Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, PA was an American Prison from 1829 until 1971. When it was created the focus was on reforming prisoners instead of punishing them. The structure is in the shape of a wagon wheel and became a model for over 300 prisons.
Notorious criminals such as Willie Sutton and Al Capone were held here.
Today the historic site is a museum.
During the october season "Terror Behind The Walls" is a halloween attraction.
It began in 1991 in order to raise funds to refurbish the prison.
Toilets were flushed twice a week by the guards.
Hospital Wing.
The green symbol is a "keystone". Pennsylvania is called the "keystone" state.
A keystone is the main stone above an arched doorway.
Prison Yard. The poles were from a basketball net.
The tower was added during more modern times. If you notice, the higher portion of the wall is different than the bottom. The high wall was added after prisoners tried escaping.
Women stayed in the prison too. Eventually they built a separate prison for women.
Each cell was labeled. Cell block 7, cell 29.
Look closely. The stained glass is made of tortured souls.
A greenhouse was on the premise.
The prisoners never left for anything. The prison even had it's own barber.
Below is the cell Al Capone stayed in for one year.
It was called "the penthouse".
Thanks for taking a view of my city. Check out other views at Unknown Mami.
I LOVE this series! Oh, the stories those walls could tell.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tara. My husband's blog is www.picturethismillerphotography.blogspot.com His pictures are so much better than mine.
DeleteWow ... that's so interesting. Penthouse? What a huge difference between that cell and the others!
ReplyDeleteIt smelled very musty too. Luckily I took allergy medicine before we took the tour.
DeleteFascinating; for some reason I do "enjoy" touring a prison; there is a lot of history at them. Can you imagine the toilets flushed twice a week and by the guards no less? Certainly not a job I would like to have. I would think it could be interesting to attend one of the Halloween fund raisers there just for the sake of saying one had attended :)
ReplyDeletevery interesting entry!
betty
We are definitely going to do the halloween tour this year. Our kids are teenagers and I'd love to see them shriek! haha!
DeleteI loved the pictures!! How many did you take, because I would have taken over 100 pictures! LOL
ReplyDeletep.s. I'm having a giveaway and I would love for you to come check it out and enter! :)
Love you! ♥
All I can say is that is AWESOME. Totally awesome.
ReplyDeleteThat place it's amazing!!! Love all your shots!!!!! Thanks for sharing!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI love seeing historical places. I've never been to a prison, but it's fascinating to see how it worked and how it looks. Thanks for sharing - we don't have anything like that near us!
ReplyDeleteCrazy! It's a magnificent building from the outside, but makes me sad on the inside. The thought of those toilets being flushed twice a week makes my nose cringe.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting thanks for taking us along on your visit.
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