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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. Image File history File links Portal. ... For other uses, see Philadelphia (disambiguation) and Philly. ... Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ... The Philadelphia Museum of Art, located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphias Fairmount Park, was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year and is now among the largest and most important art museums in the United States. ...

History

Cell Block 7 at Eastern State Penitentiary September 28, 2005

Designed by John Haviland and opened in 1829, Eastern State is considered to be the world's first true penitentiary. Its revolutionary system of incarceration, dubbed the Pennsylvania System, originated and encouraged solitary confinement as a form of rehabilitation. It was opposed contemporaneously by the Auburn System (also known as the New York System), which held that prisoners should be forced to work together in silence, and could be subjected to physical punishment (Sing Sing prison was an example of the Auburn system). Although the Auburn system was favored in the United States, Eastern State's radial floorplan and system of solitary confinement was the model for over 300 prisons worldwide. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1728x2304, 938 KB)Taken by me. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1728x2304, 938 KB)Taken by me. ... John Haviland (1792-1852) Philadelphia architect, considered a major influence in American Neo-Classical architecture and one of the most notable architects working from Philadelphia in the 19th century. ... Solitary confinement, colloquially referred to as the hole (or in British English the block), is a punishment in which a prisoner is denied contact with any other persons, excluding guards, chaplains and doctors. ... The Auburn System can refer to: a U.S. penal model based of reeducation, named after Auburn Prison in New York the band The auburn system Category: ... Alternative meaning: Sing Sing (band) Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a prison in Ossining, New York. ...

Eastern State was viewed as a progressive reform in that it eliminated many of the excesses of physical punishment in colonial America. Despite this, it was widely believed (then and now) to have caused significant mental illness among its prisoners due to its solitary confinement. The system quickly collapsed due to overcrowding problems. By 1913, Eastern State officially abandoned the solitary system and operated as a congregate prison until it closed in 1970 (Eastern State was briefly used to house city inmates in 1971 after a riot at Holmesburg Prison). This article is about the colonial history of the United States. ... A mental illness or mental disorder refers to one of many mental health conditions characterized by distress, impaired cognitive functioning, atypical behavior, emotional dysregulation, and/or maladaptive behavior. ... Holmesburg is a neighborhood in the Near Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

Al Capone's cell

The prison was one of the largest public-works projects of the early republic, and was a tourist destination in the 19th century. Notable visitors included Charles Dickens and Alexis de Tocqueville while notable inmates included Willie Sutton and Al Capone. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2576x1952, 1601 KB) Summary Al Capones cell at Eastern State Penitenitary, Philadelphia, PA. Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2576x1952, 1601 KB) Summary Al Capones cell at Eastern State Penitenitary, Philadelphia, PA. Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... “Dickens” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Tocqueville (disambiguation) Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville (Verneuil-sur-Seine, ÃŽle-de-France, July 29, 1805– Cannes, April 16, 1859) was a French political thinker and historian. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... “Capone” redirects here. ...

The Penitentiary was intended not simply to punish, but to move the criminal toward spiritual reflection and change. The method was a Quaker-inspired system of isolation from other prisoners, with labor. The early system was strict. To prevent distraction, knowledge of the building, and even mild interaction with guards, inmates were hooded whenever they were outside their cells. Each cell even included a personal exercise yard. Proponents of the system believed strongly that the criminals, exposed, in silence, to thoughts of their behavior and the ugliness of their crimes, would become genuinely penitent. Thus the new word, penitentiary. The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, or Friends, is a religious community founded in England in the 17th century. ...

In 1924, Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot allegedly sentenced Pep "The Cat-Murdering Dog" to a life sentence at Eastern State. Pep allegedly murdered the governor’s wife’s cherished cat. Prison records reflect that Pep was assigned an inmate number (no. C2559), which is seen in his mug shot. However, the reason for Pep’s incarceration remains a subject of some debate. A newspaper article reported that the governor donated his own dog to the prison to increase inmate morale.^[1] Gifford Pinchot (August 11, 1865 – October 4, 1946) was the first Chief of the United States Forest Service (1905–1910) and the Republican Governor of Pennsylvania (1923–1927, 1931–1935). ...

