The Federal Detention Center (FDC Philadelphia) is a United States

Federal prison A federal prison is operated under the jurisdiction of a federal government as opposed to a state or provincial body. Federal prisons are used for convicts who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), inmates considered dangerous (Brazil), or those s ...

in Center City,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

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 The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...

, a division of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

. The jail, across from the William J. Green Jr. Federal Building,Davis, Mark.
From Pariah To `Monument' A New Prison Was The Last Thing Needed Downtown. Or Was It?

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. ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

''. October 21, 1998. Retrieved on February 18, 2016. is on a site the southwest corner of Arch Street and 7th Street, across from the

African American Museum in Philadelphia The African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP) is notable as the first museum funded and built by a municipality to help preserve, interpret and exhibit the heritage of African Americans. Opened during the 1976 Bicentennial celebrations, th ...

and in the Independence Mall area.Hine, Thomas.
Would Detention Center Fit Into Neighborhood?

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. ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. March 29, 1992. Retrieved on February 18, 2016. The jail is 12 stories tall. It has 628 cells for United States Marshal Service pre-trial inmates, primarily from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the District 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 The James A. Byrne United States Courthouse is a Federal courthouse in the Center City region of Philadelphia. The court houses the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the United States District Court for the Eastern Distri ...

.Slobodzian, Joseph A.
Federal Detention Center Nears Its Debut The Ultramodern Center City Facility Is Built Over A Tunnel That Links It With The Courthouse. Some Inmates Move In April 1.

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. ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. March 23, 2000. Retrieved on February 18, 2016.

History

The proposal to build the jail at its current site, which at the time was a 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 A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

and

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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 ''

'' that he believed that this jail would damage efforts to revitalize portions of Center City. As of April 1993, prior to the opening of the detention center, there were 18 federal prisons throughout the U.S. that housed pretrial inmates awaiting proceedings in Philadelphia. FDC Philadelphia, scheduled to cost $85 million, was built so the pretrial federal inmates could be housed in Philadelphia itself. The federal government pursued building the prison at its selected site, with the legal processes for condemning structures on the site and acquiring the site beginning in March 1995 and with groundbreaking at a former parking lot on the tract in January 1997. Its formal opening was scheduled for June 1, 2000. Ultimately its construction cost was $68 million. 120 prisoners whose sentences were about to end served as a work cadre from April 1 until the prison's opening. Mark Davis of ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' wrote that the tunnel directly connecting the jail with the courthouse "appeared to appease nearly every critic" against the prison's construction, and that the prison did not visually appear like one.

Facility

Each prison cell has slit windows, a bunk bed, a toilet, twin lockers, a writing table, a basin, and drains at the perimeters. The prison includes a caged recreation area with basketball and handball facility. The prison has facilities for reheating meals meant to be served to prisoners.

Notable incidents

On March 19, 2022, Richard Spisak, 35, pleaded guilty to engaging in a sexual act with a male prisoner over whom he had disciplinary authority while Spisak was a Senior Corrections Specialist at FDC Philadelphia in 2010. Spisak further admitted to threatening to set off his body alarm and falsely report that the inmate had attacked him if the inmate did not perform oral sex on him. The victim acquiesced after Spisak's threats. Two other inmates testified at Spisak's sentencing hearing that Spisak victimized them in a similar manner. Spisak was sentenced to 32 months in federal prison on June 28, 2012.

Notable Inmates (current and former)

References

Notes

External links

FDC Philadelphia Official siteFDC Philadelphia Contact InformationFDC Philadelphia Visiting Regulations
{{Federal Bureau of Prisons Buildings and structures in Philadelphia Prisons in Pennsylvania

Market East, Philadelphia 2000 establishments in Pennsylvania