour of anything and got nothing. No free keychain no pen no coupon to the gift store nothing. For the $35 for the tour beyond the bars was not worth the money. The tour guide certainly could have done a much better job. I may not know all the specifics but I certainly could have done a much better job than our tour guide did. I spent quite a bit at the gift store but that definitely was overpriced. $22 for a t-shirt is a little pricey and $27 for a beanie hat is ridiculous but purchased anyway. Don't go on a Sunday because there is not much in the area as far as food. Most places are closed on Sundays and Mondays. Again it was okay I would never go back again and I certainly would not recommend anybody spending that kind of money for a guided tour and $25 for the walk through yourself would definitely not have been worth it either. I'm surprised people can even go in there there was so much asbestos and lead paint and all kinds of stuff it's toxic in there. Don't touch anything and when you get home you need to shower immediately.

Great experiences! We did two guided tours: Beyond the Bars and Hollywood Meets History. The staff was very friendly and helpful. I definitely will bring friends and family to experience this place that is full of American history and pop culture. A special Thank You to the staff members Tara, Brooke, and (I think his name was) Garrett. They were very helpful and accommodating. They made the experience worth the money spent.