47996
The Eastern State Penitentiary a former American prison and now a museum in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania.
The penitentiary, which was in operation between 1829 and 1971, was once the most famous and expensive prison in the world. Its construction refined the revolutionary system of separate incarceration first pioneered at the Walnut Street Jail which emphasized principles of reform rather than punishment.
Notorious criminals such as Al Capone and bank robber Willie Sutton were held inside it's innovative wagon wheel design. James Bruno (Big Joe) and several male relatives were incarcerated here between 1936 and 1948 for the alleged murders in the Kelayres massacre of 1934, before they were paroled. At its completion, the building was the largest and most expensive public structure ever erected in the United States, and quickly became a model for more than 300 prisons worldwide.
Today it stands more in ruin, a haunting world of crumbling cellblocks and empty guard towers. The prison is currently a U.S. National Historic Landmark, which is open to the public for tours seven days a week, twelve months a year, 10 am to 5 pm.
Information Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_State_Penitentiary
47996
The Eastern State Penitentiary a former American prison and now a museum in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania.
The penitentiary, which was in operation between 1829 and 1971, was once the most famous and expensive prison in the world. Its construction refined the revolutionary system of separate incarceration first pioneered at the Walnut Street Jail which emphasized principles of reform rather than punishment.
Notorious criminals such as Al Capone and bank robber Willie Sutton were held inside it's innovative wagon wheel design. James Bruno (Big Joe) and several male relatives were incarcerated here between 1936 and 1948 for the alleged murders in the Kelayres massacre of 1934, before they were paroled. At its completion, the building was the largest and most expensive public structure ever erected in the United States, and quickly became a model for more than 300 prisons worldwide.
Today it stands more in ruin, a haunting world of crumbling cellblocks and empty guard towers. The prison is currently a U.S. National Historic Landmark, which is open to the public for tours seven days a week, twelve months a year, 10 am to 5 pm.
Information Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_State_Penitentiary