Ohio State Reformatory

On 11/25/25 my business rented out the Ohio State Reformatory for a photoshoot. I would like to add, this was not my first trip to the reformatory, there used to be an annual shoot here hosted by a man named William.

Moving forward, all my business was with Ashleigh. We signed a contract for a venue rental months before the event, people drove hours to get there, some even flying in to make this happen.

Ontop of our contract, I was told there were additional fees for four more rooms, the attic, the Jesus room, the theater, and the hospital. Of course I wanted people to have full access but it was NOT transparent when the contract was signed that more money would be asked for.

So I ended up paying for those extra spaces. It's important for my business that I deliver what I say I am going to.

Upon our arrival; we were met with non-welcoming staff, that did NOT want to be there. They were not friendly with attendees whatsoever. The only thing I can say is there was a man named John working there who was an absolute GEM. He saved the face of the venue.

We were not told that Christmas and Halloween "BLOOD Prison" was being set up at the same time as our rental, so we were unable to be in the main area, which is gorgeous and large. And the main cell blocks had christmas lights all over them.

That would have been excellent information to have, as I would have booked earlier to avoid the light's and the non-use of many spaces that were paid for.

All the models were shoved into a basement bullpen to get dressed, it was small and cramped. Absolutely not what I was used to experiencing.

Myself and two other models used a side room, which was wide open, John stated it was just fine, and I got horrid looks from staff that kept going into a side office.

Such unpleasant faces, really impacted the feeling of being there and creating. I got an email from Ashleigh at about 3pm stating that "if my people arent OUT of the building by 5pm I'd be paying the over time".

She did not come to find me, she did not call me, instead it was a very threatening message regarding paying them more, and actually most people were out with a bad taste in their mouths by 430 due to this. We were paid until 5pm. We knew how the contract worked. This is why I hire someone to work for me at these events and keep everyone doing what they should be.

I would have had absolutely no issue kindly going around [as we did anyways] and respectfully telling people it was time to start wrapping up. This was nobody in attendances first rodeo.

Everyone is respectful, and we were there to follow the rules and have a wonderful experience. With the added money after signing the contract; the non use of areas paid for. The Christmas and Halloween explosions going on everywhere, and the horrible attitudes of 90% of the staff, besides one very kind man, thank you John!

The whole group Absolutely loved and appreciated that man as he engaged with us and was so kind about the history and so kind to all the people.

We have shot at hundreds of venues all over the midwest, with thousands of people. I would say half of the experience IS the venue and how the staff treats you. John was amazing. I was told I could leave my comments regarding how the event went right with Ashleigh.

I was going to leave this as a Google review, but those are turned off.

We treated that building with respect. And the staff respectfully. It would have been amazing to have gotten the same in return.

And to have been made aware of spaces that would not be accessible, or lit up with horror christmas in November.

For every bad look I got from the Blonde woman working there, I tried to return a smile. I did say in a return email that everyone was out by 430/445 latest, not a car but mine in sight, that I was glad the staff didnt have to go into overtime.

It was not met with kindness either. When you have bad administration, places go under, they get bad reputations. This building has always been so beautiful. And so much change has happened over the years.

Just as we love old architecture, and preserve that which what was.. we should also respect those that pay to enter them, and put money towards the preservation, even if it was thousands and not millions to film.

Thank you John for making this trip fantastic! I hope one day you are running things over there. You deserve the role.

Nick is as our tour guide and he was amazing. He did a very good job at explaining every room and had a sense of humor when needed! We enjoyed this tour very much. We will definitely spread the word to others about the tours. What a great way to spend an afternoon. Thank you Nick for a great tour!