Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, Inc Reviews

The tour was very informative I learned so much in saw so much the history was very rich and insightful there was not one boring moment

Best tours I ve been too yet! Would recommend! Lots of history to find!!!

Very cool place. I could spend a whole day there looking at the different parts of the old prison. Nice tour guides have a lot of cool stories.

Amazing site! Beautiful building with an incredible history. The audio tour was great.

The grounds are in incredible shape and the building is still in tact. My family and I enjoyed the audio tour and learned quite a bit. The audio tour was a little pricy in my opinion, but it didn t detract from the experience.

It is the world's first educational purpose prison and is a small cell division facility. It has a structure in which about 14 cell block buildings extend radially around the center. You can see about 7 cell blocks, most of which are unrepaired, and a few cells have been repaired and art sculptures are installed. As soon as you enter the prison entrance, there is a souvenir shop and a meeting room on the left hand side.

Fascinating look at what used to be. Incarceration rates in this country, esp of Black people, part of our national shame.

Eastern State Penitentiary is an awesome place to check out any time of year, especially Halloween. I love the history of this prison complex and all the history it holds. I would definitely recommend any & everyone to visit the prison at least once, you wouldn't be left disappointed.

Please dont watch the preview video before you go. The Haunted house was a HUGE JOKE. I been to Haunted Attractions way better then this in my home town. Way over priced and not scary. I was highly disappointed about Break Out. The Preview movie and the haunted attraction for Break Out are tooo totally different things. Hell I think the preview for it was way better. Also the haunted attractions were very small. Need to work on timing groups really ruined the effect of the haunted attraction. People were scared and screaming right in front of me and no actors got to reset in time. I tried to wait it out and the actors kept on telling me to move on. Very disappointed this Attraction was my last stop in Philadelphia and it ruined my whole Philadelphia trip. If you have haunted attractions at your place stay there or try something else out. They were all hyped up about OPT IN. Thought they were going to have a shirt that said ( Are You Brave Enough To Opt In ) well they had that for only STAFF. Really disappointed about that. The building its self was great. Save your money people or do the day tour.

I really had fun. The only thing I wish was that I had come here in the fall for the first time. I will be making another visit as soon as summer is over. The audio tour was informative and fantastically narrated by none other than actor Steve Buscemi. I was also able to take a few wonderful photos.

This place is incredible. It is a photographers playground. All the different elements, things around the corners, surprising turns and twists, and textures ... depending on time of day you are there the natural light changes every section and cell...FUN! Take the audio tour. The facts and survivor stories are really fascinating. The day we went they were having samples of prison cuisine which made it that much more interesting. Not sure I would call it spooky, but I can see where some may think it is spooky. The hospital ward was a bit creepy. I think I read somewhere they do night tours? Not sure but that would be a bit spooky. I know must people will think "Why would I want to go to a run down prison ward?" Listen - I am telling you it is really enjoyable with the audio tour. One thing to note - the bathrooms are large size port-a-potty. So if you are squeamish regarding bathrooms you may want to hit up one of restaurant bathrooms across the street. -Travelationship

Very interesting place to visit. The audio guides are great. I would recommend them over the tour. They were much more informative. That said, our tour guide was clearly new at the job and we might have had better luck with a guide who had been there longer.

This was a great historical experience and I would recommend for all ages. We did a guided audio tour which was pretty cool and could be followed at your own pace. It was very interesting taking a step back in time looking at this prison. So much is intact so it is easy to see the reality. I was disappointed that the Al Capone cell was closed for preservation but it was still pretty cool to read about his stay there. Walking around seeing all the ruins of the small dark cells is kinda eerie/ spooky which makes it even more fascinating to me. I went nice an early at 10am and left around 12:30pm. Probably could have used another half hour but I had to leave. The place is so big that it did not seem crowded at all as we walked around. Price was reasonably at $14 (online). Be prepared to do a lot of walking but totally worth it!

