Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, Inc Review

Amazing historical prison, visit near Halloween for a haunted house experience and tours after dark

An amazing experience. Like visiting the Titanic if they raised it up somewhere.

Completely unique experience. This and Alcatraz are the only two former penitentiaries in the US that you can visit. Left derelict for over 30 years, Eastern State was opened back up in 1996, and has been progressively cleaned and stabilized since then.

It is a remarkable structure. The walls are 30 feet high, and guards weren't posted because there's no way to get over them. (The wall was tunneled under for a jail break, but nobody got away for more than a few hours.) Quite intimidating place.

Fascinatingly, the penitentiary had a TOTAL SILENCE policy until the early 1900's. You couldn't talk, speak, make noise, or do anything to disturb the QUIET. (Was supposed to create a "repentant" environment where prisoners could contemplate the error of their ways with no distractions.)

Problem is, it's now known as a recipe for INSANITY, as depriving people of their senses causes massive brain issues and works the exact OPPOSITE effect intended.

Anyway, you'll have a great time. Its fully staffed and there is an excellent Steve Buscemi walking tour with headphones you can rent. The whole experience is unforgettable, and I can't imagine this place ever going away. The demolition costs would be astronomical.

It is undoubtedly one of the places you should visit in Philadephia, it is part of the history of prisons in the US and even in the rest of the world, as it was a pioneer in the way of building its structure and many prison directors from Europe and Australia flocked to this location to copy their imitation distribution across more than 300 prisons worldwide. It has many interesting stories inside, ghost stories, the story of a leak in 1945 of several inmates who dug a tunnel under the prison, being able to see a mark on the floor of the prison on the tunnel they dug to the outside of the prison. One of his most famous inmates was "face cut" "Alcapone", to date it is the only cell that is preserved in conditions, even with the furniture that "Alcapone" was obtained by his own means, he received food every day from a restaurant outside the prison. Part of one of the transformers movies was filmed in these facilities, at the end of the tour inside there are some televisions where you can see this fragment of the movie. As a curiosity, this prison was the first to have central heating even before "the white house" had it, it also had running water. It was a prison well ahead of its time and the mother of modern prisons, it is located at 2027 Fairmount Avenue, between Corinthian Avenue and North 22nd Street in Philadelphia, it worked from 1829 to 1971 and in its time it was the largest public building and expensive from the US It is currently a National Historical Monument and is open to the public. It is advisable to request audio guides next to the entrance, as they detail all the details and history, which is very interesting.

Great experience! Wish it was not so cold today, it made the visit kind of miserable. Would have liked to spend a lot more time here. The audio tour was much better than expected.

First off, it was very cold today but we all enjoyed this attraction! The audio tour was informative and at a comfortable pace while being very informative as well. My boys enjoyed sneaking a peak in all of the cells and this place maintained their interest throughout. The history lesson is amazing and I thought it was great that one particular guard later became an inmate! There is plenty to do here but we made it through most of the tour in a little under an hour. If the weather was warmer, it would have been great to hang out in the open areas more. Please make this an addition to your list of you are in the area!

A great haunted house with great spooks! Highly recommended!

The tour is narrated by Steve Buscemi.....need I say more?

No, but I will. Take the tour it is worth it and we do it each time we have visitors. Haven't taken advantage of the Halloween haunted house they offer, not a chance I ever will but it looks awesome if you are into that sort of thing. Great historical spot, well maintained, and they offer rotating exhibits throughout the year.

This place is a must see in Philadelphia! The audio guide is very well prepared, with 1 main tour about the prison and some additional ones. You should spend there minimum 2 hours. Amazing place telling about the history!

