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Mar 30, 2022Liked by Addison Del Mastro

I guessed as soon as I saw the title of today's post that it would be the old Lorton prison, and I was right! My wife and I used to live a few miles from there.

As for other adaptive reuses, one thing that I've been especially interested in over the years is how facilities at old military bases have been reused in different ways. One notable case that comes to mind is the old Navy boot camp out in San Diego; the place has been rebranded as Liberty Station and turned into housing and shopping, with many of the old buildings (some of which date to the same era as the prison in Lorton) being re-used for retail and restaurants: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Station,_San_Diego

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If you were to go just a couple of miles to the northeast, a huge part of the prison is being converted into a retail center - complete with guard towers, 20 foot walls and, get this, limited access into the area. It is called Liberty and I have no idea how it can actually function as a retail space in this day and age. But it is under development and should be cool to see when it is all finished (there are a few stores open). Also associated with the prison and found on a number of paths that cross the new park areas are little hidden gems like a large decaying dairy that can be accessed, surreptitiously of course, and is fun to wander through and nearby a series of outbuildings. Worth the short hike.

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