I highly recommend visiting Eastern State Penitentiary if you are visiting Philadelphia. This place is great for adults and children as well. For the kids, they have a scavenger hunt and get a prize at the end. You get to learn quite a lot about life was like at this old prison.

I was not expecting to have this much fun at this one place. Great artist exhibits within the main attraction. I didn t expect to spend as much time here as I did. A Philly must see.

I did not expect much before visiting this penitentiary ... I was impressed. Even if it is abandoned obsolete, it is not less impressive. It is easy to imagine the lives of prisoners, including that of a distinguished guest: Al Capone. The visit is worthwhile, audioguides are available for free.

A real gem in Philly that I visited for the first time today. You could easily spend 2 hours here. There is plenty to see. The admission price included a headset for an audio tour which was really informative. Not too interactive but plenty to see. Al Capone also has a prison cell here, the first prison synagogue is here. Nice staff as well. Most people I talk to have been here for the Halloween horror events but not for the actual penitentiary tour. Check it out.

We took a tour of this penitentiary. It was very interesting and educational. I really enjoyed the time I spent here although I was able to leave at any time.

Amazing place to visit!! Not only is it very informative and richly historical it is just a cool looking place. We took the tour with the headset and it was awesome!! Highly recommend!!

More info than I wanted to know. Awesome self-guided tour. Cool architecture and interesting and sad to imagine it in its day. I would recommend this to everyone visiting anywhere near Philadelphia.

Very Interesting and historical place to visit while in Philly. Spooky!

Omg! This is an amazing place to go to. You are guided by headset and the voice of Steve Buscemi. It s amazing that people, albeit criminals lived in a place like that. You can spend hours looking at all the sights. We spent 1 1/2. We even saw Al Capone s cell.

I went about 7 years ago during the Halloween season, and it was amazing! Especially with the fact that you felt like you were in a horror movie simply because of where you were! In a real haunted prison. It made everything so much scarier, and I'm definitely going back now that I'm returning to the area.

Plan to spend atleast 2 hrs, the audio tour covers only a small section, there are many other areas to visit and that can easily take another 1 hr. Try to the feel the silence as you move around, especially the cells. The penitentiary is really huge so wear good shoes and carry water and snacks. The exhibits are well marked to audio sections. The gift shop there has good souvenirs so be sure to get one! Parking may not be easy to find, but the large pay parking lot is a good one.

Very historic, beautiful architecture, wonderful gift shop, they give you the choice of a live person guided tour or you can use a radio and headset and go at your own pace. it's very historic. They are very busy reclaiming all parts how's the prison how's the prison. I recommend this stopover for both family and kids, it's a wonderful learning experience but some walking can be a little difficult.the Terror Behind the Walls events for Halloween are also something you want to go see but I don't recommend it to small children.

This is a great place to visit. Allow lots of time. The self guided tour is very good. Photography nuts, this is fabulous. Good information and intriguing. Sad history.

Beautifully preserved, very unique piece of important American history. A must when in Philly.

It was a fun time when I went to terror behind the walls event

Great place to tour. Make sure to clear some time in your day because it s a big place. You re provided Walkman style devices to guide you along the way. You can also opt for guided tours. (Pre-COVID)

My son and I went on a daytime tour. It was really interesting. Steve Buscemi is the narrator on the audio tour - which was a great choice by the prison. Spent just over an hour there. Easy to get to and a public parking lot is just next door. Reasonably priced - even the gift shop. Definitely recommend.

The prison built in 1820s, abandoned in 1971 with most parts are still standing in the original and rotting state. Around 300 prisons worldwide were modelled after the hub and spoke layout of this prison, as such making it one of the most influential prisons in the world. Here there is a cell purported to be Al Capone s.

ESP give great tours to school groups. I highly recommend it for middle and high school students.

