The Eastern State Penitentiary is a former state prison in the United States. It is located on Fairmount Avenue between 21st and 22nd Streets in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 5 blocks north of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. (...)

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outside the chaplin's office
Made by ken m photography
In the early 19th century, a system of punishment was created that could be traced back to the Quakers. Called the Pennsylvania system because it was first used here, this method involved the use of solitary confinement to rehabilitate criminals sent to prison. The underlying belief of the Pennsylvania System was that solitary confinement would give prisoners time to reflect on their lives and change the wrongs within it. In other words, if prisoners were forced to think about their crimes, they would become penitent (this is also the origin of the word “penitentiary”). By 1821, the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons (founded in 1787 by Benjamin Rush) had successfully lobbied the state legislature for funding to build Eastern State Penitentiary, where this Pennsylvania System of treatment could be tried. Here mingling among prisoners was avoided, so much so that inmates were hooded when they went outside their cells. The Pennsylvania System as it was enacted had some opponents however, who believed this method of punishment caused mental illness among the prisoners. One such opponent, Charles Dickens, wrote: “I hold this slow and daily tampering with the mysteries of the brain to be immeasurably worse than any torture of the body.” Eastern State Penitentiary was built in 1829 to architect John Haviland’s design. As it was originally built, the prison would hold 250 inmates. Haviland chose a radial layout, finding inspiration in criminologist Jeremy Bentham’s 1791 circular prism plan. He included many details that made Eastern State one of the more secure prisons of its time. It was the first to use a central rotunda as the prison’s “communications hub and nerve center” (Haviland 8). By the time the prison closed in 1970, ESP had expanded to provide for as many as 900 prisoners. ~ www.phillyhistory.org/blog/index.php/2007/06/eastern-stat...


A rare window. -Eastern State Penitentiary Hallway
Made by Erica_Marshall
Before Eastern State Penitentiary was conceived of or built, the roll of prisons were to simply house offenders until their punishment was decided and then carried out. Their sentence would come from the physical punishment -public whipping, branding, or hanging. Time spent in prison was certainly unpleasant, but not considered bad enough to constitute punishment or repayment to the public for their crimes. In 1787 Benjamin Franklin founded the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons to promote prison reform from a system of punishment to a system with a focus on correction rather than punishment. The idea they promoted was based on a religious belief that everyone longed to be good. So, the idea was that criminals would be isolated for a period of time in order to force them to think about what they had done and how they could improve their lives. They were not to see or communicate with anyone for the duration of their sentence. Masks were placed over their head when they had to be moved and no communication of any kind was allowed. Many prisoners were punished for attempting to communicate by banging on pipes,etc. Care was taken by the wardens not to make noise or have contact with the prisoners even when food was delivered. In 1822 construction of Eastern State Penitentiary, the first ever prison based on the idea of correction, was begun. It was finished in 1829. By 1836 prisons around the world were being reformed and remodeled to copy Eastern State's model which was called the Pennsylvania System. . . . Creative Commons licenses for this or any other photo in my photostream will be granted on an individual basis, but you must contact me to get my approval for your use. Licenses for commercial use are also available, see this link for information about pricing.


on the inside
Made by ken m photography
When the Eastern State Penitentiary, or Cherry Hill as it was known at the time, was erected in 1829 (the idea of this new prison was created in a meeting held at Benjamin Franklin's house in 1787) it was the largest and most expensive public structure in the country.[8] Its architectural significance first arose in 1821, when British architect John Haviland was chosen to design the building. Haviland found most of his inspiration for his plan for the penitentiary from prisons and asylums built beginning in the 1780s in England and Ireland. These complexes consist of cell wings radiating in a semi or full circle array from a center tower from where the prison could be kept under constant surveillance. The design for the penitentiary which Haviland devised became known as the hub-and-spoke plan which consisted of an octagonal center connected by corridors to seven radiating single-story cell blocks, each containing two ranges of large single cells—8 x 12 feet x 10 feet high- with hot water heating, a water tap, toilet, and individual exercise yards the same width as the cell.[8] There were rectangular openings in the cell wall through which food and work materials could be passed to the prisoner, as well as peepholes for guards to observe prisoners without being seen. To minimize the opportunities for communication between inmates Haviland designed a basic flush toilet for each cell with individual pipes leading to a central sewer which he hoped would prevent the sending of messages between adjacent cells.[8] Despite his efforts, prisoners were still able to communicate with each other and the flushing system had to be redesigned several times. Haviland remarked that he chose the design to promote watching, convenience, economy, and ventilation.[9] Once construction of the prison was completed in 1836, it could house 450 prisoners.[10] wikipedia


