The State - News from Oct. 7, 1988
They left the L out of California on a sign, but otherwise, a ground-breaking for what officials say will become the largest women’s prison in the world went smoothly in a field near Chowchilla. A printed sign put up to tell people what is being built at the rural San Joaquin Valley site 150 miles southeast of San Francisco proclaimed in large letters: “Future Home of Caifornia State Prison for Women, Madera County.†When completed in 1990, the facility will cost $140 million, will house 2,000 women inmates initially and will provide 650 jobs with a payroll of $25 million a year, officials said. State Department of Corrections officials have trumpeted the prison as the largest ever built strictly for women.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
