Eastern State Penitentiary
History museum · Fairmount ·
Historic prison offering tours, art, and seasonal Halloween events
Historic prison offering tours, art, and seasonal Halloween events
"A preserved historic prison once housing notorious inmates like Al Capone that now functions as a dramatic landmark and attraction; in autumn it stages immersive Halloween Nights with haunted houses, themed bars, and live entertainment." - Regan Stephens Regan Stephens Regan Stephens is an award-winning freelance writer living in Philadelphia. She covers travel, food, and culture for outlets like Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, People, and Fortune. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines
"The Eastern State Penitentiary in Pennsylvania is described as America’s most historic prison. The prison, which closed in the 1970s, was considered unique in its treatment of inmates that were subjected to confinement in solitude with labor. Tourists can now experience life inside through guided or audio tours, including getting to know more about the notorious inmates, including Al Capone." - Stacey Leasca Stacey Leasca Stacey Leasca is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Be a Travel Writer, an online course for the next generation of travel journalists. Her photos, videos, and words have appeare
"Eastern State Penitentiary, where crime boss Al Capone famously served time, was once considered the future of America's corrections: It was the most expensive prison constructed and was considered revolutionary. It's impossible to enter without getting the chills. With its imposing Gothic architecture, crumbling walls, and somber history, the building has a haunted feel. Yet it's possible to find beauty within the cracks—there's a reason why it's so photogenic and frequently pulls double-duty as a film location." - Nancy DePalma
"You can’t miss Eastern State Penitentiary. The massive, black stone fortress sticks out from the rest of Fairmount like an evil villain’s lair. The prison started out as a Quaker reform designed to keep prisoners in solitary confinement to reflect on their sins. Of course, 19th-century Quakers didn’t account for the damaging psychological effects, and the prison earned a ghastly reputation. Eastern State Penitentiary appears in multiple ghost hunting series, and, walking down its decrepit halls, it’s easy to see why. Make sure to check out Al Capone’s luxury cell. If you visit in October, the prison is transformed into Terror Behind the Walls, a genuinely terrifying haunted house-style experience, except in an (allegedly) haunted prison. Tickets to the prison cost $14, but tickets to Terror Behind the Walls cost considerably more and sell out around Halloween time." - MATADOR_NETWORK
"Thrust into the middle of urban Philadephia is what looks like a great castle, a massive and haunting building. However, these walls weren’t built to keep Crusaders and robbers out, but to keep them in. This castle is a prison. Until this edifice was constructed, prisons had generally been commercial ventures, filled with prostitutes, booze, corrupt officials, and little to no order. Starvation, cold, disease, and violence often put an end to prisoners before they were even sentenced. Opened in 1829, Eastern State was designed by the “Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons” as a new type of prison where order reigned and those housed within might have a chance to be penitent for their crimes. Eastern State was to be the world’s first “penitentiary.” Compared to other facilities, Eastern State was a technological marvel and, at a cost of $800,000, one of the most expensive building projects of its day. At a time when President Andrew Jackson was still using a chamber pot, prisoners in Eastern State had their own private toilets. Inmates were served three hearty meals a day (usually boneless beef, pork, or soup and unlimited potatoes) and had their own private exercise areas. The cells each had skylights so that the divine wisdom of God might shine down upon those inside. In essence, Eastern State was a paradise compared to other prisons of the time. But despite all its material comforts, this “paradise” drove men mad. Known as the “separate system,” part of what made Eastern State unique is that prisoners weren’t allowed to interact with other prisoners at all, in any way. They ate alone, they exercised alone, and they read the bible (the only book they were allowed) alone. They weren’t allowed to talk to each other or to the guards. On the rare occasions they were taken out of their cells, hoods were put over their heads. Guards even wore felt shoe covers so as to keep the prison as quiet as possible. Utter silence, utter solitude. It was meant to inspire penance; instead, it inspired insanity. When Charles Dickens visited the prison in 1842, he wrote, “The system here is rigid, strict, and hopeless solitary confinement. I believe it, in its effects, to be cruel and wrong. I hold this slow, and daily, tampering with the mysteries of the brain to be immeasurably worse than any torture of the body.” Eventually, due to overcrowding and disapproval of the “separate system,” Eastern State changed into a more standard prison, known then as the “New York System,” in which inmates shared cells and were permitted to communicate. The prison remained in use for 142 years, from 1829 until 1971, and housed such criminal luminaries as Willie Sutton and Al Capone (Capone was allowed a comparatively lavish cell with furniture, oil paintings, and a radio). Left abandoned for many years, it was narrowly saved from destruction, and in 1994 Eastern State re-opened its massive doors to the public. Left in a state of magnificent decay, anyone who finds themselves in Philadelphia would be well advised to pay a visit - and to be penitent. The self-guided audio tour features interviews with former inmates and guards, and is narrated by actor and director Steve Buscemi. The penitentiary offers a number of special tours, including “prison uprisings,” Winter Adventure Tours, a Bastille Day celebration, and a Haunted Halloween tour. Obscura Day location: April 9, 2011." - ATLAS_OBSCURA
