On October 12, 1929, Governor William Adams appointed a special committee to investigate the causes leading up to the 1929 riot and to report "any recommendations they may desire to make as to the future operation of the institution or any legislative action they might deem desirable." The recommendations of this committee were extensive. Beginning in 1932, Warden Roy Best seems to have used the recommendations as a guideline for rebuilding the prison complex. The report endorses segregation of prisoners, single cell occupancy where ever possible, employment of prisoners, and improved security measures.

What were Best's ultimate goals during the rebuilding of the prison? He has been criticized for destroying buildings that might have been repaired, although his main goal in doing this seemed to be keeping prisoners busy. This is an understandable goal if you take into consideration that there were seven to eight hundred prisoners without housing after the riot. Due to the destruction of Cellhouses 1, 2, and 3, prisoners were housed in tents or in the large storage room behind the prison grounds. Cellhouse 4 also had considerable damage. Prisoners were moved to the tag building inside the walls as soon as it was restored. According to his Biennial Report to the legislature in 1932, Best saw his main concerns to be keeping the prisoners busy, getting the most for his money, and providing more security for the safety of guards and other prison employees. The governor's committee would have agreed with Best's goals and gave credence to his financial demands at the state level. It is important to recognize that the standards of the time were not what was expected in years to come and society's attitude toward humane standards of living for prisoners would also change dramatically. Therefore, the speed with which Best went about rebuilding the prison and his prioritizing safer working conditions for guards over human living conditions for prisoners would cause major problems for the prison in the future.

Best dismantled Cellhouses 2 and 3 and rebuilt them from scratch. He used "knock down" steel from the mills and limestone and granite from the prison quarries for materials. The new cellhouses included updated electrical wiring, a new water system, a new heating system, and fireproofing materials. Best used prisoners to lay all of the concrete and trained them to be electricians and plumbers. New tiers were added to Cellhouses 1 and 3. In Cellhouse 4 toilets and sinks were placed in each cell and community showers were installed. Cellhouse 4 was also fireproofed and new machines were added to the tailor shop areas located in the west section of the building. Best made many of the improvements to the cellhouses to meet minimum standards of the time in order to lower the insurance payments paid by the state.

The central building was completely gutted by a fire started by George Reilley, one of the leaders of the riot in 1929. Repairs to this building were completed for the most part by Warden Crawford before Best took office. Crawford fireproofed the building and remodeled it using $67,000.00 from the state fire fund. The central building included the dining room, deputy warden's office, library, and identification bureau on the first floor. The multipurpose room or chapel was located on the upper level of the building. Best completed the central building repairs during his first term. Among other things, he completed the dining room improving security, installed new dining table and steamer tables in order to have cafeteria style eating for prisoners. He added new seating to the multipurpose room in 1932.

The administration building was also repaired and remodeled in 1932. The repairs included electrical rewiring and safety switch panels, placing the fuse boxes in the turkey cage in order to eliminate the possibility of outside interference. Bulletproof windows were also placed in the turkey cage. Repairs were made to the roof and the offices were redecorated. Best also had a tunnel dug between the administration building and the central building to allow guards a protected and safe entrance to the central building at all times, but in particular for use during a riot.

Several new towers were installed during Best's rebuilding process, some were permanent while others were only temporary. All towers had improvements made and bulletproof glass was placed in all of the windows due to the deaths of several officers stationed in these towers during the 1929 riot. Several temporary towers were needed to guard the prisoners who were in the "hill gang" that dug out the area between the hogback and the existing prison wall. A railroad track was extended through the east gate to allow prisoners to load dirt and dispose of it in order to level out the area between the Caņon City Hydraulic Ditch. The excavation of this area was necessary to extend the wall of the prison back to the hog back and create a flattened area for recreation grounds built for prisoner use. Along with other security measures, Best installed a new flood light system with additional poles, reflectors, and searchlights.

Best moved the women's cellhouse for the fourth time since the prison's inception. He converted the existing women's building into a maximum-security unit. For the first time in the prison's history violent prisoners and repeat offenders would be segregated from the general population. The women's facility was ideal because it was already walled off separate from other areas of the prison. The recommendations of the governor's committee allowed Best to get funding from the legislature to make this move. It required that a new women's building be built outside the east wall. It is important to note, however, that Best recognized from the beginning that the new maximum security unit was not large enough to segregate all violent and repeat offenders in the prison. The amount requisitioned to build the new women's building and to make necessary repairs to the maximum-security facility was $55,000.00. This move was approved by the legislature and the new women's building was completed in 1935.

In his 1934 "Biennial Report", Best states that the female building was completed for a cost of $27,379.23. The building was one story with an above ground basement. The basement was constructed of steel columns, reinforced concrete floor, and plaster walls and ceiling. The basement included a dining room, kitchen, storeroom, coal supply area, lock-up cells, laundry, and drying room. The main floor included thirty single cells, office rooms and two hospital rooms, shower baths, toilets, etc. The building was surrounded by a partial stone wall and link belt wire fencing with steel posts fourteen feet high, with iron gates and electrical devices.

Best also made improvements to the hospital facility. The legislature appropriated $15,000.00 for this renovation in 1932 and additional funds were appropriated in 1934. The building received new wiring, concrete reinforcement for the structure, new plumbing, and expanded rooms. A new laboratory, dental equipment, and x-ray room were added to the facility.

