100 Objects #21: Window from the House of D
Summary
This episode explores the Women's House of Detention in Greenwich Village, arguing that its open windows and central location inadvertently fostered the neighborhood's queer culture. Host Roman Mars discusses historian Hugh Ryan's research on how the prison’s architecture allowed incarcerated women to communicate with the street, creating a vibrant, visible community.
Topics discussed
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Audre Lorde's memories of Greenwich Village
The House of D and its open windows
Historian Hugh Ryan and the window design
History of women's incarceration in America
Social feminists and the push for women's courts
The spectacle of the 1910 Women's Court
How the court transformed Greenwich Village
Building the House of D and its Art Deco facade
The Depression scales back rehabilitation plans
Sponsors: LinkedIn, Indeed, Sling, and Monopoly
Queer women and trans men inside the prison
Released women and the queer street corner
Melvin Van Peebles and the sound of the Village
The Lavender Scare and prison resistance
Activists in prison and the start of riots
The House of D during the Stonewall riots
Birth of the Gay Liberation Front
Reconciling the prison as playground and cage
Closing of the House of D and mass incarceration
Reflections on detention and community visibility
Credits and final sponsors
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