 |
 |
| Eastern State Penitentiary |
Opened in 1829 as part of a controversial movement to
change the behavior of inmates through "confinement in solitude with labor,"
Eastern State Penitentiary quickly became the most expensive and most copied
building in the United States. It has been estimated that over 300 prisons
worldwide are based on the Penitentiary's wagon-wheel floor plan.
Some of America's most notorious criminals were held
in the Penitentiary's vaulted, sky-lit cells...including bank robber Willie
Sutton and Al Capone. After 142 years of consecutive use, the Eastern State
Penitentiary was completely abandoned in 1971. It now stands as a silent
guard, with empty towers and jail cells.
Its first inmate: "...Charles Williams, Prisoner Number
One. Burglar. Light Black Skin. Five feet seven inches tall. Foot: eleven
inches. Scar on nose. Scar on Thigh. Broad Mouth. Black eyes. Farmer by trade.
Can read. Theft included one twenty-dollar watch, one three-dollar gold seal,
one, a gold key. Sentenced to two years confinement with labor. Received
by Samuel R. Wood, first Warden, Eastern State Penitentiary...." The first
female prisoner is received in 1831. In 1832 the prison had its first Escape.
An inmate, who served as the warden's waiter, lowers himself from the roof
of the front building. Once captured, this inmate will escape in the same
manner in 1837. On August 12, 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.
In 1988, the Penitentiary opened for limited tours.
It officially opened for historic tours on a daily basis in 1994. These days,
the prison has become a major attraction for those into the paranormal. It
has been featured on several programs (such as Haunted History, MTV's Fear),
in many books (Philadelphia Ghost Stories by Charles Adams, Ghost Stories
of Pennsylvania by Dan Asfar) and on numerous websites that deal with the
paranormal. I was a part of an investigation there a few years ago, when
MTV's Fear was filming there. The team I was there with were to find areas
with activity. Although we did find some good stuff, the show went on to
a different route (and in my opinion, kinda sucked). Oh well, here are some
photos taken while there.
|
|
The first shot is the first level of Cell Block 12, the place most of the
show Fear was filmed. The second shot
shows the second level of the same cell block.
 |
 |
The first shot is of "Death Row". I put it in quotes because no one was ever
put to death here. It was simply a
holding area for those who were supposed to get the chiar. The second shot
is of Al Capone's cell...
supposedly just how he left it. This guy had everything...a nice
bed, a writing desk, and even a phonograph! Yeah, he was doing "hard" time.
 |
 |
Lastly, we have one of the many long hallways. I took this shot because it
gave me the "willies" I didn't like this hallway, nor did
I want to go down it. The second shot is the outside of the print shop. The
orbbs seen are
most likely dust particles. The place is very overgrown and we were just
charging through.