Vanishing Point
Made by Bill Fultz (slakejustice)
Cell Block 7 Eastern State Penetentiary Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Two, 5 image HDR's, Photomerged Eastern State has more to it than just abandonment, the architecture here is awesome! Here in Cell Block 7 you can walk up to the 2nd level catwalk giving an impressive perspective of this section of the prison. I've posted a picture before of Cell Block 7 as one of my first posts ever on Flickr and even though I like the shot, I've always wanted to return and recapture it. On my first trip here in2007 I had just bought a digital camera so basically the shots were from my first trip here were snapshots. Located just outside Downtown Philadelphia, Eastern State Penitentiary stands like a fortress over an entire city square block. Constructed in 1829, at the time of it's completion it was considered a state-of-the-art maximum security prison and was world famous for it's brutality and design. The idea of the time was that you change the behavior of inmates through confinement in solitude with labor. The prison design is like that of a wagon wheel and was copied throughout the world in the early through late 1800's. In 1971 it was abandoned and left in ruin until 1994 when the first daily tours began. Much of the prison is left in a half-state in decay, and some areas are left in pure ruin. It really is one of the coolest places I've visited in my life.


Solitary Confinement (Two: Growth)
Made by Bill Fultz (slakejustice)
Prison Cell Cell Block 9 Eastern State Penitentiary Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Number one in a series depicting the mysteriousness of the many cells throughout the prison. 5 Image HDR Although the prison died, it doesn't mean that things didn't continue to live there. Over the years since it's abandonment the prison yard grew over with bushes and trees, a bunch (and I mean, a bunch) of white cats called it home and the roots of the trees pushed their way into the prison. I thought the root making its way across the rear of the cell wall was really cool. Located just outside Downtown Philadelphia, Eastern State Penitentiary stands like a fortress over an entire city square block. Constructed in 1829, at the time of it's completion it was considered a state-of-the-art maximum security prison and was world famous for it's brutality and design. The idea of the time was that you change the behavior of inmates through confinement in solitude with labor. The prison design is like that of a wagon wheel and was copied throughout the world in the early through late 1800's. In 1971 it was abandoned and left in ruin until 1994 when the first daily tours began. Much of the prison is left in a half-state in decay, and some areas are left in pure ruin. It really is one of the coolest places I've visited in my life.


Hopeless
Made by M. Rosenberg
Another shot from Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I'm about 90% sure this is a view down Cell Block 11, one of the newer cell blocks. Some info about the Penitentiary from Wikipedia: Designed by John Haviland and opened on October 25, 1829, Eastern State is considered to be the world's first true penitentiary. Its revolutionary system of incarceration, dubbed the Pennsylvania System or Separate system, originated and encouraged solitary confinement as a form of rehabilitation. The Pennsylvania System was opposed contemporaneously by the Auburn System (also known as the New York System), which held that prisoners should be forced to work together in silence, and could be subjected to physical punishment (Sing Sing prison was an example of the Auburn system). Although the Auburn system was favored in the United States, Eastern State's radial floor plan and system of solitary confinement was the model for over 300 prisons worldwide. The name Penitentiary comes from the word penance. The original goal was for prisoners to want to open up to God, thus seeking penance. I decided to take this picture and add some texturing to give it more of an ominous feel. I think it worked.


Locked in Luxury
Made by photos by yabi
Alphonse Gabriel Al Capone (January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947) was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. Known as the Capones, the group was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early 1920s to 1931. (Wikipedia). During Al Capone's time he spent eight months at Eastern State Penitentiary with more luxuries and special privileges than anyone in the history of the penitentiary. Some say that Al Capone paid off the police to arrest him to avoid being executed by an opposing gang member. Some also say that during Al Capone's time at ESP he was haunted nightly and would wake up others with his late night screaming and yelling. Only Al Capone knows the truth and he's not talking. Taken handheld at Eastern State Penitentiary with a Nikon D7000 using a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 at 14mm, 1/60s, f/4.5, 1000ISO. Post photography using Photoshop CS5. 04/29/2011 - Featured on B&H Insights. 05/17/11 - 1st Place, SJCC Monochrome (Open)


The Red Chair
Made by HipChicklette (perenially catching up)
Another shot from our Eastern State Penitentiary meet-up in Philiadelphia, PA. Everyone had heard about and wanted to see the red chair. I didn't know what it was until I came home and did some research. I thought it was a barber station. Apparently this chair (and chairs like it) were used as places where they would secure unruly inmates with chains, sometimes for days, so they had time to think about what they had done to end up in the chair . . . Have to admit that I've been thinking a lot about ESP since our visit. More than while we were there. The vastness, and interestingness of the architecture and decay were so compelling that it was difficult to process the impact of what we were seeing in the moment. But, wanting to learn more, and doing research into the area really struck me and keeps me thinking. About the past penal system, and its philosophy, and the present. And humanity, and human nature. And, I'm reminded of the quote, Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Not sure if this is the actual quote or a paraphrase, but it is attributed to George Santayana. Peace.


