The center tower section is 682 feet (208 m) long. The stone walls are 5 feet (1.5 m) thick at the base, tapering to 2½ feet at the top, with foundations 5 feet (1.5 m) deep. The dimensions of the parallelogram-shaped prison yard are 82½ feet in length, by 352½ feet in width.
The original architectural designs have been lost. The Penitentiary's design is similar to the facility at the 1858 state prison in Joliet, Illinois, with its castellated Gothic, stone structure, complete with turrets and battlements, except it is scaled down to half the size. Currently, the site is maintained as a tourist attraction, museum, training facility, and filming location. Now withdrawn and retired from prison use, it operated from 1866 to 1995.
The West Virginia Penitentiary is a gothic-style prison located in Moundsville, West Virginia. 818 Jefferson Ave., Moundsville, West Virginia
