Senator Julian Lapides
Room 116, Senate Office Building
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Re: South Wing of the Penitentiary
Preservation for Historic and Cultural Reasons
Dear Senator Lapides:
By chance, I came across the attached floor plan of a monastery complex built between 1387 and 1436 in Batalha, Portugal. It bore such an uncanny resemblance to the Penitentiary complex in Baltimore City that I thought I would share it with you.
Permit me to rewrite the legend to show you what I mean:
The little "tourguide" book that accompanied this plan says that it is typical of buildings used by the Cistercian order and was constructed in the "Advanced Gothic Style". By the pictures of the exterior, the monastery looks nothing like the Penitentiary (it has filigrees and curlicues and gargoyles), but I am led to believe that our own correctional planners back in 1811 were following a logic they evidently knew to be tried and true.
South Wing and the Penitentiary complex are an important part of our cultural heritage. I hope your colleagues will find this plan persuasive.
cc:Senator Charles Smelser
Delegate Timothy Maloney
Governor William Donald Schaefer
Mr. Bishop Robinson