A trip to Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia offers a sobering lesson in a chapter of American history.
By: Susan Van Dongen
I will not murder anyone, commit forgery or steal my neighbor’s horse. I will do anything to stay out of prison, especially if it’s like "The Pennsylvania System" the punishment method of choice in 19th century America, epitomized by Eastern State Penitentiary in what is now the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia.
Envisioned with idealism by the likes of Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush, charter members of the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons, Eastern State (or ESP, as the insiders called it) was supposed to help criminals reform through what sounds more like the ideals of an ashram than an American prison.
This was the world’s first true "penitentiary," a prison designed to inspire penitence true regret in the hearts of criminals through solitude, reflection and labor. No books except the Bible were permitted. Only one hour of fresh air and exercise was permitted but the "yard" was just a little outdoor solitary space attached to the cell. There was no interaction between inmates everyone was in solitary confinement. You weren’t even supposed to talk to yourself. Silence was so important the guards wore heavy wool socks over their boots to muffle their steps as they patrolled the cellblocks.
As a National Historical Landmark, temporary home to Al Capone and simply a behemoth of a building, ESP deserves a visit. I was curious to have a look because the interiors of the prison were used to portray an asylum in the Terry Gilliam film Twelve Monkeys.
ESP recently launched "Summer Twilight Tours" Wednesday nights through the end of August, when the facilities remain open until 8 p.m. And there are a number of special events held regularly at the prison, like the annual Bastille Day Celebration. From Sept. 21 through Oct. 31, ESP stages Terror Behind the Walls, when the facility is decked out as a massive haunted house (considered the "5th Best Haunted House in the United States" by AOL City Guide). The special events raise money for preservation efforts.
Coming up next is the commemoration of a prison riot that occurred Jan. 8, 1961: tours and special exhibits will take place Aug. 11 and 12.
January of 1961 was the occasion of ESP’s most violent and dangerous uprising. Inmates eventually took eight officers hostage, stabbing two of them with homemade knives (the guards both survived), and took control of the prison. They also set the records room on fire in an attempt to erase inmate identities. It’s not pretty, but it’s a compelling moment in penal as well as Philadelphia history. There will be special tours offered, retracing the sequence of events throughout the prison complex. There will also be an exhibit of rarely seen photographs from the Eastern State archival collection on view.
To find my way around the facility, I chose the well-produced audio tour, narrated by actor/director Steve Buscemi.
Opened in 1829 and closed in 1971, the site is an actual ruin, so visitors are asked to sign a waiver stating that they understand the risks of walking around such a place. Although it is surrounded by a lively neighborhood just a few blocks from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a painting at the entrance reminded me that ESP once stood on a hill in the outskirts of the city.
The very size of the building and the fact that it looked down on Philadelphia was supposed to inspire fear in the residents. The Gothic revival castle-like design of the main entrance was especially meant to cow the many recent arrivals from Europe. To many of the working classes, a castle represented power, and the people who held the power were often known for corruption, ruthlessness and torture for those less fortunate.
The radial floor plan was, for its time, ingenious, with a central room from which seven cellblocks emerged, like the spokes of a wheel. The idea was that a minimum of staff could be on hand in the central room and could see and monitor activity in all the hallways. Interesting, since the inmates were shut in their rooms and weren’t permitted to roam the halls until The Pennsylvania System was abolished in 1913. The planners also envisioned that the layout would provide good ventilation, something that might help prevent typhus, a common health crisis in prisons.
In its time, however, ESP was considered a feat of engineering as well as humane philosophy. It was the largest building in the United States, with an initial expense of $770,000. It covers an area of 10.5 acres, with exterior walls that rise to 30 feet and are eight feet wide at the base.
Stepping in, your eyes are drawn upward and you can see the wooden ribs of the corridors’ vaulted ceilings. There is, indeed, a certain elegance to the design. But the rusted doors to the cells themselves would be elegant only to a location scout, looking for a place to make a horror movie. I was most intrigued by nature’s hardiness, the way a bit of greenery would burst out of a wall or the brightness of the towering weeds outside the windows made such a contrast to the stark interiors.
