Eastern State Penitentiary

I readily admit I love to visit the spooky, macabre and weird. Haunted is always good, too. I’ve seen Eastern State Penitentiary on countless television shows and read about the historic landmark in as many articles. The general consensus is always ESP is the place in Philadelphia to visit if you’re into that sort of thing.

I finally wrangled my husband into going with me, and we booked tickets for a self-guided tour online. Parking around the building is free and the neighborhood is relatively quiet, at least on a Saturday afternoon. After grabbing lunch at a restaurant across the street, we headed inside through what was once the warden’s office.

A photo posted by Eastern State Penitentiary (@easternstate) on Apr 3, 2016 at 5:20pm PDT

Visitors be warned: There is no heating or air conditioning inside the structure. If you visit in the middle of winter, like us, you’ll want to bundle up. Despite the chilly temperatures; however, there were still quite a few people there, particularly for group tours. I typically prefer to go at my own pace, but for those of us who choose the self-guided option, an audio tour was also provided, which I found helpful. The audio tour is short and sweet and gives you a brief overview of ESP’s history; all you had to do was press the corresponding numbers on the audio player whenever you were near an informative plaque or sign. It’s also narrated by Steve Buscemi, which can be a plus or a minus, depending on who you are. It was a plus for me.

You enter through one of the cellblocks and then make your way around the structure as you please. The building is designed like a wheel, with spokes coming off a circular room in the center, making it easier for guards to view as much space as possible at once. The different spokes or cellblocks, were designated for certain uses, such as general incarceration, female prisoners, a health ward, death row, etc. Some of the cellblocks are refurbished to appear as they did when ESP first opened in 1829, with wooden doors, tiny skylights and thick walls. Others show the expansion efforts made as the original structure became overcrowded. Still, some have fallen into extreme disrepair and are blocked off from public access.

A photo posted by Eastern State Penitentiary (@easternstate) on May 6, 2016 at 3:40pm PDT

There are countless empty cells left just as they were when the operation closed in 1971, leaving behind desks, chairs, equipment and more. Others are now home to art installations that address current prison conditions and the U.S. incarceration system. The most popular part of the tour, though, is Al Capone’s cell, where he stayed for under a year. The cell has been recreated to look exactly as it did at that time.

All in all, it only took about an hour, maybe more, to see the entire structure. It was definitely creepy in its own way (and, yes, probably haunted), and I would love to go back for a ghost tour or ESP’s annual Halloween festivities.

Eastern State Penitentiary

2027 Fairmount Ave.

Philadelphia, Pa. 19130

215 236 3300