The Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in downtown Chicago was designed in the 1970s by architect Harry Weese as a striking triangular skyscraper that blends into the city. Since the building was across from one of the elite clubs in the city, and due to concerns over property values, there was early opposition to a prison at this location. 

The building's narrow, slit-like windows were intended to allow light in without the need for bars, and its interiors were originally conceived to feel humane, intimate and pleasant with wooden furniture. Since the facility was intended to hold those waiting to go up on trial at the federal courthouse, the architectural philosophy reflected “innocent until proven guilty”. 

Over time, many of Weese’s design ideals have eroded: interiors have become more austere with steel bunked beds, frosted windows that do not allow much natural light, and other changes for the worse. The lived reality inside contrasts sharply with the architect’s original vision, leaving the MCC as both an architectural landmark and an often overlooked reminder of incarceration embedded within everyday urban life, hiding in plain sight. 

The parking garage across the street has been a popular location for families to look up at their loved ones inside, waving, sometimes holding up signs like “We miss you”. 

Running Down the Walls 

September 19, 2024 

During an evening gathering outside the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago, over 100 people of all ages came together in solidarity with those incarcerated. Participants circled the building, displayed banners, and engaged in music, dancing, and protest, while people inside responded by waving, flashing lights, and signaling back. A green laser flashed up at the windows letting each person in the window know they were seen. This highly energetic and collective action centered on visibility and connection between those inside and outside. Banners read “ACAB,” “Running Down the Walls,” “Stop Cop Cites,” and much more. Punk bands such as Glutton for Insurrection played. Attendees to Running Down the Walls launched fireworks and threw cans of garbanzo beans at a life sized paper mache police officer. Police maintained a presence but were relatively limited due to their over-policing of a Mexican Independence Day celebration nearby.

The prison system in the United States is shaped by a range of systemic concerns, including mass incarceration, racial disparities, and the criminalization of poverty. Pretrial detention holds many people who have not been convicted of a crime, often because they can not afford bail, while sentencing policies and policing practices disproportionately impact marginalized communities. Conditions within prisons and jails frequently raise questions about access to healthcare, mental health support, and basic human dignity. At the same time, incarceration extends beyond prison walls, affecting families, communities, and future opportunities for those who have been previously incarcerated. Together, these issues situate incarceration not only as a legal mechanism, but as a broad social and political reality that remains deeply embedded, yet often unseen, in everyday life. Please take this as an opportunity to pay attention. Unlike other sites of incarceration that attempt to hide this reality in remote locations, the MCC hopes to disappear into the landscape of downtown Chicago. You can refuse. Your own eyes and body can work in protest. Make time and stay where the city would rather you keep moving.