Confession: I got sent to prison while I was in Philly. Clarification: I was told that one of the most popular attractions in the area was an old prison that is now a national historical site, and how could I resist visiting something so eerie sounding?
Eastern State Penitentiary is located fairly conveniently (i.e. a short bus ride) from a bunch of other major tourist sites in Philadelphia. While originally built a bit outside of the city when it was constructed in the early 1800s, the site now sits in an urban area. It’s pretty startling to cross the street from shops and homes and look up and see this imposing gothic structure. (That’s the point, though, it was supposed to intimidate criminals and make them rethink any devious scheming.)
One of the cell wings, which radiate out from a central hub.
The $15 dollar entrance fee gains you access to the site as well as a headset and audio tour. The audio tour, narrated mainly by Steve Buscemi, covers just a small part of the sprawling complex but does a nice job giving the history of the facility and the factors that led to it falling into disuse as well as giving insight into what daily life was like and sharing recollections of former inmates.
The facility was the world’s first penitentiary and was the start of the “Pennsylvania system” of incarceration, which was founded on the belief prisoners should be held in solitary confinement to encourage penitence and reflection, so the cells are very fortified and shaped like mini-chapels. That model became the basis for many other prisons worldwide. However, that system was eventually subject to criticisms, and overcrowding necessitated doubling up in cells, and you can see how the building was modified over more than 100 years in use. The complex has been partially restored in the places open to the public, but there is still a good amount of crumbling walls and holes that add to the site’s historic and gloomy atmosphere.
Al Capone’s cell. He got some perks…
Unfortunately, the day I went it was really cold, but there’s a bunch of areas that on the map that you can explore on your own if your not concerned about losing one or more toes. There’s an escape tunnel inmates dug as well as the cell where Al Capone was held for 8 months, among other neat sounding areas and art exhibits.
One thing I really loved about visiting ESP is that apart from being fascinating and full of history, it also calls on visitors to consider what’s going on the U.S. criminal justice system today. A thoughtful series of large graphs outside in the prison-yard highlight both the huge increase in the size of U.S. prison population as well as other statistics about the racial make-up of the incarcerated population versus the general population and figures that attempt to situate the U.S. experience in a global context. By tracing the changing views on prisons, what they should seek to do and how they should do that, and bringing that debate up to the present, the ESP makes sure that a visit there is not only historically interesting, but also incredibly relevant and thought-provoking.
Giant 3-D bar graph highlight statistics about the current U.S. criminal justice system.
This whole place was awesome. I would definitely go back to explore some of the stuff I missed as well as visit the haunted house they run there every fall! You can’t get much more authentically creepy than that.
Megan's Wanderlust 