Eastern State Penitentiary Philadelphia – our visit

Walking through deserted hallways, cell doors ajar, broken beds laying abandoned and skylights leading straight outside. The Eastern State Penitentiary Philadelphia is a creepy sight. This prison, the first penitentiary of its kind in the world which opened in 1829 lay derelict after it closed its doors in 1971. It has now been given a new lease of life and you can visit to walk through the empty halls and only imagine at the sights and sounds it once echoed with.

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Walking around the prison, the wind whipping through the hallways making it impossibly cold, colder even than outside, it gives a terrifying insight in to this penitentiary’s early days.

Set up to reform and give time to reflect prisoners were kept in solitary confinement for two years, not even seeing a fellow prisoner during that time.

I can only imagine how lonely and mind-numbing an experience that must have been.

How long does it take to go through Eastern State Penitentiary?

We took an hour long tour of the prison buildings. This was a great way to discover the stories of the first inmates in the penitentiary, including having access to corridors reserved specifically for the tour.

Much of the building is in a fairly sorry state, and there are currently no plans to repair the cell blocks, with the current owners of the building preferring to preserve much of the penitentiary as a living relic.

After the tour we explored the grounds and cells on our own. Climbing staircases and walking the dusty and eerie corridors where you can imagine the prison doors slamming on the cells inside.

While many of the rooms are covered in dust and grime, you can still clearly see the purposes of many of the rooms including a rather creepy barbers’ chair.

Why did they close the Eastern State Penitentiary?

As the prison population grew prisoners had to double up and new floors were added. This put an end to the experiment with solitary confinement.

Eventually in 1970 the building had served its own term and prisoners were moved to more modern facilities.

When it was first constructed it was both the largest and most expensive public structure in America. It certainly feels sprawling.

Hallways snake off from the main foyer where a guard could keep watch down all the different hallways when it was initially set out.

Why is the Eastern State Penitentiary famous?

Infamous prisoners included bank robber Willie Sutton and gangster Al Capone whose cell has been recreated for you to peer into.

My kids loved stepping into the cells and hearing the story of the Governors’ dog who received a life sentence for killing a cat. And spotting the entrance to an escape tunnel through which twelve prisoners made a bid for freedom, many of whom were captured within a matter of minutes and received lengthy extensions to their prison sentences.

While Philadelphia has grown up outside the penitentiary walls, this time capsule prison is a fascinating and chilling experience which your family will love.

You can find out more about Eastern State Penitentiary at their website.

Read more in Philadelphia – a review of Penn’s View Hotel