corridor with cells, Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Image details
Contributor:
B.O'Kane / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
BTJ4EXFile size:
51.2 MB (2.5 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
3455 x 5184 px | 29.3 x 43.9 cm | 11.5 x 17.3 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
25 October 2010Location:
2027 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USAMore information:
The Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP) is a former American prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located on 2027 Fairmount Avenue between Corinthian Avenue and North 22nd Street in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia and was operational from 1829 until 1971. Its revolutionary system of incarceration was the first to establish the policy of separate confinement, emphasizing principles of reform rather than punishment. Notorious criminals such as bank robber Willie Sutton and Al Capone were held inside its unique wagon wheel design. When the building was erected it was the largest and most expensive public structure ever constructed, quickly becoming 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. Designed by John Haviland and opened on October 25, 1829, Eastern State is considered to be the world's first true penitentiary, despite the fact that the Walnut Street Jail, which opened in 1776, was called a "penitentiary" as early as 1790 . Eastern State's revolutionary system of incarceration, dubbed the "Pennsylvania System" or Separate system, encouraged separate confinement (the warden was legally required to visit every inmate every day, and the overseers were mandated to see each inmate three times a day) as a form of rehabilitation.