Having read the reviews we went to this place, I thought something better, an abandoned place that falls to pieces, those who like this place will surely like it, there are various stages like death row, the cell in which they had locked up Al Capone , the meadow where the prisoners could do the hour of air or play football all together, the hole where inmates had escaped and more

Eastern State has been on my list of places to visit for YEARS!! and the time finally came. Unfortunately they were doing a lot of construction so barriers were up in various places but what an awe inspiring place. I've also been into the paranormal so that was another reason I wanted to visit. Wish we got there earlier so we could have walked around some more and done some more "exploring". I did take some pics, but didn't seem to get anything out of the ordinary but the "spirit box" app (rapidly sweeps thru FM radio frequencies) did seem to catch some voices thought the 5 or 6 recordings I attempted (between 2pm and 4:30pm).
I WILL revisit here, with a little more gear for the paranormal end of it.
As for the visit itself, as stated previously, awe inspiring. Could only imagine it in its heyday. Wow, just.... Wow.
H
They give you an audio player and headphones so u can do an audio guided tour but I and also my fiance decided after the first couple "tracks of the tour" to just go off on our own and explore.
A lot of the cellblocks are closed off just passed the entrance due to years of decay and neglect but the other cell blocks really gave u chills at the thought of being stuck in one of those cells.
Can't wait to see whats going to be different after construction is finished. (And for the paranormal enthusiasts, u know construction/renovations usually hightens activity.)
Must see (again), in my book!!

Super cool. We went in October during the day (not for a Halloween event) and it was still eerie. Lot of history, can only imagine how scary it must be for the Halloween events!

It was pretty cool coming here, learning the history behind it, and having Steve Buscemi doing the audio tour. It's a good reminder of many things in the countries past.

It was an interesting tourist site. I learned many things. The guided headphone tour(included in ticket) aspect is great, it gives you all the basic information in a step by step fashion. The tour is less than an hour. The staff is friendly and helpful. The facility has been maintained well. A must see in Philadelphia.

Amazing experiance, I enjoyed the history behind it and loved looking into the old jail cells, definetly will visit again.

I had an awesome experience coming here a few years ago! Its very informative and exciting to witness something so historical. The prices are inexpensive & the staff was all very friendly. You can either choose a tour guide or explore the place on your own.. I hope to be back soon.

WILL GO BACK AGAIN!

Our Tour guide was Kate. She was by far the most knowledgable, relatable, and flexible tour guide I've ever came across. She loved hearing and answering our questions. She made the tour very relatable to all of us in the group and even spent an extra 40 minutes with our group answering all of our questions.

I had time to do one sightseeing thing after getting into town and didn t want to deal with parking near Independence Hall, so I decided on this place. I am glad that I did. This was a fascinating piece of history and isn t too overrun with tourists. There is a great audio tour that takes around 30 minutes and then you are free to wonder around for as long as you like. I would recommend doing more, since there is a lot you don t see on the main tour. The audio guide continues to cover all these sights. There are signs all over where at certain times volunteers will take you to parts of penitentiary you wouldn t normally see. It s basically a mini private tour. This place is highly recommended if you enjoy history or want a look at somewhere that was a prison for 140 years. Also free street parking!

Awesome!! Only $16 ($12 for students with ID) for an amazing experience. Many cells are open and accessible to the public. Let s not forget Al Capone s fully restored cell! A must see if you re in the area.

An excellent museum to visit. Enjoy the dark theme.

Creepy , spooky, atmospheric place ;) really cool attractions, Al Capone himself was serving his sentence there ! Highly recommend for Halloween and not only , not really sure if it s a place for a whole family , but 12+ years old will find a lot of emotions by visiting.
5 out of 5
Enjoy

Normal Daytime Tour: Wow! This place is cool. There is no other way to explain it. The audio tour is great, and it was really interesting to see how the Pennsylvania Penitentiary system compares to the New York prison system model. Make sure to do the ranger walk/talks. They show you a lot of areas you normally can't see.

Halloween: Holy S**t! This was very scary and really and awesome experience. We did the fright and a bite package (eat at an area restaurant and bio admission to the haunted house) and it was a great night. I really liked doing the Haunted house on the trip after I visited the penitentiary during the summer. I got to see a few areas in the haunted house that are off limits during the non-Halloween times.

Amazing haunted house! I love it here every time I come here.. lines are super long but a lot of fun if you are a fan of Halloween & haunted houses.. parking is very expensive nearby & street parking is nearly impossible to find!

