The Eastern State Penitentiary, also known as ESP, is a former American prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located at 2027 Fairmount Avenue between Corinthian Avenue and North 22nd Street in the Fairmount section of the city, and was operational from 1829 until 1971. The penitentiary refined the revolutionary system of separate incarceration first pioneered at the Walnut Street Jail which emphasized principles of reform rather than punishment.

Notorious criminals such as Al Capone and bank robber Willie Sutton were held inside its innovative wagon wheel design. James Bruno (Big Joe) and several male relatives were incarcerated here between 1936 and 1948 for the alleged murders in the Kelayres massacre of 1934, before they were paroled. At its completion, the building was the largest and most expensive public structure ever erected in the United States, and quickly became a model for more than 300 prisons worldwide.

The prison is currently a U.S. National Historic Landmark, which is open to the public as a museum for tours seven days a week, twelve months a year, 10 am to 5 pm.

Architectural significance

When the Eastern State Penitentiary, or Cherry Hill as it was known at the time, was erected in 1829 in Francisville (the idea of this new prison was created in a meeting held at Benjamin Franklin's house in 1787) it was the largest and most expensive public structure in the country. Its architectural significance first arose in 1821, when British architect John Haviland was chosen to design the building. Haviland found most of his inspiration for his plan for the penitentiary from prisons and asylums built beginning in the 1780s in England and Ireland. He gave the prison a neo-Gothic look to instill fear into those who thought of committing a crime.

These complexes consist of cell wings radiating in a semi or full circle array from a center tower whence the prison could be kept under constant surveillance. The design for the penitentiary which Haviland devised became known as the hub-and-spoke plan which consisted of an octagonal center connected by corridors to seven radiating single-story cell blocks, each containing two ranges of large single cells—8 × 12 feet × 10 feet high—with hot water heating, a water tap, toilet, and individual exercise yards the same width as the cell.

There were rectangular openings in the cell wall through which food and work materials could be passed to the prisoner, as well as peepholes for guards to observe prisoners without being seen. To minimize the opportunities for communication between inmates Haviland designed a basic flush toilet for each cell with individual pipes leading to a central sewer which he hoped would prevent the sending of messages between adjacent cells.

Despite his efforts, prisoners were still able to communicate with each other and the flushing system had to be redesigned several times. Haviland remarked that he chose the design to promote "watching, convenience, economy, and ventilation". Once construction of the prison was completed in 1836, it could house 450 prisoners.

Haviland completed the architecture of the Eastern state penitentiary in 1836. Each cell was lit only by a single lighting source from either skylights or windows, which was considered the "Window of God" or "Eye of God". The church viewed imprisonment, usually in isolation, as an instrument that would modify sinful or disruptive behavior. The time spent in prison would help inmates reflect on their crimes committed, giving them the mission for redemption.

Modern-day historic site

The Eastern State Penitentiary operates as a museum and historic site, open year-round. Guided tours are offered during the winter, and during the warmer months, self-guided recorded tours with headphones are also available (narrated mainly by Steve Buscemi, with former guards, wardens and prisoners also contributing). A scavenger hunt is available for children.

Visitors are allowed to walk into several specially marked solitary confinement cells, but most of them remain off limits and filled with original rubble and debris from years of neglect. The city skyline of Philadelphia is visible from the prison courtyard, which still has the original baseball backstop and a chain link fence atop the "outfield wall," the outer prison wall, to attempt to keep home run balls inside the grounds. There is also a camera located in the center guard tower, that lets visitors experience a correctional officer view of the prison.

In addition, Eastern State holds many special events throughout the year. Each July, there is a Bastille Day celebration, complete with a comedic reinterpretation of the storming of the Bastille and the tossing of thousands of Tastykakes from the towers, accompanied by a cry of "let them eat Tastykake!" from an actor portraying Marie Antoinette. (This Philadelphia tradition sadly ended in 2018.)

The museum attracts close to 220,000 visitors each year.

Religious murals in the prison chaplain's office, painted in 1955 by inmate Lester Smith, remain visible to guests despite damage from exposure to sunlight.

The tour ends with an exhibit titled "Prisons Today: Questions in the Age of Mass Incarceration" which informs guests about the US prison system today and its failings.

Restoration

The facility was kept in "preserved ruin", meaning no significant renovation or restoration was attempted, until 1991, when The Pew Charitable Trusts provided funding so that stabilization and preservation efforts could begin.

Terror Behind the Walls

"Terror Behind the Walls" is an annual Haunted House Halloween event run by the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, Inc. (ESPHS). The first Halloween fundraiser took place on Halloween weekend in 1991. The early events took various forms, including short theatrical performances and true tales of prison murder and violence. In 1995, the event was rebranded as "Terror Behind the Walls", becoming a high startle, low gore walkthrough haunted attraction.

In 2001, it was broken up into three separate, smaller haunted attractions, including a 3-D haunted house. At the time, it was the only 3-D haunted house in Southeastern Pennsylvania and one of the first in the United States. In 2003, four semi-permanent haunted attractions were constructed inside the penitentiary complex.

The 2014 event included six attractions: Lock Down, The Machine Shop, Detritus, Infirmary, The Experiment, and Night Watch. The 2016 event also included six attractions: Lock Down: The Uprising, The Machine Shop, Break Out, Detritus, Infirmary, and Quarantine 4-D. The haunted attraction Blood Yard was added in 2017.

4.00 USD/1hr

19.00 USD

Senior (65+): 17.00 USD

Student: 15.00 USD

Child (7-12): 15.00 USD

Child under 7: free

discounts for groups of 15+

- Audio tour

- WC

- Information tables

- Charge station for cellphone

- WiFi

info@easternstate.org

- Night tours by request: Thursday evenings: 19.00 USD, Friday evenings: 26.00 USD, Saturday evenings: 32.00 USD

- Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays

- Accessible for the disabled

- Gift shop

https://www.easternstate.org/