On April 3, 1945, a major prison escape was carried out by twelve inmates (including the infamous Willie Sutton) who dug a 97-foot tunnel under the prison wall to freedom. is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

The prison was closed and abandoned in 1971. Many prisoners and guards were transferred to Graterford Prison, about 31 miles west of Eastern State. The City of Philadelphia purchased the property with the intention of redeveloping it. In 1988, the Eastern State Penitentiary Task Force successfully petitioned Mayor Wilson Goode to halt redevelopment. In 1994, Eastern State opened to the public for historic tours. The Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution at Graterford, also known variously as SCI Graterford (SCIG), Eastern Correctional Institution, Graterford Prison, Graterford Penitentiary, and the Graterford Prison Farm, is located by the village of Graterford in Skippack Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, about 31 miles west of the city of Philadelphia... W. Wilson Goode (born August 19, 1938), the first African American Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was born into a family of tenant farmers in North Carolina around 1938. ...

Present use

Inside Eastern State, May 2006

Today, the Eastern State Penitentiary operates as a museum and historic site, open from April 1 through November 30. In addition, it holds many special events throughout the year. Each July, Eastern State offers a Bastille Day celebration, complete with a comedic reinterpretation of the storming of the Bastille and the tossing of thousands of Twinkies and Tastykakes from the towers.^[2] In October, it offers a popular Terror Behind the Walls haunted house. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2576x1952, 1453 KB) Summary A photograph from inside Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, PA. Take in May 2006. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2576x1952, 1453 KB) Summary A photograph from inside Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, PA. Take in May 2006. ... For the Battlestar Galactica episode, see Bastille Day (Battlestar Galactica). ... A Twinkie is a Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling created by Hostess, and baked by Continental Baking Co, which is owned by Kansas City-based Interstate Bakeries Corporation. ... Tastykake is a brand of snack food manufactured by the Tasty Baking Company (NASDAQ: TSTY) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... This article belongs in one or more categories. ...

The facility has been kept in "preserved ruin," meaning that no significant attempts have been made for renovations or upkeep. Guests are asked to sign a liability waiver due to some minor safety concerns. The State of California came up with the term arrested decay in order to explain how they were going to preserve Bodie State Historic Park. ...

Due to Eastern State's ominous appearance, gloomy atmosphere and long history, it is a popular location for television shows and movies about hauntings. The Sci Fi Channel's Ghost Hunters and MTV's Fear both explored the supernatural at Eastern State, while Terry Gilliam's film Twelve Monkeys used it as the setting for a mental hospital. On 1 June 2007, the Travel Channel program, Most Haunted Live, conducted and broadcasted a paranormal investigation live (for the first time in the United States) from Eastern State Penitentiary for an unprecedented seven continuous hours hoping to come in contact with supernatural beings. Punk group the Dead Milkmen also filmed the music video for their song "Punk Rock Girl" in Eastern State. Reputed ghost of a monk. ... SCI FI (originally Sci-Fi Channel, sometimes rendered SCI FI Channel when part of a longer phrase) is an American cable television channel, launched on September 24, 1992, specializing in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and paranormal programming. ... For other uses of the name, see Ghosthunters (disambiguation). ... This article is about the original U.S. music television channel. ... MTVs Fear was an MTV reality show in 2000 that placed a group of 5 or more contestants in a reputedly haunted location and led them on a series of dares over two nights to explore whether or not the place was haunted. ... Look up Supernatural in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Terrence Vance Gilliam (born November 22, 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, animator, and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. ... Twelve Monkeys is a 1995 science fiction film written by David and Janet Peoples and directed by Terry Gilliam. ... The Travel Channel is a cable television network that features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. ... Official Most Haunted logo Most Haunted is a programme based on investigating purported paranormal activity that is shown on the satellite and cable channels LIVINGtv, LIVINGtv2 and ftn, primarily for the UK market. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

In 1996 and 2000, the World Monuments Fund included Eastern State Penitentiary on its World Monuments Watch, its biennial list of the "Most Endangered" cultural heritage sites. The World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic art and architecture worldwide through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training. ...

References

1. ^ www.easternstate.org
2. ^ Dobrzynsky, Judith H., "For a Summer Getaway, A Model Prison" from the New York Times, July 11, 2007. Available online

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Eastern State Penitentiary

• Official web site
• O.T.I.S.: Odd Things I've Seen
• Eastern State Penitentiary's Halloween event, Terror Behind the Walls
• Eastern State in 1846 by Hinton
• Eastern State in 1854 by Sears
• "For a Summer Getaway, a Model Prison" by Judith H. Dobrzynski, New York Times, July 11, 1997
• Maps and aerial photos for 39°58′06″N 75°10′22″W / 39.96839, -75.172652Coordinates: 39°58′06″N 75°10′22″W / 39.96839, -75.172652
  • Maps from WikiMapia, Google Maps, Live Search Maps, Yahoo! Maps, or MapQuest
  • Topographic maps from TopoZone or TerraServer-USA