Our final Philadelphia destination (if you missed it, you can read part I of this series here) was the one that actually ended up being my favorite: Eastern State Penitentiary. I learned about this place from Lyssy in the City, and I’m so glad I did because it was fascinating!
Eastern State Penitentiary was built in the 1820s and was the first true penitentiary in the world. The purpose of it was not punishment but penitence: true regret for one’s actions.
In order to accomplish this, complete solitude and absolute silence were deemed necessary. Guards wore wool socks over their shoes to muffle their footsteps. Prisoners were kept in their own cells and were not allowed to speak to anyone. Each cell was made of 20-inch (50 cm) thick cement walls to block out any noise, with a single small skylight, a solid door for entry, and a gated exit into an individual walled outdoor space that could be accessed for an hour per day. Outdoor sessions were timed so that inmates in adjacent cells were not outside at the same time.
In other words, it was the birthplace of solitary confinement. Over the years, more than 300 penitentiaries on 5 continents were modeled after Eastern State.
However, it didn’t take long to realize the severe psychological ramifications of this solitary silence, and these methods were eventually discontinued (although, sadly, this was more due to overcrowding than actual concern for the prisoners’ wellbeing). The prison remained in use until 1969, at times housing both women and men, as well as inmates on death row. It then fell into disrepair before being converted into a museum and National Historic Landmark. While it has been renovated enough to allow for safe entry, I love that they’ve largely left it in ruins.
Eastern State is enormous; it covers 10.5 acres and is surrounded by half a mile (0.8 km) of wall. It’s also just right there, in the middle of an urban area. On one side of the street are shops and residences, and on the other is a solid cement wall with turrets. It’s very bizarre. I wish I’d gotten a better photo to illustrate this.
Upon arrival, you’re given an audio device and headphones for the self-guided tour. There are numbered signs throughout the prison aligning with pre-recorded segments of information, so you can go at your own pace. Stops 1-10 comprise the main part of the tour, but after stop 10 you can wander through the other wings of the prison on your own and pull up the corresponding narrated portions on your audio device. While most of the narration is by actor Steve Buscemi, some is by actual inmates who did time at Eastern State.
One of my favorite parts of the tour was climbing up to the catwalk above one of the cell blocks and looking down on the prison from above.
The most famous criminal who ever did time at Eastern State was Al Capone. He was traveling through Philadelphia on his way home in 1929 and was arrested for carrying an unlicensed concealed revolver. He was sentenced to one year, though he only served seven months of his sentence. Throughout his incarceration, the prison was accused of preferential treatment. Given what his cell purportedly looked like (photo below), I’d say those accusations were correct.
We didn’t even come close to listening to all the other narrated portions, but after the main tour we wandered through a few of the other cell blocks, including block 15 which was constructed in 1956 to house death row inmates (when the penitentiary was constructed, there was no such thing as life in prison or a death sentence; these were later additions to the US prison system).
Despite the requirements of silence and solitude, inmates found ways to communicate. One was by building radio transmitters using whatever materials they could get their hands on. Quite a lot of creativity was involved; despite the fact that such devices were against the rules, it was hard not to be impressed by what they managed to build.
In one cell block, some of the cells housed art installations depicting various aspects of prison life. My favorite one – not in an enjoyable way, but in that I really appreciated its inclusion – was Other Absences by Cindy Stockton Moore. Hanging from the ceiling were 50 portraits of individuals murdered by the men and women who would eventually be sent to Eastern State Penitentiary. These are stories that are so often overlooked in exhibits about incarceration, especially when the victims were poor, homeless, and/or minorities (which many were).
There’s also an exhibit on the US prison system, past and present. I thought they did a nice job of illuminating the many problems with the system but also the challenges of fixing it. It’s clear that there are no easy answers, but it’s also clear that substantial action is needed.
And then we piled into the car for the drive back home and I was immediately reminded why I don’t ever want to move back to the east coast. We knew there would be traffic; it was a holiday weekend, after all. But it was far far worse than any of us anticipated, and it took us almost twice as long as it should have to get home, thanks in no small part due to the chaos that is New Jersey travel plazas. We stopped for gas, food, and to use the bathroom, and what should have been a 10-15 minute stop took an hour because there were ridiculously long lines for everything.
When all was said and done, it was nearly 11:00pm when we pulled into the driveway, and we had to be up at 3:45am to head to the airport. Needless to say, not a lot of sleep happened that night.
Looking back, one more day in Philadelphia would have been nice. We would have been less rushed and we could have visited a couple other historic landmarks. But for the time we had, I’d say we managed a pretty thorough tour of the city that was once our nation’s capital and the largest and most diverse city in the United States!
The Important Stuff:
- Getting there: Eastern State is located in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia. While it’s possible to walk here from the other main attractions (such as the Liberty Bell), it’s a decent trek. Free street parking is available in the blocks surrounding the penitentiary, so if you have a car it’s probably easiest to just drive.
- Tickets can be purchased online or at the door (they’re cheaper online). They are not specific to a day or time, and are valid for one year after purchase.
- Hours: open 10:00am-5:00pm, 361 days per year.
- Here is more information.
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