This time, I walked through the history of Philadelphia (PA, U.S.A.) to discover one of the oldest prisons in the United States. The Eastern State Penitentiary is still as alive as its corridors, where you can hear the echo of thousands of criminals’ moans.
The dark side of Philadelphia
In this adventure, I was escorted by Ted Maust, a guide who showed me the ropes of this place of penitence and regret.
The historical building is located in Fairmount, a residential area in the north of Philadelphia. Built as an asylum during a reform movement in 1829, it was opened as a prison until the end of 1979.
It represented one of the most expensive prisons in the world, but surely, also one of the most technologically advanced of its time.
Eastern State Penitentiary's layout is like a cart wheel: there is a central hub and 8 main spokes which represent the wings of the building. Its sky-lit vaulted cells hosted many of America’s most famous criminals, like the bank robber Slick Willie (William Francis Sutton, Jr.), and Al Capone, also known as Scarface.
The precursor of security cameras
The idea of building a central hub and straight wings around it, was an engineering mastery. In fact, only one guard could check the clearance of every corridor from one position.
The central surveillance hub was like a modern security camera room, which allowed guards to control every centimeter of the jail and actually, with a mirrors system, guards were also able to have a clear view of the secondary wings which branched off from the main ones. Mirrors were tilted at an angle which allowed a viewer standing at the central hub to broaden his/her vision line.
Gangsters commodity
Right in front of the entrance there is, maybe, the most popular cell of the penitentiary. Furnished with luxury hardwood pieces, Al Capone’s cell seems more like an in-house living room than a cell.
Capone spent his time at the Eastern State among comforts not typically granted to inmates, including oriental rugs, oil paintings and a fancy radio. He liked to listen to waltzes in his cell.
He was arrested in 1929 for carrying a concealed, unlicensed .38 caliber revolver and imprisoned for 7 and a half months.
Cellblock 3
Chick’n’Mango was able to access the long-abandoned medical wing which finally opened to public at the end of March 2017.
It was very uncommon having a hospital inside a prison and the operating room of Eastern State hosted about 300 operations per year. Even Al Capone “visited” the hospital block and had his tonsils taken out in this space.
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