A must see when visiting Philadelphia! So much history. Just amazing how everything is so well preserved & left as is Could feel the presence of ghosts ... Gift shop was very reasonably priced and offered unique items..

I had fun here .. lots of info all around .. it takes a bit of time to walk around so plan ahead ! Parking for a car can be found next to the penitentiary not to bad in price ! But it s located near some mass transit !

I went on Halloween at midnight thinking it was going to be scary, Really DISAPPOINTED, I wasn't scared at all, they should just make it groups of 4-6 not 30+ people with you.

Really good time, tons of information in the audio tour. Everyone was really nice working there, and around the neighborhoods.

The audio tour is really good, you can explore and get to know something different at every corner of it

I really enjoyed the audio tour. I do wish that they would stagger people more with the physical distancing requirement. I felt bad about holding people up or having to wait on the people in front of me who were taking lots of family photos. I was ok with waiting, but I think they felt rushed with me waiting.

Parking was pretty easy and I walked around a bit before the tour. I think they're doing a good job keeping things clean and accommodating needs and questions.

One of the most interesting places I've been to in Philadelphia.

Absolutely Fantastic. Guides are friendly and knowledgeable. Took the family (6 yr old, 8 yr old girls) and they loved it. Self guided tour, coupled to the plentiful short behind the scenes tours was brilliant. Can't recommend it highly enough. Hats off to the staff and volunteers.

Visit the esp, trust me very well worth the time :)

Had a fantastic time here, staff was very knowledgeable!!! Wish we would have gotten there at 10 when they opened, so much we didn't get to see but we will definitely be back!!!

Beautiful nice garden well kept grounds and extremely historical

Best audio tour I've ever been on and the place is miraculous to walk around. Eerily beautiful. Underrated! Occasionally you'll see protestors, but what they don't know is at the end there's a plethora of information on how to be more aware with how to take action against rising imprisonment.

This place.... where do I begin? It is a historical prison that was closed in 1971 and is open for anyone to wander on their own to learn its history. Admission price is very affordable and you get the headphones that talk about the prison included with admission. Also included with admission is private tours of areas in the prison that are closed off, such as the hospital (operating and psychiatric rooms), synagogue, dining hall and punishment cells (in the Cellar!!!!). The prison is in it's natural state of ruin, but the floors are sweeped and it is easy to walk through. There are plenty of benches in each cellblock for one to sit and take it all in.

This place is a photographer's dream! The photo that one can take is neverending. This prison is creepy and beautiful. The cells have broken walls so the outside light comes in and it casts an eerily light into the cells.... its amazing!

Staff are sweethearts and there is a souvenir shop inside the prison. I have absolutely no complaints about this place. Bring kids, bring elderly, bring everyone... this is so interesting to walk through (and it is wheelchair accessible).

PLUS - Terror Behind the Wall is now happening at night. Two huge gargoyles at the prison's entrance is a part of that, so go during October to see them.

If you love history and photography, you're going to love this place. Photographers playground with a lot of awesome shot opportunities.

They have done an excellent job of maintaining the building as a ruin and keeping that eerie abandoned feel. They have done just enough restoration to keep the place from falling down and it looks amazing.

The audio tour is excellent and very informative, providing a lot of cool facts and stories from the prison throughout the years. There are some places you can not access for safety reasons because of the instability of the almost 200 year old structure.

This prison is truly remarkable and a must see if you are in Philadelphia, even if it is for just one day. Admission is a very reasonable $14 and well worth it. Remember to wear comfortable shoes, you will be doing a lot of walking.

5 stars for the super amazing staff here!!! The audio tour was great too :)

I went on the weekend, so street parking was free and pretty easy to find. Couldn't go wrong with the admission price either.

Very very interesting museum with an audio tour guide and a lot of interactions. Highly recommended museum for everyone who visits Philadelphia and not just wants to know about the prison in Philadelphia but the overall prison situation in the US

Awesome experience at this prison been here time after time and still finding and experiencing new things love this place and that's not easy for me

Went with some friends and did the self guided tour with headsets. It was really interesting to learn the history of the jail and see how prisoners used to be held. Could spend all day there and not see everything.

