INSIDE MOUNT DORA'S OLD JAIL

It wasn't Alcatraz, but it sure wasn't comfortable. 

Mount Dora's jail housed prisoners in the heart of downtown from 1923 to 1969.  Built in 1922, the small building served double-duty as both the fire station and the city's jail.  

Originally limited to five cramped cells with heavy iron doors, prisoners  had to share a single, small wash room.  The jail later expanded by adding four double cells with wash basins.  The stark, cement cells and no air circulation, fans or screens on the  windows making Florida's hot, humid summers unbearable.  Read more...