This Deadly Prison Can Only Be Found In Nashville

The Tennessee State Prison was once a huge, domineering building located on the west side of Nashville. It's still huge and a bit scary - but now it's crumbling into a bit of Tennessee state history. Take an eerie little peek at this once-deadly Nashville prison. You'll never forget it.

The prison was originally built in 1898, and remained active until 1992. The castle-like front that you see here is the administration building.

There were 800 cells that were filled to peak capacity during its century run.

"Old Sparky," the Tennessee electric chair, was also housed here - making a stay at the Tennessee State Prison a bit more terrifying for those on death row.

The prison ended up closing in the early 1990s due to deterioration. It's very difficult to keep such a large place running, and the overcrowding made it extremely difficult to make sure everything was up to par. Prisoners were moved to Riverbend Prison.

"The Green Mile" was filmed here, and many music videos as well. The abandoned place has a bit of an allure that hasn't quite been lost with time.

Interesting fact? The prison was modeled after the famed Auburn prison in New York.

During their incarceration, many prisoners complained of terrible conditions. The prison itself was built mostly using convict labor, and as time went on inmates worked up to sixteen-hour days. Not a place you'd want to spend a bit of time...

Security posts up at the front of the prison, so you won't be able to get very close. It's worth an eerie drive by, though - at sunset. Because at night? It's completely black.

Even thought you can't visit and make a walk through (you have to request a permit from the city government), it's always nice to take a digital tour, don't you think?