Sarah and I went to Philly for spring break this past weekend. We have a great time wherever we go together, and it's always nice to do something new. We did a lot, saw a lot, ate a lot, and shot a lot of pictures, so I'm going to post these in installments (maybe 4)
On Sunday we drove into Philly and went straight to the Eastern State Penitentiary. ESP was the first of its kind in the world and, in many ways, progressive for its day. The website is phenomenal and worth exploring. From that website:
"In the vaulted, skylit cell, the prisoner had only the light from heaven, the word of God (the Bible) and honest work (shoemaking, weaving, and the like) to lead to penitence. In striking contrast to the Gothic exterior, Haviland used the grand architectural vocabulary of churches on the interior. He employed 30-foot, barrel vaulted hallways, tall arched windows, and skylights throughout. He wrote of the Penitentiary as a forced monastery, a machine for reform. But he added an impressive touch: a menacing, medieval facade, built to intimidate, that ironically implied that physical punishment took place behind those grim walls."
To be sure, the prison was a step up from holding cells full of all sexes and all ages left to destroy one another, but the idea that solitary confinement and labor would lead to reform seems laughable. But then, the belief that godlessness and sin led to criminality rather than societal pressures, mental health, and poverty was even more common then than it is today. As always, there were people who saw through the smoke. Dickens wrote after visiting that, "In its intention I am well convinced that it is kind, humane, and meant for reformation; but I am persuaded that those who designed this system of Prison Discipline, and those benevolent gentleman who carry it into execution, do not know what it is that they are doing....I hold this slow and daily tampering with the mysteries of the brain to be immeasurably worse than any torture of the body; and because its ghastly signs and tokens are not so palpable to the eye,... and it extorts few cries that human ears can hear; therefore I the more denounce it, as a secret punishment in which slumbering humanity is not roused up to stay." Solitary confinement ended in 1913 for as good a reason as it began. The prison had become overcrowded.
Anyway, Sarah and I found it to be an interesting, eery, and melancholy place to wander around.
One of the most amazing realities of this fortress/prison is that it's in the middle of the city! The outer walls soar over thirty feet up into the air; the turrets are taller, obviously. It covers over ten acres and has walls eight feet thick.
Amazingly, this prison was closed in 1971. Keep that in mind as you look at the images. 1971.
These doors are found in the original halls built in 1829.
By 1913 the Pennsylvania system officially ended (although my guess is it had unofficially ended some time before, as all politics are like to do) and multiple beds were added to rooms designed to house one individual in solitary confinement.
1971
The doors were insanely small. As far as we saw, they were all more or less this size.
Haviland designed the cells to have one source of light coming in from heaven.
This is the yard. After 1913 prisoners could use the yard together. Before that they had individual six foot by eight foot cells with ten foot high walls and an open roof that they were brought to for one hour a day to exercise.
Again, these skylights were designed by Haviland to remind the prisoners of god's grace.
Of course the hospital area was super creepy.
There were several "famous" prisoners, including Willie Sutton, but the one that everyone knows about is Al Capone. His stay was short, for carrying an unlicensed .38 in the city. He went to great lengths to assure everyone that he had not been deliberately arrested to avoid escalating mob wars in Chicago, but the rumor persisted. It probably didn't help that he somehow obtained incredible treatment, both from the guards and for his cell.
This is just a barbers chair, but darn if it doesn't look creepy. Sarah took this great photo of it.
The guards used these huge mirrors for surveillance. We stayed for several hours and probably could have stayed longer, but were getting hungry and thirsty, so we headed to Victory for a much lighter fare.
On Sunday we drove into Philly and went straight to the Eastern State Penitentiary. ESP was the first of its kind in the world and, in many ways, progressive for its day. The website is phenomenal and worth exploring. From that website:
"In the vaulted, skylit cell, the prisoner had only the light from heaven, the word of God (the Bible) and honest work (shoemaking, weaving, and the like) to lead to penitence. In striking contrast to the Gothic exterior, Haviland used the grand architectural vocabulary of churches on the interior. He employed 30-foot, barrel vaulted hallways, tall arched windows, and skylights throughout. He wrote of the Penitentiary as a forced monastery, a machine for reform. But he added an impressive touch: a menacing, medieval facade, built to intimidate, that ironically implied that physical punishment took place behind those grim walls."
To be sure, the prison was a step up from holding cells full of all sexes and all ages left to destroy one another, but the idea that solitary confinement and labor would lead to reform seems laughable. But then, the belief that godlessness and sin led to criminality rather than societal pressures, mental health, and poverty was even more common then than it is today. As always, there were people who saw through the smoke. Dickens wrote after visiting that, "In its intention I am well convinced that it is kind, humane, and meant for reformation; but I am persuaded that those who designed this system of Prison Discipline, and those benevolent gentleman who carry it into execution, do not know what it is that they are doing....I hold this slow and daily tampering with the mysteries of the brain to be immeasurably worse than any torture of the body; and because its ghastly signs and tokens are not so palpable to the eye,... and it extorts few cries that human ears can hear; therefore I the more denounce it, as a secret punishment in which slumbering humanity is not roused up to stay." Solitary confinement ended in 1913 for as good a reason as it began. The prison had become overcrowded.
Anyway, Sarah and I found it to be an interesting, eery, and melancholy place to wander around.
One of the most amazing realities of this fortress/prison is that it's in the middle of the city! The outer walls soar over thirty feet up into the air; the turrets are taller, obviously. It covers over ten acres and has walls eight feet thick.
Amazingly, this prison was closed in 1971. Keep that in mind as you look at the images. 1971.
These doors are found in the original halls built in 1829.
By 1913 the Pennsylvania system officially ended (although my guess is it had unofficially ended some time before, as all politics are like to do) and multiple beds were added to rooms designed to house one individual in solitary confinement.
The doors were insanely small. As far as we saw, they were all more or less this size.
Haviland designed the cells to have one source of light coming in from heaven.
This is the yard. After 1913 prisoners could use the yard together. Before that they had individual six foot by eight foot cells with ten foot high walls and an open roof that they were brought to for one hour a day to exercise.
Again, these skylights were designed by Haviland to remind the prisoners of god's grace.
Of course the hospital area was super creepy.
There were several "famous" prisoners, including Willie Sutton, but the one that everyone knows about is Al Capone. His stay was short, for carrying an unlicensed .38 in the city. He went to great lengths to assure everyone that he had not been deliberately arrested to avoid escalating mob wars in Chicago, but the rumor persisted. It probably didn't help that he somehow obtained incredible treatment, both from the guards and for his cell.
This is just a barbers chair, but darn if it doesn't look creepy. Sarah took this great photo of it.
The guards used these huge mirrors for surveillance. We stayed for several hours and probably could have stayed longer, but were getting hungry and thirsty, so we headed to Victory for a much lighter fare.
2 comments:
Your photos reminded me of a prison we visited in Thessaloniki. While not as big or thoughtfully (?) designed, it too was used into the 70's. Looking forward to the continuing story.
Dad
It is inconceivable that in this day and age "prison" is the best we can come up with to "treat" the mental, social and economic failings of our society. I remember clearly when the psychiatric facilities were closed. I was working at a counseling agency at the time. I am not all that sure what was going on in those places was wonderful, but the alternative hasen't worked out so well!
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