History:
Eastern State Penitentiary was a former American Prison in Philadelphia PA from 1829-1971. Designed by John Haviland and housed about 80,000 inmates during the 142 years of it being open, it is considered to be the world’s first Penitentiary. Eastern State had used separate confinement as a form of rehabilitation among those imprisoned there. Until Eastern State’s arrival prisons were known to have prostitutes, booze, corrupt officials and very little order. It was said that starvation, cold, disease, and violence would often kill the prisoner before the sentence was even given. Eastern State was different for numerous reasons; one being the cost which was $800,000 to create. For its time Eastern State was considered one of the most expensive projects.
Eastern State was one of America’s first buildings to have running water and central heat. While President Andrew Jackson used a chamber pot, the Eastern State prisoners had running water and toilets flushed twice a week by guards. Prisoners ate three meals a day that usually consisted of boneless beef, pork or soup and unlimited potatoes and had a private exercise area. Sounds like Paradise right? Wrong! Eastern State’s approach to reform and rehabilitating its inmates had been known for driving them insane.
Prison Reform and Rehabilitation:
In Eastern State, there was no need for solitary confinement because this is how the prisoners lived every day. Prisoners spent 23 hours a day in their cells with the only chance to leave the cell was twice a day for a half hour in their exercise yard. The leaders of Eastern State believe that if the inmates lived in solitude and quiet reflection, the inmates would become remorseful and this remorse would play a part in the rehabilitation. Prisoners were forbidden to speak to anyone except for the chaplain and the cellblock guards.
Until the 1850s when doors had been added to the cells, the inmates were served their food through feeding holds. Guards wore felt shoe covers to keep the prison as quiet as possible; the silence was meant to reform the inmates but instead drove them insane. The inmates ate alone, exercised alone, and read the bible alone (the only book they had) all day long. Inmates bathed twice a month, as they were being taken from their cells to bathe they were forced to wear hoods so they could not see other inmates and vice versa.
This action was also used when taken to the exercise yard; no communication was allowed because there was punishment to pay. If caught speaking some were left in dark cells and fed bread and water, not their usual meals; others might be straitjackets and gagged. Due to overcrowding in 1913, Eastern State eventually got rid of the solitary confinement system and allowed each cell to have two to three inmates and remained a congregated prison until it’s closing.
Infamous People who stayed:
Many infamous criminals served time at Eastern State, one being Alphonse “Scarface” Capone, Chicago’s most famous mob boss. Capone had spent 9 months in Eastern State from 1929-1930. Eastern State was Capone’s first prison sentence where he was arrested for carrying a concealed, deadly weapon. During his time Capone lived in luxury, his cell located on the Park Avenue Block had fine furniture, oriental rugs and a cabinet radio. It has been said that Al Capone had been known to complain about being haunted during his imprisonment at Eastern State. He stated he was being haunted by James Clark, one of the victims in the Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago; where Capone led one side. It was rumored that Capone would turn into a “weeping and terrified mess” screaming at night for “Jimmy” to “leave him alone.”
Another infamous criminal was William Francis “Slick Willie” Sutton who spent 11 years at Eastern State. Slick Willie was known for over 50 bank robberies, serving over 30 years behind bars and 3 successful escapes from prison. In 1945, Slick Willie and 11 other inmates escaped from Eastern State in a tunnel dug by inmates that went about 100 feet underground; this attempt was not one of the successful 3 as Slick Willie was caught minutes later.
An inmate that was able to escape from Eastern State was Leo Callahan in 1923. Charged with assault and battery with intent to kill is what brought Callahan to Eastern State. Callahan and 5 other inmates in 1923 had built a ladder used to climb over the wall of Eastern State. Out of the 6, Callahan was the only one who successfully escaped and to this day was never caught.
Women had been sent to Eastern State as well, a practice that went on for about 100 years after the prison’s opening. Freda Frost was the last woman to enter Eastern State before it closed. Frost had been transferred in 1923 from the Muncy Industrial Home for Women, which was a training school for first time female offenders between the ages of 16 and 30 at the time.
Spookiness:
Eastern State is known to be haunted and there have been reports of paranormal activity that would happen throughout the prison. It was reported that people would hear someone crying as if they were being tortured, loud laughter that was reported to be sadistic and the moving of furniture. Tourists allegedly felt someone either tapping on their shoulder or calling their name, but no one had been there. Ghosts have been reported to have been seen at Eastern State by the tourists as well.
Pep the Black Lab:
In 1924, Pep the Black Labrador was sentenced to Eastern State with Life without Parole for the crime of murdering Pennsylvania’s Governor Gifford Pinchot’s cat. However, this story was not true, but the real story was not as interesting. Pep the Black Lab was a gift to the Governor from a relative and the crime Pep committed was destroying the couch cushions. Pep did spend his life in prison and was given the identification number C2559 and had a mugshot taken. His role in the prison was not as a prisoner but as a ‘mascot for prisoners’ and he was given to the prison by the Governor in the belief it would be therapeutic for the prisoners.
Attractions:
Since Eastern State’s closing in 1971 it has been named a National Historic Landmark and has been made into a museum that still operates year round. Eastern State offers guided tours in the winter and the warmer months tourists can take self-guided tours and have the option to use headphones that contain stories from former guards, wardens and prisoners. Tourists are allowed to walk through a few of the solitary confinement cells that are not off limits due to years of neglect. Each year Eastern States hold’s their haunted house called Terror Behind the Walls, which consists of 6 different haunted houses for their guests to enter. With the option to be chased and grabbed by the creatures inside it adds to the aesthetic.
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