A must see when visiting Philly. Gives a great look into the past and how criminals where treated. Also how the system has changed. Very interesting.

This was a great experience. Steven Buscemi was an excellent tour guide.

Visited with a group and the audio tour was very informative and interesting. There was also the option of additional audio so your tour could be as long as you wanted.
The staff were also very knowledgeable and enthusiastic.
It was a very cold day and inside the prison is just as cold as outside so wrap up warm if its cold out!
Overall great few hours and definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.

Incredible place to visit, the complimentary audio tour is fascinating and thought-provoking. The prison is kept in it's abandoned state and was fun to explore. The exhibit on modern prisons in the USA is essential viewing. Well worth the affordable price of admission, not to be missed.

During your visit, you can face how was and how now is the detention problem in USA. Surely to visit.

Cool place to spend half a day. I have not been to a historical prison before, so this did not disappoint. The outside reminds you of a medieval castle. There are many different areas to explore, although most of the cells seemed to look the same to me. The audio tour gives you insight into what was going on during the time.

One of the top museums I have visited. The self-guided tour, the guide-led tour and hands-on history tours are very well done. All of the staff and volunteers are *very* knowledgeable and friendly. The information you learn about the American penal system is fascinating and is an important part of history. A must-see.

Love this place. For a photographer it is a dream. Been a member for years. Membership helps keep the doors open.

Amazing experience. Quite of a lot of history in this place. The audio tour is very well crafted.

Hey must go open just about every single day also a great place to go for Halloween they put on a awesome show fivestars all the way

Bring your walking shoes! This place is huge and you'll want to walk every hallway staircase at least once! There are mini guide led tours at many times throughout the day so set aside some time for those!

I had a great time here. I didn't do the guided tour but did do the audio tour. There's so much going on here you definitely want to make this a day trip.

It's very good especially at night with horror show

Totally enjoyed my visit, was very informative about the state of penal institutions in that era, the only down side was that it felt a little preachy at times regarding incarceration in America.

I toured the penitentiary on 6/26 and was amazed by what I saw. The prison is huge, and you can learn so much about its history with the audio tour (the main tour is a bit short, but there are other audio stops). Although admission is a little expensive ($14) the audio tour is free, and the prison and its interesting exhibits make a visit worth the expense.

A great way to spend a day. Guided tour not necessary as the audio tour has hours of stories

Great attraction to visit. Affordable. Friendly staff. Tour at your own pace. Close parking. Easy to get to. Definitely worth the time.

A fantastic place which is really good for kids. They take very good care of the people in the neighborhood as well with one day during the month for you can go in for free.

The history and architecture at this prison is amazing. However I was a little confused by the contradicting "artistic" displays of how terrible prison is. I thought that was the point.

It was quite an amazing experience exploring such a historical prison!

A colossal structure dripping with history. Spooky, atmospheric, and impressive all at once. The audio tour makes the experience come alive with narration by former inmates and guards.

Beautiful place to visit. Stunning architecture. At least take about 4 hours to get to know the whole place, the short guided tours are highly recommended. You walk a lot. In winter it's really cold but worth it.

This place is special for so many reasons. A prison house which was closed down but is alive with so many memories. It can actually be a pretty haunting experience as you get to hear the stories of all the prisoners and the conditions in which they were incarcerated. There is an audio tour that helps you make sense of the place. There is also an exhibition about the contemporary prison situation. Even the building, that is the structure is imposing and haunting.

Beautiful place
To do imperatively

Great experience it was spooky but overall it was amazing learning the history of the penitentiary and it's a good place to go with your kids. The service is amazing too and staff are very respectful to people. This place is a MUST SEE for the amazing history and staff!

Went here on our first trip to Philly with my significant other. We purchased the tickets online (you save $2) and went right through with our mobile tickets. Staff was immediately helpful and very polite! Walkable from the Art museum (less than 15 minutes) Lots of stuff to do, and things to see! You also learn so much about incarceration especially in our country now! So many things to see and enjoy you can be here all day long! Very cool to see and cool things to learn. Left with some cute things from the gift shop that weren t too overpriced! Keep up the good work!

