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Site of the most violent prison riot in U.S. history: 33 prisoners killed, 12 guards held hostage over 36 hours in February 1980 — now open for public tours
4337 NM-14, Santa Fe, NM 87505
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages for public tours; paranormal tour operators may set 18+ policy — verify
Cost
$$
Official NMCD public tours have associated fees; paranormal ghost tours through third-party operators vary — see websites for current pricing
Access
Limited Access
Concrete cell blocks, narrow corridors, and uneven surfaces throughout decommissioned prison wing
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1956 · Most Violent Prison Riot in U.S. Correctional History — 33 Prisoners Killed · February 2–3 1980 — 36-Hour Inmate Uprising · Cell Block 4 Organized Violence · Federal Consent Decree and New Mexico Prison Reform · NMCD Public History Tours Post-Decommission
New Mexico's Old Main penitentiary was built in 1956 on a site south of Santa Fe, along what is now NM-14. For two decades it operated as the state's primary correctional facility, holding a population that grew well beyond its designed capacity. By 1980, Old Main housed more than 1,100 prisoners in a facility designed for significantly fewer, with a documented record of inadequate staffing, overcrowding, and deteriorating conditions that state investigations had flagged repeatedly without resulting in reform.
On the night of February 2–3, 1980, the accumulated pressure broke. Inmates in dormitory F-2 overpowered two guards and seized their keys. Within hours, inmates had gained access to the control room, disabling the electronic locking system that controlled the entire facility. The riot lasted 36 hours. Twelve guards were taken hostage; all survived, some with serious injuries.
The 33 prisoners who died did not die at the hands of corrections officers. Inmate death squads, operating primarily out of Cell Block 4, identified fellow prisoners who had served as informants and carried out organized executions. The prison pharmacy was broken into, and investigators later determined that inmates who died showed evidence of drug overdose, torture, and blunt-force trauma. The state's medical examiner documented the cause of death for each of the 33 victims in subsequent proceedings.
The 1980 New Mexico State Penitentiary riot remains the deadliest prison uprising in American correctional history in terms of prisoner deaths. A subsequent state investigation and federal lawsuit produced a consent decree that mandated sweeping reforms to New Mexico's prison system. Old Main was decommissioned in 1998. The New Mexico Corrections Department now operates public tours of the decommissioned wing during the warmer months, making it one of relatively few riot sites open to general visitors.
Sources
Old Main's paranormal reputation is inseparable from February 1980. The sheer concentration of violent death — 33 people killed over 36 hours, many in Cell Block 4 — provides the documented historical backdrop for the activity investigators and tour participants have reported since the facility's closure in 1998.
Cell Block 4 is the location most consistently identified in paranormal accounts. Reports from investigation teams describe cold spots at specific cell locations, apparitions in the corridors, and EVP recordings that investigators have associated with the voices of prisoners. The area near the pharmacy, raided during the riot, is cited in some accounts for residual-type activity — sounds and shadows without apparent source.
Santa Fe Ghost and History Tours and other local paranormal operators have run nighttime events at Old Main for years, and their published accounts document a consistent pattern of reports. The combination of official NMCD history tours (which approach the site through documentary and correctional history) and paranormal tour programming has made Old Main one of the more accessible former riot sites in the American Southwest.
The building's official reopening for public tours is itself notable: the New Mexico Corrections Department's decision to operate the site as a tourism destination acknowledges the significance of the 1980 event as a chapter in the state's history rather than obscuring it.
Public tours of the Old Main decommissioned wing run by the New Mexico Corrections Department, typically available May through October. Tours include Cell Block 4, the site of organized inmate violence during the 1980 riot, and the pharmacy area raided during the uprising. See the NMCD website for current schedule and reservation requirements.
Third-party paranormal tour operators run nighttime investigations of Old Main, citing it as one of New Mexico's most haunted sites. Operators include Santa Fe Ghost and History Tours. Check individual operators for current scheduling and booking.
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