Eastern State Penitentiary - Philadelphia, PA
N 39° 58.051 W 075° 10.359
18S E 485255 N 4424166
The Eastern State Penitentiary is a former state prison in the United States. It is located on Fairmount Avenue between 21st and 22nd Streets in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 5 blocks north of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Waymark Code: WMAF42
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 01/07/2011
Views: 6
Eastern State opened in 1829. Unlike earlier prisons in which criminals — regardless of offense, age or gender — were herded into large holding pens, Eastern State was based upon Quaker ideas of redemption through isolation and labor. The theory was that left alone to contemplate the errors of their ways without distraction from other prisoners or the outside world, inmates would become truly penitent — hence the name of the new prison model.
Architect John Haviland's original seven-wing design radiating from a central surveillance hub represents the advent of modern architecture in America. Each prisoner had his own centrally heated cell with running water, flush toilet and skylight, plus an adjacent private exercise yard. This “machine for reform” proved so revolutionary that both the building's design and the Pennsylvania System (as it came to be known) served as the model for hundreds of prisons around the world.
Eastern State Penitentiary operated for more than 140 years until it was finally abandoned in 1971. Today the site is preserved as a historic site.
Philadelphia’s massive prison features several dramatic vistas in the prison’s cathedral-like cellblocks. The Acoustiguide audio tour, written by a team of award-winning writers and producers, delivers the sounds of the prison’s rich history, from cell doors slamming to guards issuing orders to the 1961 riot that unfolded into chaos.
Their biggest deal is Terror Behind the Walls, Terror a blockbuster fall attraction and is considered one of the top haunted houses in the country. My Masonic Lodge came here about a decade ago for Halloween and it was scary-fun! Eastern State Penitentiary recently introduced its new family program, Keys to the Past, an interactive and inquiry-based program giving children an engaging and educational look at the rich history of the prison. Keys to the Past is free with regular admission to the historic site.
Philadelphia finally realized how exquisitely dumb their linkage to various tourism sites was so they simplified it. To get to the city's sponsored site for this attractions go HERE. Smack dab in the center of the page, down just a little bit is a spot called Favorite Attractions. After the tenth link is another link called >>View More. Click it and you will be brought HERE. This is the Find an Attraction page. The first link under the title Category is Museums. Click it and you will be brought HERE, the museums links page. The third page of this page, fifth link down, is the Eastern State Penitentiary Tour. Click that and you will be taken to the city sponsored webpage for this tourist attraction, which can finally be found HERE.
Address
2124 Fairmount Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 236-5111
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