Eastern State Penitentiary

Eastern State Penitentiary is one of only two penitentiaries that have been turned into museums. The other is Alcatraz. The ESP was opened in 1829 and is located in Philadelphia, PA. It was built to incarcerate convicts from the eastern part of the state. The prison was designed and operated with the concept of changing the behavior of inmates through day and night "confinement in solitude with labor." Prisoners were not allowed to talk to one another and were fed in their cells. Hence, the solid wooden doors to each cell to increase isolation. It was thought that solitude would "make the criminal regretful and penitent" (hence the word, penitentiary). This system of confinement was officially repealed in 1913. The design of the prison was considered an architectural marvel at the time, with state-of-the-art plumbing, sewage systems, and 450 centrally-heated cells. 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. Al Capone was given special privileges, such as being able to decorate and furnish his own cell, as shown in one of the photos. After 142 years of consecutive use, ESP was completely abandoned in 1971 and opened as a museum in 1994.
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