Talk:United States Department of Agriculture South Building

A fact from United States Department of Agriculture South Building appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 20 May 2009 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that the U.S. Department of Agriculture South Building (pictured) was the largest office building in the world until the construction of the Pentagon?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2009/May.

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Georgia State Penitentiary rumor

There is a long-standing rumor that the South Building was built using blueprints derived from those used to construct the Georgia State Penitentiary, hence the existence of turrets on the roof (to house sharpshooters to take down escaping prisoners) and balconies on the sixth floor overlooking the courtyards (to observe exercising prisoners). The facade of the building on 14th Street allegedly is a copy of the facade of that penitentiary. Can this rumor be either substantiated or laid to rest once and for all? Amustard (talk) 01:26, 7 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Here's the 14th Street facade. I did a quick Google search ("Georgia State Penitentiary" Agriculture South Building), and found nothing. I guess it's a false rumor? APK whisper in my ear 01:39, 7 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The Georgia State Prison in Reidsville (the main pokey in Georgia) is pretty plain and has no turrets. The Atlanta Federal Penitentiary does have turrets on the corners, but they're rather more like a Spanish castillo, and a stripped-down classical facade in between. It's superficially similar, but there is no common thread between the two building types - plans for a prison, with multiple levels of cell bays, guard galleries and such would have no common structure with an office building.

The "turrets" you see on the USDA building are elevator equipment rooms, I believe, while the USP Atlanta has actual round turretlets in the best Puerto Rican fortress style [1]. They use the same formal vocabulary, but the South Building is far larger and more detailed than the Atlanta Pen (note: I've seen them both in person, happily not from within in Atlanta, although some of the bunks at Georgia Tech were rumored to be cast-offs from there). Acroterion _(talk) 01:54, 7 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

happily not from within in Atlanta - Don't lie! :-P APK whisper in my ear 02:48, 7 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Disorderly conduct isn't a Federal offense, I'm pleased to say. Capone, Gotti, Ponzi are more their kind of guys. I did know some people who did tutoring in there: didn't make me want to get all do-goody. Acroterion _(talk) 03:21, 7 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]