How effective were the changes made by Best during this period? Security at the prison was increased and employees felt they had safer working conditions. No one could deny the fact that Best made the repairs needed at the prison on a strict budget and at a minimum cost to taxpayers. As for the physical plant, the buildings had new stucco on the outside and were remodeled on the inside but later history showed that they did not provide adequate or appropriate housing for inmates.

In 1979 several prisoners brought a suit against the prison for poor housing and inappropriate treatment of prisoners. The third floor tier in Cellhouse 3 that was added by Best was referred to as "dog cages" by prisoners who lived there. David Fogel, professor of criminal justice and graduate studies at the University of Illinois and a director of conditions in the Illinois Law Enforcement Commission, was called on to inspect the prison when the case, mentioned above, went to court. Fogel reportedly testified, "Cellhouses 3, 7, and 1 not only violated American Criminal Correction standards for cell size and clean living, but violated common sense standards." Theodore Gordon, a U.S. Environmental Health Agency expert, was reported to say "Cellhouse 3 shouldn't be used to house human beings." The size of cells was a critical issue in this case because they ranged from 31.5 square feet to 60 square feet when minimums in 1979 were set at 80 square feet. Along with size, Gordon charged that a critical problem was exposed electrical wires in cells which were a hazard and a danger to prisoners who were "expected to connect or disconnect live wire with a pencil to turn a light on and off." Another issue of concern was that the prison was full of unguarded areas in which prisoners were stabbed and raped.

These charges relate directly to the original conditions created by Best when he rebuilt the prison in the 1930s. However, Best cannot be faulted entirely for the speed with which he built these buildings when he had prisoners in temporary housing outside the prison wall in the storage room or in tents. He must also be commended for meeting the minimum standards of the day in terms of fireproofing, electrical wiring, and water systems. In these cases he also saved money through insurance payments and other means. Warden Best alone made the major decisions concerning the rebuilding of the prison without the support of a prison board or administrative committee. Best certainly improved security, inmate labor practices, and segregation of prisoners, three issues of major concern according to the governor's special investigation committee after the 1929 riot.

Report of the Governor's Special Committee to Investigate the Sate Penitentiary, December 4, 1929. Denver, Colorado.

Twenty-sixth Biennial Report of the Colorado Board of Corrections and Warden of the Colorado Sate Penitentiary, November 30, 1928. Denver; Bradford-Robinson PTG. Co., 1930.

Twenty-seventh Biennial Report of the Colorado Board of Corrections and Warden of the Colorado Sate Penitentiary, November 30, 1930. Denver; Bradford-Robinson PTG. Co., 1931.

Twenty-eighth Biennial Report of the Colorado Board of Corrections and Warden of the Colorado Sate Penitentiary, November 30, 1932. Denver; Bradford-Robinson PTG. Co., 1933.

Twenty-ninth Biennial Report of the Colorado Board of Corrections and Warden of the Colorado Sate Penitentiary, November 30, 1934. Denver; Bradford-Robinson PTG. Co., 1935.

Thirtieth Biennial Report of the Colorado Board of Corrections and Warden of the Colorado Sate Penitentiary, November 30, 1936. Denver; Bradford-Robinson PTG. Co., 1936.

Barber, Joe. "When Does Crime Become a Crime?" Gazette Telegraph 19 November 1979: 1 & 1A.

Gagnon, Bill. "Prison Unit Called Unfit for Humans" Star-Journal Pueblo Chieftain 27 October 1979.

Jordon, Kenyon. "Old Max' Can't Be Used" Caņon City Daily Record 16 November 1979: 1.

Lindsey, Sue. "Court Hears List of Prison Woes" 16 October 1979.

MCP = Museum of Colorado Prisons, Caņon City, Colorado

1 MCP: Photograph of the Administration Building, Watson Collection - Best Album, about 1932.

2 MCP: Photograph of view outside the north wall, Watson Collection - Best Album, April 3, 1932.

3 MCP: Photograph of the death house and Cellhouse 1, Watson Collection - Best Album, September 9, 1932.

4 MCP: Photograph of the destruction of Cellhouse 3 after the 1929 riot, Watson Collection - Best Album, after 1932.

5 MCP: Photograph of Cellhouses 3, 2, and 4 and the tailor and curio shops, Watson Collection - Best Album, September 9, 1932.

6 MCP: Photograph of Dining Room No. 1 decorated for Christmas, Watson Collection - Best Album, December 25, 1933.

7 MCP: Photograph of the front view of the administration building, Watson Collection - Best Album, about 1932.

8 MCP: Photograph of the tramway through the East Gate, Watson Collection - Best Album, February 7, 1934.

9 MCP: Photograph of the East Wall gang, Watson Collection - Best Album, September 30, 1932.

10 MCP: Photograph of the women's building, Watson Collection - Best Album, September 30, 1932.

11 MCP: Photograph of the site for the new women's building, Watson Collection - Best Album, May 6, 1933.

12 MCP: Photograph of the hospital ground and new addition, Watson Collection - Best Album, May 10, 1933.

13 MCP: Photograph of the interior of the prison grounds looking north, Watson Collection - Best Album, August 4, 1932.