BLACKGATE PRISON

ATLAS

LOCALE INFORMATION

Name: Blackgate Prison
Also known as: Blackgate Penitentiary
Status: Active
Location: Blackgate Island, Gotham City
First Appearance: (acknowledged): Detective Comics #629 (May 1991)
(activated): Detective Comics #644 (May 1992)

OVERVIEW

Built in the early 1900s.

HISTORY

Constructed in the early 1900s during the heyday of Gotham City's boom period, Blackgate Penitentiary was constructed on the foundation of a Union Army fort built to protect the city from Confederate ships. It was used until it was found to be too archaic for modern incarceration. Shut down for more than five years, it was reopened as Gotham's criminal population swelled. Its systems are still out of date, and to alleviate overcrowding, a large barge holds the less violent criminals held there. There are no meta-human facilities at this location.