From the New York Times, 6/2/1897

LIBBY PRISON MAY BE MOVED.
No Longer and Attraction on Wabash Avenue, Chicago.

CHICAGO, June 1. – Libby Prison will probably be closed and moved to another site. For some time there have been but few visitors to the historical building on Wabash Avenue. The site of the museum is valuable, and is held under a ninety-nine-year lease. For this reason the change is contemplated.

The prison, which stood at Richmond, Va., was purchased by a syndicate of Chicagoans in 1890, prominent among the investors being Charles F. Gunther, L. Manasse, W. H. Gray, Stewart Spalding, and I. L. Gould. The building was taken down, brought to this city, and rebuilt exactly as it stood in the South. It was completed in 1892, and during the World’s Fair the place netted the owners more than $60,000. The relics may be sent to Washington.

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