Up the River...To the Big House

I attempted to enter Sing Sing yesterday, but somehow ended up at the Caputo Community Center in Ossining, NY. Come to find out, Ossining was formerly known as Sing Sing.

Name changes are common in Westchester County, that's for sure. Take Sleepy Hollow, for example, which was formerly known as North Tarrytown (yawn). In 1996, it assumed the name Sleepy Hollow for blatantly commercial reasons. Specifically the town wanted to capitalize on all the tourists who would come to town and pose as headless horsemen, before dining in one of the expensive downtown cafes. (See picture.)

Ossining also changed its name for commercial reasons. The local merchants freaked out when they discovered that customers assumed the "Made in Sing Sing" label meant that the product was made in the prison, and not by unincarcerated village craftsmen.

That was way back in 1901, but Ossining is still schizophrenic about whether or not to publicize its connection to the prison. Some think it's ghoulish. So the compromise is a little "self-serve" museum tucked into the dark recesses of the community center. There you can see photos of Sing Sing torture methods (and you thought George Bush invented water boarding!), view ingenious and deadly shanks, and learn all about girl fights at the prison.

I was the only one there, so it's hard to say if ghoulish is bad for business or if ghoulish needs to be a little more front and center.