Mold closes tours at former Missouri prison in Jefferson City

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Mold found in buildings of a former state prison forced an end to tours at the Missouri State Penitentiary for the remainder of the year and the cancellation of a couple thousand tickets.

The Jefferson City News Tribune reported the closure comes after tests performed by the state. Officials had noticed a "heightened musty smell" during the summer.

"This year, we thought it was a little bit worse than it had been in previous years," said Ryan Burns, the communications manager for the Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We just felt that we had a responsibility to our staff and to people that were coming on tours to voice our concerns at the time, which we did."

The Missouri State Penitentiary overlooks the Missouri River and is a few blocks from the state Capitol. The facility, which opened in 1836, was the oldest continually operated prison west of the Mississippi River when it closed in 2004. Among its notable inmates were boxer Sonny Liston and bank robber Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd. James Earl Ray had escaped from the prison when he assassinated civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. The prison also was the site of a riot in 1954 that killed four inmates and injured 50 other prisoners. Four prison workers also were injured.

The tours have taken visitors through the prison's historic buildings and the gas chamber that was used for executions. More than 19,000 people from 23 countries visited the former prison in 2012, generating about $275,000 in revenue and for the first time returning a profit.

The Convention and Visitors Bureau said a temporary cancellation affected 500 people and that it was canceling an additional 2,500 tickets purchased for the rest of the year.

State government owns the prison site. A spokeswoman for the state Office of Administration said access to the Missouri State Penitentiary has been suspended.

"At the recent request of the Jefferson City Visitors and Convention Bureau, the state performed testing that led to the suspension," spokeswoman Misti Preston said. "The Office of Administration will continue further discussions with the Visitors and Conventions Bureau as we move forward."

Burns said officials are hoping the issue will lead to further discussion about rehabilitating the site and that tours can resume next year.

"The Missouri State Penitentiary has served as an excellent tool to put Jefferson City on the map for visitors all around the world that may never have stumbled across our community," Burns said.

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Information from: Jefferson City News Tribune, http://www.newstribune.com