Gladiator School depicts the Heman G. Stark Juvenile Prison, previously known as YTS or Youth Training School, as it stands today, years after it was closed by the State of California. My grandfather was a respected warden and consultant to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, including a stay as Associate Warden at Atlanta’s Federal Prison in the 1940’s. He served as a consultant at Stark for a brief time in the 1970's.

It was my family connection that — after nine months of polite persistence — encouraged the State to issue permission for me to enter the property. My host this day, a Plant Manager, welcomed me by remarking, “Boy, you must be someone important ’cause request came from the top of the State of California to let you in.”

Heman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility was the youth division’s largest facility with a peak population, on December 21, 2006, of 779 wards. Prisoners were called “wards” due to their young age.

The prison held wards “as young as twelve” I was told, and was closed in 2010 due to persistent violence, “unsafe and unsatisfactory conditions”, and the murder of a prison counsellor years earlier. It was known as “Gladiator School” for it’s unintended ability to harden young wards for what awaited them in men’s prison. Today, it’s a “warm” site, meaning it can be re-opened anytime.

A plant manager and his team provides basic maintenance, security, and oversight. For example, thieves will break in at night to steal the valuable copper pipes. The toilets could explode save for a chemical additive that breaks down the gasses in the pipes.