Eastern State Penitentiary

Eastern State Penitentiary
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
File:Eastern State Penitentiary Exterior.jpg The exterior of Eastern State Penitentiary
Location	21st St. & Fairmount Ave. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Built	1829 (closed in 1971)
Architect	John Haviland
NRHP reference No.	66000680
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966

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.

It was significant architecturally, influencing the design of 300 other prisons, and is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

History

Designed by John Haviland and opened in October 25, 1829, Eastern State is considered to be the world's first true penitentiary. Its revolutionary system of incarceration, dubbed the "Pennsylvania System" or Separate system, originated and encouraged solitary confinement as a form of rehabilitation. While it was not true solitary confinement, as the law required the warden to visit the inmates daily, and prisoners frequently saw guards, the chaplain, and visitors, the goal was the isolate prisoners from one another to prevent the spread of disease and "moral contamination." The system rarely worked in the early days, and by the Civil War had completely degenerated to the point where the penitentiary was frequently putting two prisoners in cells. In 1913, the Commonwealth officially abandoned the Pennsylvania System at Eastern State, though some argue that it had disappeared in practice years earlier.

The Pennsylvania System 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 floor plan and system of solitary confinement was the model for over 300 prisons worldwide. The name "Penitentiary" comes from the word "penance". The original goal was for prisoners to want to open up to God, thus seeking penance.

The original design of the cells were separated by a metal door and a wooden door to filter out noise. The halls were designed to have the feel of a church. Some believe that the doors were small so prisoners would have a harder time getting out, minimizing an attack to a security guard. The cells were made of concrete with a single glass skylight, representing the "Eye of God", hinting the prisoners that God was always watching them. Outside the cell, there was an individual area for exercise, enclosed by high walls so prisoners couldn't communicate. Each exercise time for each prisoner was synchronized so no two prisoners would be out at the same time. Prisoners were allowed to garden and even keep pets in their exercise yards. When prisoners left the cell, a guard would accompany them and wrap them in a hood.

The original design of the building was for seven one-story cell blocks, but by the time cell block three was completed, it was already over capacity. From then on, all the other cell blocks were two floors. Toward the end, cell blocks 14 and 15 were hastily built due to overcrowding. They were built and designed by prisoners. Cell block 15 was for the worst prisoners, and the guards were gated off.

In the courtyards, there were plenty of places for recreation. The dugout for the baseball field also doubled as a football goal post. Other games like bocci were played in the courtyards. Later, a small paved road used for relay races was put down. Extra security was added on the top of the prison walls as family and friends would throw over notes, drugs, and even weapons.

A typical cell

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).

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.

The Penitentiary was intended not simply to punish, but to move the criminal toward spiritual reflection and change. While some have argued that the Pennsylvania System was Quaker-inspired, there is little evidence to support this; the organization that promoted Eastern State's creation, the Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons (today's Pennsylvania Prison Society) was in fact less than half Quaker, and was led for nearly fifty years by Philadelphia's Anglican bishop, William White. 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.

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.

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.

It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966.

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. The site had several proposals, including a mall, and a luxury apartment complex surrounded by the old prison walls, as the surrounding area was then full of crime.

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.

Modern-day

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 tours are also available. In addition, it holds many special events throughout the year. Each July 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 actress portraying Marie Antoinette. In October, it offers the "Terror Behind the Walls" haunted house.

A deteriorated cell

The facility has been kept in "preserved ruin", meaning no significant attempts have been made at renovations or upkeep.

Due to Eastern State's ominous appearance, gloomy atmosphere and long history, it is used as a location for television shows and movies about hauntings. 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, Most Haunted Live! conducted and broadcast 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.

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.

In June 2008, Paramount Pictures used parts of Eastern State Penitentiary for the filming of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

In September, 2008 the History Press released Eastern State Penitentiary: A History, the only comprehensive history book currently in print about Eastern State. It was written by a former tour guide with the assistance of the site's education director, and has a forward written by the penitentiary's former social worker.

Art Exhibits

• Ghost Cats - When the prison closed in 1971, a colony of cats lived inside. When restoration began, the cats were captured and neutered, thus causing the cats to eventually die off. Artist Linda Brenner sculpted 39 cat sculptures, which surround the property.

• The End of the Tunnel - Hundreds of feet of red piping were installed by artist Dayton Castleman representing paths of escape routes used by prisoners.

• Recollection Tableaux - Six dioramas were sculpted by artist Susan Hagen to represent important moments in the prison's history. They are scattered around cell block seven.

• GTMO - A replica of a Guantanamo Bay cell was set up by artist William Cromar inside one of the cells.

• Midway of Another Day - A metal sundial set up to show "the passing of time", set up by Michael Grothusen in the courtyard of cell block one.

• I always wanted to go to Paris, France - Artist Alexa Hoyer set up three TV's, one in a cell, one in a hallway, and one in a shower room, showing seven decades of prison films. The title "I always wanted to go to Paris, France" is a quote taken from one of the film excerpts screened in the prisoner's cell.

• Juxtaposition - Brothers Matthew and Jonathan Stemler divided cell #34 in cell block 11 horizontally. A grid at the ceiling supports a display of suspended plaster pieces along a single plain. Ground mica schist poured onto the floor softens the step and enhances the texture of the space, while a bench provides a vantage point in which to view and consider the overall effect of the piece.

• My Glass House - An ongoing project set up by artist Judith Taylor by taking black and white pictures of natural habitat found in the prison's walls. The prints are then turned into glass, and replace the missing glass in the greenhouse in the courtyard of cell block one.

Views of the Penitentiary

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External links

• Video Documentary of the History and Haunts of E.S.P.
• Official web site
• .designedbreakdown. Short history and photo galleries exhibiting present-day decay on the site.
• Eastern State Penitentiary's Halloween event, Terror Behind the Walls
• Dark Destinations - Eastern State Penitentiary
• SCARED! at Eastern State Penitentiary
• 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

• Mysterious Journey'sThe Travel Channel spends the night inside the Eastern State with a team of ghost hunters and psychic medium Joseph Tittel.

References

Book by Paul Kahan, Eastern State Penitentiary: A History