Jails have to go somewhere but a plan to demolish and rebuild the Sybil Brand Institute in Monterey Park, a women's jail that closed in 1997, has some local residents freaking out. The empty jail has been used to film TV shows and movies, including the movie "Blow," according to the official web site for the jail, but the facility would be re-opened in 2012 as part of the state's $672 million overhaul of its entire jail system. Neighbors have some bad memories of the place: When the facility was used as a jail, just-released inmates would wander into the neighborhood, asking to use residents' phone or prostituting themselves, Gloria Chavez, president of City Terrace Coordinating Council, tells the Pasadena Star-News. Additionally, Chavez tells the paper jail visitors would also dispose of "drugs and weapons on an ivy-covered hill before visiting inmates." Well, at least they're polite enough to dispose of the paraphernalia in one tidy place. Meanwhile, don't miss the full gallery of the prison. [Image via ludb.clui.org]
· County may replace jail [Pasadena Star-News]
· Sybil Brand Prison [Center for Land Use Interpretation]
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