Eastern State Penitentiary facts for kids
The exterior of Eastern State Penitentiary.
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| Location | 2027 Fairmount Avenue Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates | 39°58′06″N 75°10′22″W / 39.96839°N 75.172652°W |
| Status | Closed (now a museum) |
| Population | ~400 prisoners (from 1829–1877) |
| Opened | 1829 |
| Closed | 1971 |
| Warden | Samuel R. Wood (1829-40) |
| Website | easternstate.org |
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Eastern State Penitentiary
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| Area | 11 acres (45,000 m2) |
| Built | 1829 |
| Architect | John Haviland |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000680 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | June 23, 1965 |
The Eastern State Penitentiary, also known as ESP, is a former American prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located at 2027 Fairmount Avenue between Corinthian Avenue and North 22nd Street in the Fairmount section of the city, and was operational from 1829 until 1971. The penitentiary 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 its innovative wagon wheel design.
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.
The prison is currently a U.S. National Historic Landmark, which is open to the public as a museum for tours seven days a week, twelve months a year, 10 am to 5 pm.
Images for kids
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Annotated floor plan of Eastern State Penitentiary in 1836
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One of the two-story cell blocks in Eastern State Penitentiary
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A typical cell in restored condition.
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Al Capone's cell.
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The remains of the barber shop.
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Eastern State Penitentiary's radial plan served as the model for hundreds of later prisons.
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Cross Section of Cell Block
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Purge Incomplete, Mary Jo Bole's exhibit
