Welcome to Shawshank

So, to backtrack to a week ago, I recently got back from a mini vacation to Ocean City. On the way down, we took a few hours to stop in Philadelphia to check out a place I've wanted to visit for years, Eastern State Penitentiary

 This behemoth was actually right in the middle of a very pleasant residential district.  Just imagine waking up to that every morning...  It even had a school and playground right next door.  Awesome. I also was impressed with the fact that I got free parking.  In fact, I was very impressed by Philadelphia in general.  I know I missed out on the skeevier areas, but the parts I saw were beautiful, the traffic is workable and I just felt a good vibe from the city in general.  For some odd reason it kind of felt like a place I could come home to.  

But my main goal was the prison.  I came to Eastern State Penitentiary hoping for lots of decay and general creepiness and I'm happy to say it did not disappoint.  

Death Row

We took the self guided tour, which was narrated by none other than Steve Buscemi.  Another point added for awesomeness...  Although they have a recommended starting point, it's not really necessary and there's just so much to wander around and explore.    As you hit different markers, you have the option to listen to clips about the history of the prison, the architecture, some of the famous inmates and such. They also have scheduled mini-tours where a guide will talk more in depth about different sections of the prison, including a tour of the pit where they kept the worst prisoners in solitary.


I also liked the art installations. While we were there, they had put in a series of stained glass windows called "The Battle of Carnival and Lent" by Judith Schaechter.  Very creepy, yet beautiful. It was nice to suddenly come upon something like this unexpectedly.  It is so easy to spend hours here.

Not only that, it managed to entertain two 13 year old girls, which is high praise, indeed. I think their main interest was more in the creepiness factor (I admit it, so was mine), but they did seem to take a real interest in actually learning about the prison.  I was pleasantly surprised to see the one area that captured their interest the most was a presentation about the lives of transgender prisoners and the difficulties they face. They were quite touched by it. It made me realize how far we have come in our society (though we still have a long way to go) that our children are able to learn about things that not long ago was not even talked about, much less accepted.

And I got to see the main thing I came for. Al Capone's cell.

The guide told us that his bodyguard was housed right next door.  I guess being rich doesn't hurt too badly when you're in prison.

Overall, it more than met my expectations and was able to get my fill of creepy prison photos.  Jaime is already talking about a return trip to take the Terror Behind the Walls tour for Halloween.  It does sound tempting...