From its beginnings as a single cell house, the penitentiary grew to a complex of several distinctive buildings surrounded by a 17-foot-high (5.2 m) sandstone wall.

Dennis, a kitten found in the prison barn by an inmate in 1952 was kept in the penitentiary for sixteen years.

Orchard assassinated former Governor Frank Steunenberg in 1905 and Southard was known as Idaho's Lady Bluebeard for killing several of her husbands to collect upon their life insurance.

[16] In 1992, the Idaho State Historical Society recorded oral history interviews with fifteen former prison guards.

The Dining Hall (1898) was designed by George Hamilton (an inmate at the time) and burned down in the 1973 riot.

Male inmates built a wall around the old warden's home in 1906 to serve as a separate facility for women.

Although not a building, there is also an outdoor recreational area that is now the Idaho Botanical Gardens where inmates boxed and played baseball, basketball, handball, tennis, horseshoes, and football.

A baseball stadium was located in what is now referred to as "Outlaw Field" where the Botanical Gardens hosts outdoor concerts.

[19] In late 1999, J.C. Earl donated his personal collection of historic arms and military memorabilia to the state of Idaho.

They range from the Bronze Age to those used today for sport, law enforcement, and military purposes.

The Travel Channel's television show Destination Fear filmed at the location for the thirteenth episode of their second season.

Ghost Adventures investigated the Old Idaho State Penitentiary for the eighth episode of their first season.

The Idaho State Historical Society also produces a podcast "Behind Gray Walls," which tells the stories of individual inmates.