Looking in the eye of God...
Made by darth_bayne
Here’s another photo taken at the Eastern State Penitentiary of a jail cell. The penitentiary opened in 1829 and closed in 1971 and is now a ruin in the city of Philadelphia. The entire place isn’t open to the general public, but a good portion of it is. It was pretty amazing to see how the inmates lived. It truly must have been a horrible experience to be honest. The isolation alone would have driven me mad. The original goal was for prisoners to want to open up to God, thus seeking penance. The cells were made of concrete and each had a single glass skylight representing the eye of god, hinting that god was always watching them in their cells. More to come from this series…. Hope you all are having a great week thus far! About the Photo: Just an HDR taken using +2ev...0ev…-2ev. In order to get the right angle that I wanted for this shot I didn’t use a tripod and instead rested the camera on the ground of the cell. Processing the HDR was done using photomatix and photoshop. ***All Rights are Reserved. If you are interested in using any of my photos for any reason please contact me via email***


Corridor Of Ghosts
Made by Bill Fultz (slakejustice)
Cell Block 5 Eastern State Penitentiary Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 5 Image HDR One of 6 cellblocks left in ruin, there are several areas that visitors are not allowed to enter, among them the infirmary, the kitchen, and dining hall. Don't think I didn't try to get in these places either, but I was told that even employees weren't allowed in them. Located just outside Downtown Philadelphia, Eastern State Penitentiary stands like a fortress over an entire city square block. Constructed in 1829, at the time of it's completion it was considered a state-of-the-art maximum security prison and was world famous for it's brutality and design. The idea of the time was that you change the behavior of inmates through confinement in solitude with labor. The prison design is like that of a wagon wheel and was copied throughout the world in the early through late 1800's. In 1971 it was abandoned and left in ruin until 1994 when the first daily tours began. Much of the prison is left in a half-state in decay, and some areas are left in pure ruin. It really is one of the coolest places I've visited in my life.


Walking through babylon
Made by darth_bayne
Happy Weekend everyone! I really couldn’t wait for this weekend to come. A bit of a ruff week in the lab, but now it’s over. Anyhow, since I have some free time I decided I’d put up a post today. It’s been a very very long time since I’ve posted on a Saturday. I’m hoping to keep it up, well at least the posting ;-) This photo is another in the series that I took while visiting The Eastern State Penn. It’s a shot that everyone takes while visiting, so I thought I’d change it up a little bit by playing with the colors. Plus this is probably the most color these walls have seen in a long while ;-P Have a great weekend everyone! About the Photo: An HDR taken at the Eastern State Penn. Three exposures were used to make this HDR. I used the 0Ev exposure for the people to prevent the blurring that HDR can sometimes cause. The photo was processed using Photomatix and Photoshop. ***All Rights are Reserved. If you are interested in using any of my photos for any reason please contact me via email***


Mirrors
Made by Karol A Olson
Mirrors allowed the guards to keep an eye on more of the prison corridors Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, PA opened in 1829 as a new type of prison – one where prisoners were expected to reflect and change through complete isolation and labor. The facility was originally designed with seven cellblocks radiating from a central hub – think giant asterisk when viewed above. The exterior 30-foot walls and the towering administration building are heavy, gothic structures. The interior, more serene and church like with its arched corridors and many skylights. More cellblocks were added as the years went by – shoehorned between the spokes of the original seven blocks. The final cellblock, death row, was added in 1956 although no prisoners were ever executed at the facility. The facility closed its doors in 1970 and was abandoned to the elements and vandals until the mid 80s. Preservation efforts began in the early 90s. More information at www.easternstate.org.


Cold World....
Made by darth_bayne
I’m back for another post and grabbing a bit more fresh air from my work. I decided to stop with the last series of city shots. To be honest I really didn’t like the rest of the photos from that batch. After all it was the first time I really experimented with Vertorama’s. Maybe at a later time and date I’ll go back into that series. But for now I decided to post a shot I took from the Eastern state Penitentiary. Hope all of you are having a great week thus far and I’ll be visiting your photostreams very soon! About the Photo: An HDR vertorama, composed of six shots. 3 bracketed shots for the top half, ranging from +2ev to -2ev and 3 taken for the bottom with the same amount of bracketing. Photos were processed in photomatix and then stitched together in photoshop. Further processing was done in photoshop. ***All Rights are Reserved. If you are interested in using any of my photos for any reason please contact me via email***


