MANSFIELD — The former Ohio State Reformatory and the “Shawshank Redemption” movie have had a three-decade-long symbiotic relationship.
One would not exist without the other.
Ultimately, both found redemption within one another. More on that below.
That unique relationship that will be renewed and refreshed Aug. 9 to 11 when movie lovers from around the country and the world descend upon their hallowed grounds to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the film’s release.
Events for the three days are still being ironed out, according to Dan Smith, associate director at The Ohio State Reformatory Preservation Society, and Jodie Snavely, special projects director at Destination Mansfield-Richland County.
One of those events will be a screening of the movie at the Renaissance Theatre, just as was done in 2019.
Another event firmly on the schedule is the 10th annual Shawshank Hustle, a 7K road race that begins on the grounds of OSR, runs into downtown Mansfield through Central Park, and then returns to the finish line at the prison.
There were about 3,000 runners in the race during the 25th anniversary of the film’s release and a similar number is expected this year, according to Snavely.
The race is known for its finishing medals and this year is no exception, featuring a Bible with a message and a rock hammer inside (see photos below.)
“There’s no other race like it,” said Snavely, who has competed in all of the Shawshank Hustles.
“You get a free tour of the Reformatory, you get to ride the Carrousel and you get to see filming locations along the route. And, of course, there is that camaraderie of everybody coming to run. It’s just a fun event.”
Several members of the cast and crew are returning for the celebration, including director Frank Darabont, Bob Gunton (Warden Norton), William Sadler (Heywood), Gil Bellows (Tommy Williams) and Mark Rolston (Bogs Diamond).
The cast and crew will likely be involved in various events, including meet-and-greets and panel discussions.
Also coming back is Ben Mankiewicz, popular host of Turner Classic Movies, who will likely lead a panel discussion with members of the cast and crew.
Smith and Snavely said the list of those coming back for the celebration will continue to be updated.
OSR and Shawshank Redemption forever linked
The simple fact is OSR and “Shawhank Redemption” will always be intertwined.
The century-old prison, which admitted its first inmates in 1896 after 10 years of construction, was about to be demolished by the state after its closure at the end of 1990.
OSR, planned by famed Cleveland architect Levi Scofield, had been a striking limestone building designed to be an uplifting, inspiring, and intimidating structure.
Those days were long gone by the 1980s when conditions finally worsened to the point inmates filed lawsuits.
It was the fateful decision of “Shawshank Redemption” director Frank Darabont that ultimately led to the salvation within for at least the administrative building and cellblocks at OSR.
When planning the film adaption for Stephen King’s novella, “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption,” Darabont knew he needed the right prison to serve as the movie’s backdrop.
“There was the visual element of it which always boiled down to, ‘Gee, if we could find a really cool-looking prison to shoot, this is going to be a really cool-looking movie.’ And luckily, that happened. We found the OSR in Mansfield, Ohio, which they had just shut down two years prior,” Darabont said in a story published at told CreativeWriting.com in 2016.
“It was an incredible, gothic place,” said Darabont, a three-time Oscar nominee.
Inmates at OSR were transferred elsewhere when the prison closed, many to the new nearby Mansfield Correctional Institution that opened as the old prison closed.
The state turned off the utilities, including heat, to the administrative building and cell block areas, which led to horrific damage to the inside of the remaining structures as pipes froze and burst and the outside elements began to impact the inside.
Before filming began, about 40 MANCI honor inmates helped prepare OSR for filming by scraping peeling paint and helping repair locations inside the prison that filmmakers planned to use.
“If we had left the heat on, it would cost $170,000 a month to run the power plant to heat this place,” MANCI spokesman Richard Hall told the Mansfield News Journal.
(Below are photos related to the “Shawshank Redemption” at the Ohio State Reformatory. The story continues below the photos.)
Just like OSR, future wasn’t bright for Shawshank
In 1993, principal filming was done at OSR and several other locations around Mansfield and north central Ohio in 1993. It was released in 1994 and immediately bombed at the box office, despite seven Academy Award nominations.
The cast and crew were disappointed in the small box-office response, especially since stars Morgan Freeman and Timothy Robbins called it the best screenplay they had ever read.
It wasn’t until Ted Turner and his TNT network purchased the rights to the film and began showing it frequently that the movie caught on with the public.
During the 25th anniversary celebration of the film’s release in 2019, Mankiewicz said he loves “Shawshank Redemption.”
“Considering where I work, this is saying something … I think of this movie the same way I think of Casablanca … it delivers exactly what you want,” the film critic told Richland Source.
“This movie made little money (in theaters), then turned around and got seven Oscar nominations and is now ranked No. 1 on the IMDB movies list … that’s a huge win.”
“The IMDB poll is not scientific, but it shouldn’t be ignored either. The emotion from the film lingers years after its release. The same people who wept when they saw it in 1994 are still crying in 2019, just like with Casablanca,” Mankiewicz said.
Demolition of OSR begins — and then the prison is saved
After the filming of the movie was complete, the state began its demolition of the old prison. Most of the grounds and support buildings, including the outer wall, were demolished.
The rest was of the demo was being scheduled as the state planned to open another new prison, the Richland Correctional Institution, which would occupy part of OSR’s former grounds.
But the cell blocks and the administrative building would remain standing because of the high cost of their destruction.
“A lack of funding serves as interesting bookends to the OSR’s history: insufficient money slowed construction, and the same problem prevented the facility’s complete demolition,” according to the MRPS website.
“The Mansfield community saw an opportunity in the suspended demolition. The Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society (MRPS) was formed in 1995 as a grassroots effort to save and preserve the Ohio State Reformatory,” according to the organization’s website.
“By the time of its formation, the wall and outbuildings had been demolished. Because of the deteriorating condition of the building, the daunting task was at first met with skepticism,” the website said.
Over the next several years, the state vacillated about plans for the building. In 2000, Ohio gave the building to the City of Mansfield, which in turn sold it to MRPS for $1.
“This is when MRPS’ work began in earnest. The goal of the society is to restore and preserve the building and its relics,” the MRPS website said.
That work continues today, spurred on by revenue from events like tours of the old prison, the haunted prison activities, the annual Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival — and the upcoming 30th anniversary of the release of “Shawshank Redemption.”
‘Get busy living … or get busy dying’
That line above from Andy Dufresne sums up the impact of “Shawshank Redemption” on the former Ohio State Reformatory.
MRPS and its staff have taken it to heart since launching the effort to keep the old prison alive.
Smith said the connection between the prison, the movie and the public remains strong.
“It never ceases to amaze us to see the power of what the movie meant to people,” he said. “I’ve even heard some of the actors talk about that. It’s kind of like this timeless story that I think people can always get behind with hope and redemption,” Smith said
“It’s so interesting to picture hope and redemption at a prison.”