ADX Florence

Published on 25 May 2026 at 16:02

United States Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Facility. Also known as: ADX Florence, Alcatraz of the Rockies, and Supermax.

Opened: November 1994

Cost to construct: $60 million

Capacity: 490

Inmates: 405

Adjacent minimum security camp inmates: 512

The 37-acre complex is situated at 5880 Highway 67, Florence, Colorado. The prison is one in a set of three facilities ran by the Florence Federal Correctional Complex (FFCC.) Every aspect of the prison is controlled by a computer system, allowing the guards to do anything from opening and locking doors to stopping the water supply in individual cells.

Each cell holds a window of 10cm by 120cm, and are strategically placed to ensure the prisoners can only see the roof of the building and the sky. This is to prevent the inmates from knowing their exact location within the grounds, and therefore almost impossible to plan an escape. In keeping with hiding the location, the recreational pens tend to resemble concrete pits, designed to block off the inmates' view.


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