The construction of Eastern State Penitentiary began in 1822, and while it was not complete until 1836, the penitentiary opened in 1829. It was built in reaction to overcrowded prisons in Pennsylvania, as well as a new idea of how to deal with prisoners. Rather than tossing criminals into unspeakable conditions, Dr. Benjamin Rush thought it would be more constructive to place each inmate in their own cell, allowing them to reflect on the crimes they had committed and begin the road to repentance. Each cell had central heating, a toilet, and a shower, which was new for prisons to have back in 1829. Prisoners were brought in with bags over their heads to ensure they did not know the layout of the prison outside of their cells. They were given only Bibles, but had some chores such as shoemaking to occupy them.
Although the inception of Eastern State Penitentiary was built on good intentions, it soon became a victim of the overcrowded Philadelphia. By the 1920s, Eastern State had about 2,000 prisoners, but it was only built to house 300. By that time, prisoners were sharing cells and working together, thus ending the consistent solitary confinement. As new cells had to be built to accommodate the growing crowd of inmates, conditions deteriorated, making solitary confinement once again a punishment rather than the beginning of the road to repentance. Eastern State Penitentiary was a prison for 142 years before it was closed in 1971 and became a historic site. Some famous inmates include mob boss Al Capone and bank robber “Slick Willie” Sutton. Eastern State has lots of information about the prominence of gangs in the prison, as well as facts and statistics about crime rates.
When I walked into Eastern State Penitentiary, I didn’t know what to expect. I saw cell after cell of crumbling walls, broken toilets, and ajar bed frames. But then I found Al Capone’s cell, which was the exact opposite of the other cells. It was finely furnished and comfortable, as he had the money and the connections to make his time at Eastern State luxurious.
As I went further into Eastern State, I came across the death row cells, as well as the solitary confinement. I can only imagine how it must have felt for inmates to stay in that dark, windowless space. The ceilings were so low inmates would have to hunch over if they wanted to stand, adding to the discomfort. Although I understand the inmates were in there for felonies they committed, I still feel sympathetic towards them over the conditions they had to endure in prison. Although, this was my first time ever being in a prison, so maybe that has something to do with it.
However, I do like the original reason Eastern State was built – that is, being used for repentance rather than punishment.
I hadn’t known that inmates who were in solitary confinement also got time outside, in solitary “cells” outdoors. I also didn’t know what death row cells looked like, but they were basically the same as all of the other cells, only with extra protection. There were some interesting activities in Eastern State, such as an anonymous wall of felonies people have committed that anyone can contribute to, as well as a machine that determines your chances of committing a felony based on attributes like race and income.
Another interesting fact was that a dog was once a “prisoner” in Eastern State. Pep the Dog was prisoner #2559. He was brought in after allegedly killing a cat. However, he was really a therapy dog and was allowed to freely roam around the prison, cheering up the inmates.
Overall, though, I was slightly disappointed with my trip to Eastern State Penitentiary. Even though there were artist exhibits and lots of interesting facts and inmate biographies, I was left with a feeling of “that’s it?”
I had heard a lot of hype about it, but maybe I missed something, because I wasn’t too impressed. I guess I just didn’t expect to see destroyed cell after destroyed cell, and it got monotonous after a while. Although monotony is common when walking through prisons, I feel like they should have had more activities and exhibits because it is now a historical site where people go for tours. I wanted more excitement. It was interesting, but there are more interesting places to go in Philadelphia than Eastern State Penitentiary.
