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A Haunted History

A Few blocks from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a massive, crumbling building rises up like a medieval castle over blocks of modest, middle-class homes mixed with brownstones. Welcome to Eastern State Penitentiary.
This was the world's first true Penitentiary, a prison designed to inspire penitence - or true regret - in the hearts of criminals. In 1787, a group of well-known and powerful Philadelphians met in the home of Benjamin Franklin. They wanted to create a prison where reformed criminals could someday walk away to lead a new, better life... rather than being locked up in isolation until death. It took more than 30 years for "The Pen" to open in 1829. It was a great success and over 300 prisons worldwide were built based on the plans of this Philadelphia landmark.
Its revolutionary system of incarceration was the first to establish the policy of separate "solitary" confinement, emphasizing reform rather than punishment. The original seven cellblocks had running water and central heat before the White House. Its vaulted, sky-lit cells held many of America's most notorious criminals, including "Scarface" Al Capone.
Pennsylvania closed the prison in 1971 when repairs became too costly. The prison stands today in ruin, a haunting world of crumbling prison cells and a surprising, eerie beauty. It is still used for film shoots, most recently Transformers 2.
This photo is of one of the cells that was turned into a barbershop. Haircuts were rewards for good behavior. Although some prisoner diaries reveal that this chair may have also been used to "persuade" misbehaving prisoners to change their ways. Some torture and prisoner abuse happened even as the Penitentiary's goal was to reform prisoners for a non-violent lifestyle.

2 Responses to “A Haunted History”

  1. # Blogger A dubs

    I've been wanting to visit for years. Looks like you could spend days there.  

  2. # Blogger onceuponasunflower

    Very interesting. It looks like a creepy place!  

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