Federal Detention Center, Philadelphia

The Federal Detention Center is a United States Federal prison in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which holds male and female inmates prior to or during court proceedings, as well as inmates serving brief sentences. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.The jail, across from the William J. Green Jr. Federal Building, is on a 1acre site the southwest corner of Arch Street and 7th Street, across from the Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum and in the Independence Mall area.The jail is 12 stories tall. It has 628 cells for United States Marshal Service pre-trial inmates, primarily from the following districts: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Southern and Northern Districts of New Jersey and the District of Delaware. Federal Detention Center Philadelphia is also a United States Parole Commission Revocation Site. 120 prisoners, already sentenced, serve as staff. The prison is connected to a tunnel that allows people to travel to and from the James A. Byrne United States Courthouse.HistoryThe proposal to build the jail its current site, an at the time mostly vacant plot of land, was made public in February 1992. Spokespersons for the museum and the businesses at the East Market Street expressed opposition to the proposal, as did businesses in Chinatown and U.S. House of Representatives member Thomas Foglietta. 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. Edmund Bacon wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer that he believed that this jail would damage efforts to revitalize portions of Center City.