Access to this collection is generously supported by Arcadia funds. Access to this collection is generously supported by Haynes Foundation funds. Due to overcrowding in the Los Angeles County Jail, a labor camp was opened in the canyons of Malibu where prison labor was used to build roads connecting to the Pacific Coast Highway. The open-air camp was noted for its lack of chains, steel bars, or handcuffs. A group of men are seen digging and loosening dirt with pickaxes while officers in long black coats monitor them. The Pacific Ocean is visible beyond the cliff. This photograph appears with the article, “Crowded Jail Forces Prisoners Into Open,” Los Angeles Times, 15 May 1921: II1. Text from negative sleeve: Chain Gangs Text from newspaper caption: The gang working in picturesque bit of road overlooking ocean.
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