An overhaul of the old jail in Greenport could mean an opening for visitors just in time for Halloween.
At the July village board work session, Greenport Village Trustee Mary Bess Phillips said Greenport Improvement Committee was “moving along” with the jailhouse.
Work is ongoing to have asbestos and lead paint removed, Phillips said. In addition, historic documents have been moved to Village Hall and an inventory has been done of what was in the jail
“The committee wants to focus on getting it open, hopefully, maybe for fall, near Halloween,” Phillips said.
In recent months, Phillips said a plan was being formed to do some type of oral history exhibit in the old jail.
The goal would be to reach out to law enforcement to participate and seek grant funding for the project, she said.
Down the line, the hope would be that the jail could be opened on a regular basis, much as the old schoolhouse on Front Street is now. Currently, the jail is only opened in “dribs and drabs,” and a more “focused” schedule is sought, she said.
The jail, located at 232 Carpenter Street, has a rich history in the village. According to a walking tour brochure put out by the Greenport Business Improvement District, the jail was first built around 1910; the former jail before it was a toolshed behind the old Village Hall.
“The village lock-up was called The Greenlight Hotel, because when occupied, a green light in front was turned on, the site states. Located in the historic commercial district, the jail can be identified by the barred window and all-brick exterior.
Once inside, visitors can see the three cells with pressed tin walls where inmates were once held; the jail is no longer in use.
