The ninth floor (the fifth floor of the jail proper) will contain an
auditorium to accommodate 600 men; four school-rooms, instead of the
one school-room in the present Cook County Jail; and four small shops
where prisoners who desire to work may be permitted to do so and to
receive their earnings for themselves or their families; these shops
to be organized on a plan similar to that of the occupational therapy
shop in the Indiana State Prison at Michigan City. This floor will
be 14 feet high instead of 10 feet, in order to give head room for
the auditorium. The auditorium will be located in the middle of the
building, in order to minimize the stair climbing of prisoners going to
that floor.
[Illustration: HOSPITAL AND CLINICS--FLOOR PLAN]
A roof garden will give opportunity for outdoor exercise. It will
contain four sections, each 32 by 90 feet, which will give opportunity
for indoor baseball, handball, tennis, walking, and so forth. The
rotunda in the central space will give opportunity for invalids
to get the benefit of fresh air. The prisoners will be divided into
sections for exercise on the roof, coming up in squads of 50 or more.
The roof garden will be enclosed in a strong netting, to obviate danger
of suicides or attempted escapes.
The separation of each floor will simplify the problem of heating and
ventilation, which will be as simple as that of any office building.
The division of each floor into four distinct compartments will permit
of classification in as many groups of 25 as may be desired. If there
are six floors, there will be 27 possible groups.