Philadelphia: Eastern State Penitentiary

Thursday afternoon, June 26, we toured the Eastern State Penitentiary. Chase really wanted to do a nighttime ghost tour, but it didn't fit into our schedule (and it would have freaked Carys out anyway). Apparently, the do a huge haunted house in the fall for anyone in the area who's into that sort of thing.

Eastern State Penitentiary was once the most famous and expensive prison in the world, but stands today in ruin. 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. The price of admission included an audio tour which was full of many interesting details about the prison. You can listen to the tour here.

Here are the kids outside the prison.

The audio tour told you where to stop and look at accompanying displays.

All the prisoners were in solitary confinement, and silence was required at all times.  This was later found to be cruel and unusual punishment and the practice was ended.

Carys had a scavenger hunt to do.  The cells were pretty creepy inside, even in the daytime.

At least you had your own bathroom!  :)

Though the prison is "in ruins", you can still walk around most of it, including up these stairs to the second floor.

The stairs led to this bridge.

Look at the neat architecture of this place!  Really worth a visit the next time you're in the Philadelphia area.