Solitary Confinement (One)
Made by Bill Fultz (slakejustice)
Prison Cell Cell Block 9 Eastern State Penitentiary Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Number one in a series depicting the mysteriousness of the many cells throughout the prison. 5 Image HDR Located just outside Downtown Philadelphia, Eastern State Penitentiary stands like a fortress over an entire city square block. Constructed in 1829, at the time of it's completion it was considered a state-of-the-art maximum security prison and was world famous for it's brutality and design. The idea of the time was that you change the behavior of inmates through confinement in solitude with labor. The prison design is like that of a wagon wheel and was copied throughout the world in the early through late 1800's. In 1971 it was abandoned and left in ruin until 1994 when the first daily tours began. Much of the prison is left in a half-state in decay, and some areas are left in pure ruin. It really is one of the coolest places I've visited in my life.


Cell Block Seven
Made by M. Rosenberg
This is the view down cell block seven at the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I encourage everyone to take the tour if you have time while you're visiting Philadelphia. A really amazing building with an amazing history that not too many people know about. According to the Penitentiary website: In May 1833, architect John Haviland created a new model for Cell Block Seven, one with several advantages over earlier cell blocks at the site. The most noticeable difference between Cell Block Seven and the previous two story cell blocks – Four, Five & Six – is the 30 foot barrel vault ceiling. In addition, Haviland set the catwalks back so they did not hang over the first floor. This made the block brighter and contributed to the Cathedral - like atmosphere. When Cell Block Seven was finished in 1836, it marked the completion of the original construction.


Al Capones Cell At Eastern State Penitentiary
Made by Ciorra Photography
Al Capones Cell At Eastern State Penitentiary . They allowed Capones Comforts not typically granted to inmates ,including fine furniture , Oriental rugs , oil paintings and a fancy radio .He Enjoyed listening to Waltzes in his cell . Capones arrest came at a time of escalating mob violence in Chicago . He was often accused of hiding in prison intentionally . He spent thousands of dollars trying to get himself released and he denied all his life that he came to Philadelphia to hide . About the HDR , This is one of a few handheld bracketed images . I puled one and created 2 other under/over exposed images to counteract unsteady handheld blur . Processed with Photomatix , Touched up in CS5 with Levels and sharpening , Topaz Denoise innocenzociorra.smugmug.com/


Eye of God
Made by ken m photography
John Haviland completed the architecture of the Eastern state penitentiary in 1836. Each cell was lit only by a single lighting source from either skylights or windows, was considered the “window of God” or “Eye of God”. The church viewed imprisonment, usually in isolation, as an instrument that would modify sinful or disruptive behavior. The time spent in prison will help inmates reflect on their crimes committed giving them the mission for redemption. Gothic churches and cathedrals were mainly built in Europe, France and England in the 13th through the 17th centuries. The structure was not only built in a Gothic style to intimidate wrongdoers, but to remind the free citizens what might befall on them should they break the law. wikipedia


Eastern State Penitentiary
Made by Marty Delikat
Eastern State Penitentiary has been featured in movies as well as many Ghost Hunting Shows from around the world. For more information here is the website. www.easternstate.org/ Eastern State Penitentiary was once the most famous and expensive prison in the world, but stands today in ruin, a haunting world of crumbling cellblocks and empty guard towers. Known for its grand architecture and strict discipline, this was the world’s first true “penitentiary,” a prison designed to inspire penitence, or true regret, in the hearts of convicts. Its vaulted, sky-lit cells once held many of America’s most notorious criminals, including bank robber “Slick Willie” Sutton and Al Capone.


cell block 7
Made by hmb52
Eastern State Penitentiary is one of America's most historic prisons. Open from 1829 to1971. Its revolutionary system of incarceration, dubbed the Pennsylvania System or Separate system, originated and encouraged solitary confinement as a form of rehabilitation. It is widely believed to have caused significant mental illness among its prisoners due to its solitary confinement.The prison was one of the largest public-works projects of the early republic, and was a tourist destination in the 19th century. Notable visitors included Charles Dickens and Alexis de Tocqueville while notable inmates included Al Capone. Now a historic site kept in a state of maintained decay.


closed
Made by ken m photography
Eastern State Penitentiary was once the most famous and expensive prison in the world, but stands today in ruin, a haunting world of crumbling cellblocks and empty guard towers. Known for its grand architecture and strict discipline, this was the world’s first true “penitentiary,” a prison designed to inspire penitence, or true regret, in the hearts of convicts. Its vaulted, sky-lit cells once held many of America’s most notorious criminals, including bank robber “Slick Willie” Sutton and Al Capone. Opened in 1839, the prison closed in 1970, after 131 years of service. www.easternstate.org/