Phenomenal prison, very educational. The recommendation is to take an audio tour. Interesting cells and prisoners who stayed.

This piece of history and engineering marvel is amazing. Must see tour with reasonable costs. Absolutely loved it!!

Sad,thoughtful, historical. This should be a must see.

The audio tour was the hallmark of the place for me. Unlike other places where the audio guide is just for getting information about a particular mural, the audio guide here takes you on a journey through the museum. You get to explore the place as it is meant to be explored, everything falling one after another as in a story. I would have liked the audio tour to be longer though.
When at the museum do go to an exhibit behind a bright red door. The exhibit was marked temporary exhibit so it may not be there for long. It had videos, charts, graphs, interactive consoles, to really help understand the overall picture. We usually brand a person as criminal and that's the end of it. This exhibit makes you aware of the finer details. For example why have number of imprisoned people increased exponentially even though the crime rates have largely remained the same?
What is the punitive strategies of different countries?
How does prison affect families of the prisoners?
What punitive methods are most effective?
How to reform criminals so that a chance of relapse is least?
How getting a prison sentence puts a person in a vicious cycle which increases the chances of committing a crime, rather than deterring it?
What are the societal aspects that make a person more prone to committing a crime? How can we mitigate it?
The psychological aspects of solitary confinement.
When you come out of this exhibition you have an understanding different than simple black and white nature of crimes, and criminals.

One of the best prisons I have ever been too! Haha. But really an awesome museum experience. I would definitely go back a second time.

Way better than we expected it would be. Our tour guide Cody really went above and beyond and made the experience more memorable. Really interesting exhibits and history.

Good audio tours. I guess anyone can spend 2hrs here and learn a lot about the Penitentiary. History is well preserved and audio recordings of earlier inmates makes it feel real.

I went with my sister and boyfriend in June 2014. It was a great surprise to find this prison on our spur of the moment trip to Philly! They offer student discounts, so make sure you have your ID!

I found the audio guide to be great especially with specific sections, like Al Capone's cell. I read basically every sign, too. The interactive stories throughout the day held by the employees were very intriguing! Overall, the prison can get a bit confusing (we got lost a few times) considering the centered design of the structure. We were eventually able to find our way and took tons of pictures! Totally recommend if you have the whole day to spare! It's so worth it. Don't rush through.

This is by far the best haunted house I've been to.

Very great place, where you can spend more then just a couple of hours. Very impressive!
But I think they should build a couple or restrooms from the entrance fees ..

Great place, where you can easily spend more than a few hours, very impressive and photogenic place.
Given the entrance prices I think they can build some normal toilets instead of those plastic port cabins, brrrrrrrr

Great audio tour. And such an impressive piece of history.

Great place to visit. Been here on a rainy day and on a sunny day. The rainy day was much scarier because there just isn't as much light so it was way creepier.

The self guided audio tour is pretty good. Lots of stops and information. Definitely bring a bottle of water because you will get thirsty.

The gift shop sells water 2 bottles for $3, so not a bad deal. Would be great if water was available elsewhere on the tour but this is a minor complaint.

Warning-this is still a structure in ruins so it isn't the cleanest place. Lots of water bugs and thousand leggers all around the place so you may want to wear closed toe shoes in the summer.

Some areas are only open at certain times of the day with a tour guide so check the schedule. You won't want to miss the hospital wing!

Parking is available at an adjacent lot. You will need a minimum of two hours here. They have a recharging station for smart phones and it is in an air conditioned room. Woo Hoo!

Some exhibits change as do the art installations. Currently July 2017, there is an exhibit on crime today. There is a place where you can detail your crime or confession and it gets posted as part of the exhibit. Pretty eye opening as to what people have written.

I LOVED the self guided audio tour. I m always up for self guided tours. The building was beautiful and the atmosphere was eerie. My only complaint was that it was pouring out during our visit. But that can t be helped by the staff and all. Was just bad timing on our part. It was still great even through the rain. 10/10. Great place to visit. Will be returning for a night tour as soon as possible!

