November 14, 1917 was known as the “Night of Terror” for suffragists called the Silent Sentinels. The nickname came from the way the activists were jailed and mistreated in the Lorton Reformatory, a prison located in Lorton, Virginia that long housed inmates from Washington, D.C.
The Silent Sentinels were a branch of the National Woman’s Party who picketed the White House from January 1917 to June 1919, demanding that President Woodrow Wilson support women’s right to vote.
They did not scream or chant, but rather held banners with bold messages, like “Mr. President, what will you do for women’s suffrage?”
These protests led to arrests, jail time, and hunger strikes, but ultimately culminated in the passage of the 19th Amendment.
The prison where so many of them were held — Lorton Reformatory — was open from 1910 to 2001, but was ultimately purchased by the county for $4.2 million.
After a brief stint as a community and arts center, it was transformed into an affordable apartment complex, where many live today.
Working with developers from the Alexander Company, the 2,342-acre property (including a farm) has been converted into 165 apartments.
Now identified as the Liberty Crest Apartments, the buildings underwent a $64 million renovation that took about two years to complete. Developed by the Alexander Company, the 2,342-acre property has been converted into 165 new apartments.
They opened in June 2017 — almost exactly a century from the “Night of Terror.”
According to David Vos, a development project manager with the Alexander Company, the establishment was actually ideal for the transformation because it had many windows with an “abundance of light,” he told CNBC.
Although there were some dark chapters in the prison’s history, it was first commissioned by President Theodore Roosevelt, who believed in rehabilitation and trade skills as opposed to traditional incarceration. The campus was designed to offer natural light and open green space instead of the standard cell blocks.
“The reaction from the community varied quite a bit. A lot of people really felt it was important to preserve that history. However, there were people that really focused on the later years of the prison when prisoners were mistreated,” Vos told CNBC.
“But from our standpoint, we really felt that it’s important to preserve history so you can learn from the past so that you don’t make those mistakes again in the future.”
Details of the renovation include old signage, exposed brick, and even a field that includes the original grandstand made by prisoners from bricks.
But the renovation also includes modern amenities, including a yoga studio, gym, community pool, and two playgrounds. The old cafeteria was also converted into a community space for residents, and there is also a preschool, dental office, and retail shops on-site.
Although reminders of the past remain, the property seems to appeal to new renters.
“I checked it out and fell in love — the brick, the concrete floors — it was so beautiful,” a 32-year-old renter shared in an article by Secret DC. “It wasn’t until [I] was signing the lease agreement that someone said ‘Did you know this is an old prison?’”
The property’s owners don’t hide its history, though. Old photos on the Liberty Crest website show stark before-and-afters of the new apartments, and signs on the property even tell readers “how to behave.”
“There’s a number of reminders as you walk around the campus that remind you of the fact that this used to be a reformatory or prison,” Vos said.
“The reason we chose Liberty for the name was we really felt that we were liberating these buildings from its more recent dark past,” he added.
In addition to a fresh start for the site itself, Liberty Crest also designates a portion of its apartments for affordable, low-income housing.
Out of the 165 total units, 44 are set aside for low-income renters. They are split about evenly between one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, with rent averaging from $1,372 to $2,700. Each unit also includes an in-unit washer and dryer.
After nearly nine years in operation, the Alexander Company is looking ahead to the future. Right now, the company is planning to convert a power plant on-site into 10 additional apartments, with similar plans on deck for former guard quarters, as well.
“The community has very warmly embraced the Liberty project,” Vos said. “Everyone’s very proud of what we did here and were very pleased with the results.”
Header image courtesy of Liberty Crest Apartments
