Bayview Correctional Facility was a medium-security women's prison located at the corner of West 20th Street and 11th Avenue in Manhattan, directly across the street from the Chelsea Piers sports complex. It is highly unusual to find a state penitentiary in the middle of a major city. Bayview consisted only of one large building and did not have grounds and a fenced perimeter. Covering the entire south wall of Bayview is the "Venus", a mural painted by New York artist Knox Martin in 1970. Venus was commissioned by Doris Freedman of CityWalls (later the Public Art Fund).