Through a series of stops along the audio tour, a visitor learns a certain amount about the history of prisons in America. Before ESP, jails had been not-so-secure holding facilities where criminals kind of hung around together, serving time without any structure. Fights would break out, ladies of the evening would drop in and diseases would spread.
The Pennsylvania System was thus devised to protect the inmates. It was considered more humane than the previous system, or lack thereof.
The founders and supporters of ESP, many of them Quakers, believed we each have the light of goodness inside of us and are capable of bringing this out. And indeed, the physical appointments of ESP were designed to be humane and were quite modern for their day. For example, there was running water and flush commodes at ESP before the White House could boast this amenity.
Cells had domed ceilings with a small skylight called "the eye of God." The wooden floors and simplicity of design was supposed to evoke a church. Inmates were tasked to do labor, such as caning chairs, crafting shoes and woodworking.
Criminals were brought in hooded so, if by chance another person saw them, they would not recognize them if they were released and happened to meet again. Inmates were also required to wear their hoods when they exercised. So not only was silence enforced, one’s identity was cloaked and essentially removed.
However, the experiment to reform criminals through strict isolation intrigued progressive minds of the early Victorian era, and soon government officials from countries all over the world visited ESP to see the facility and witness the Pennsylvania System firsthand. Three-hundred prisons would soon be modeled after ESP, and many in Europe and South America adopted the Pennsylvania System.
Alexis de Tocqueville came to the facility and praised it. On the other hand, Charles Dickens was appalled after his visit, writing that the system was too rigid and strict. "The isolation would drive a man insane," he wrote. "This slow tampering of the brain is much worse than torture of the body."
Toward the end of the 19th century, the Pennsylvania System was beginning to become more and more controversial, especially when contrasted to the New York System, which also stressed labor, but had the inmates working and exercising together, for example at Ossining, commonly known as "Sing Sing."
Finally, in 1913, the Pennsylvania System was abandoned in the United States and inmates at ESP were able to roam the corridors and converse with each other. The latter part of the tour feels a little lighter, perhaps because of the loosening of the rules. For the mid-20th century, you listen to a collection of interviews from former inmates, and view historic photos that put faces behind the voices.
The guards on one cellblock are described by one inmate as "good guys," and the wife of one guard sent Christmas decorations in every year to brighten the facility. There’s a photo of the inmates in front of a Christmas tree and one of them has his arm around the guard.
The men talk about how much maintenance the place needed and how you could really learn a skill, such as plumbing, electrical work or construction. Some of the cellblocks had radios and TVs and there was even a prison band. ESP also launched a number of sports, and its basketball and football teams were noteworthy because they were integrated.
My father, who once played baseball in a Philadelphia city league, talked about going to ESP to play their team. His strongest memory was when the huge main gate slammed shut behind him and his friends. Just thinking about the sound gave him chills decades later.
As the main tour comes to an end, you can continue with more special features or a self-guided tour, exploring sites such as death row, the barbershop and kitchen, Al Capone’s cell and the women’s facilities. I enjoyed seeing the greenhouse where horticulture had been encouraged, almost from the earliest days. With the loosening of the rules, inmates were also allowed to keep rabbits, ducks and even cats.
There are also a number of art installations on view at ESP, including Linda Brenner’s Ghost Cats, which commemorates the colony of feral cats that roamed the grounds after the place was abandoned, eventually to be cared for by a local fellow. A series of white clay cats dot the perimeters of the building’s exterior. Sculptor Susan Hagen contributed a series of historical dioramas to cellblock seven. Titled Recollection Tableaux, and on view for the rest of the 2007 season, the series depicts six scenes from the penitentiary’s history. All artist installations were created to be site-specific, and all incorporate the building into the piece.
It’s just another example of the curious things you’ll find on a hot summer day in the "cooler."
Eastern State Penitentiary is located at 22nd Street and Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia. Open daily through Nov. 30, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m., Wednesday evenings until 8 p.m. through August. Commemoration of 1961 Prison Riot, Aug. 11-12; tours begin at 11:30 a.m. Free with admission. Terror Behind the Walls, Sept. 21-Oct. 31 tickets cost $20-$30 and go on sale Sept. 13. Regular admission: $9, $7 students and seniors, $4 children 12-7. Age 7 and under cannot be admitted. (215) 236-3300; www.easternstate.org