I really enjoyed going to eastern state penn. Got my future husband to go now he can't wait to go back. We are going this Saturday for mother's day. I love AL CAPONE. So much to see and learn how time has changed. Needless to say the place makes you feel welcome. To those it knows respects them now and then.

The experience at the Eastern State Penitentiary is honestly a very education and enjoyable time. The architecture of the Penitentiary is worth the trip alone: with stone walls up to the 30 feet high, the prison looks more like a castle in the middle of North Philly. The interactive audio tour was extremely engaging, narrated by Steve Buscemi and was a great format to exploring and learning about the prison's history. The most surprising aspect was the "Prisons Today" exhibit at the end, where they examine the changes made to imprisonment in the United States in the 70s and 80s, leading to the current day state of mass incarceration. Definitely a worthwhile trip in Philly for anyone who likes museums or architecture.

Very special attractions, you can experience the facilities of the Dongzhou Correctional Institute at the time. You can participate in the guides in special places, and will show you some different things and introductions!

A lot of history and modern convinces for its time.

If you are in to History, this place is a must. I walked from Center City after passing the site on a tour bus and wanted to see more. Take the fully guided tour...but, caution, ..... the fully guided tour is only once a day, so confirm ahead. The Self guided audio tour is also very good, and is available all day.
The place was built in the 1800 hundreds, and was the first of it's kind in the world. The place closed in 1970.

Plan to spend 1 to 3 hours depending on your interest level. Nice staff. Our tour guild today was a middle-aged man with a southern accent, (sorry I didn't get his name), who loved his job and sharing what he knew about the place and it's deep history. Highly recommend.

One of my favourite locations to visit in Philadelphia. A stunning historic museum with incredibly unique architecture and stories to last you for days. I highly recommend taking the audio tour done by a celebrity you may recognize, it is very well done and is a great way to see the site.

Loved our visit! So much history within those walls. I loved the recorded tour which allowed us to explore at our own pace and soak it all in. Highly recommend and look forward to bringing my other son.

Excellent, lots of learning of history, society and culture, good for all family.

If you could get a video tour to put on google maps that would be awsome.

Great tour! The audio was well narrated and detailed, most of the penitentiary is open to walk through. Great history of inmate life and how it changed of the years, amazing that it was kept intact.

Great Ghost Hunt. This was informative and astonishing.Very active entities ! Super first experience.

Looking down these dreary passages, the dull repose and quiet that prevails, is awful. Occasionally, there is a drowsy sound from some lone weaver s shuttle, or shoemaker s last, but it is stifled by the thick walls and heavy dungeon-door, and only serves to make the general stillness more profound. Over the head and face of every prisoner who comes into this melancholy house, a black hood is drawn; and in this dark shroud, an emblem of the curtain dropped between him and the living world, he is led to the cell from which he never again comes forth, until his whole term of imprisonment has expired .He is a man buried alive; to be dug out in the slow round of year...
- Charles Dickens -

An amazing experience. The audio tour was great and the facility itself was super cool. 3 hours well spent.

Great experience. Interesting history of a local landmark.

Had a great time here. We did the guided tour which offered a couple hours worth of material if you take the time to listen to it all. It was very interesting and I'm glad we stopped by here on our visit to Philly.

Very disappointing. Way too many people at one time. Went about 10yrs ago it was great. This year not so much

This penitentiary is one of the older ones and has a feel similar to Alcatraz. At the moment, self-guided audio tours are available and are very well put together. A lot of the structures are in rough shape but that s what makes it cool. Tours are reasonably priced and there s a lot to see including one of Al Capone s cells!

The most special attraction in Philadelphia. highly recommended! Another reason I like the attraction is that he lets you face the fear in your heart and then stroll around. . Getting used to it slowly

And there is definitely a problem here! After going shopping, my body was cold. I don't think it was cold when I was five times early in the morning. The cold is soaked in the bone marrow

An excellent ride! Very interesting and different. The tour with the audio guide is very well armed, with detailed stories surrounding the jail. Highly recommended