Before going to Philadelphia I had visiting this place on my "maybe" list, but I am sure glad I decided to go!

This visit was historical, educational and informative about both past and current prison systems in the United States.

I found the audio tour very well done, as well I really enjoyed the new exhibit about crime in America today. I found the graph about incarceration rates in countries all over the world very interesting and well done.

I recommend this interesting, chilling and educational experience to anyone that visits Philadelphia.

So cool to see the cells. The paint is chipping for rom the walls though

Amazing history - free street parking, so much to see. There is an audio tour but that only lasts around 45 minutes and isn't everything. So many cells are art exhibits. We spent 2.5 hours but you could spend more. Also, amazing staff, so helpful

I had a wonderfully frightful time with my daughter

It is a tourist attraction, but it also has a feeling of grim to it. It's just a very interesting place to visit.

ps. I photoshop the pictures so that they look like Silent Hill. It doesn't actually look this gruesome.

Buy tickets on their website $2 cheaper or Retail me not coupon $5 off pp.

Do this.

I am struggling for words to describe the power of this museum, so I will start with the easy stuff.

The pricing is very good considering you get the run of the entire facility and can easily spend half a day at least.

The tour is very good. It is self guided and they provide you with an audio player. There are also guided parts that are free and have times and locations listed clearly throughout the facility.

The Prison is stunning and largely a ruin. In fact the operators have resisted restoring or updating the buildings choosing instead to keep them as they are and simply stop any further deterioration. I think this is the right choice and it makes for a powerful experience. It was cold though so bring a sweatshirt (or maybe don't and remember what the men and women incarcerated here felt on a daily basis).

The tour itself, as well as the exhibit on prisons in the US today were powerful reminders of what we, in mainstream society, go to great lengths to cover up and forget. We lock up more people per capita in this country than anywhere else in the world and Eastern State was the first modern prison. I think the museum does an incredible job of putting together all of the historical lessons learned at that prison and educating us, the visitors.

10/10 would feel really bad about myself and my country again.

Very interesting building showing the history of one of the oldest prisons

the metal bars were delicious and so was the sweat of my victims

Very interesting historical day out. Excellent audio tours. Additional mini guided tours throughout the day give you access to additional areas of the prison.

Audio tour was very good. We went there in Nov and the place was very chilly. For their credit they provide a heater in the central area. If you don't like the cold, better not visit the place in the colder time.

Interesting place and very informative tour guide, wish i knew more about the place before going

SOOO much bang for your buck. This amazing historical adventure is well worth it and should be made by everyone!

Esp has the best haunted house for Halloween. Long lines to get in but it is worth it.

Interesting attractions, you can also visit the cell where Al Kapone spent 9 months

the ghosts here are really nice. they don't like scaring people at all

Excellent museum, it was fascinating to see and learn about. I enjoyed that they also taught about modern prisons and showed how out of control mass incarceration has gotten.
Terror Behind Walls event was a ton of fun too. Very spooky, but make sure you sign up for an earlier slot. It's still plenty dark and the real lines don't form until later.

One of the best experiences Philadelphia has to offer

My favorite attraction in Philly. the history is amazing, the place is super cool looking, especially at Halloween. The audio tour is free and Steve Buscemi narrates, which is awesome. You also have carte blanche to explore the place which is cool. And student discounts!

Awesome, must visit. Took my 12 and 17 year old and loved it. Bundle up!

A truly incredible place to visit. Spent 2.5 hours and easily could have stayed longer. A great educational experience along with a really unique experience.

This is regarding the Halloween set up: Stay away from here. My daughter went and got physically hurt by one of the actors. He went way past the point of being funny and hurt her neck. She has red marks on her neck. I am so angry about this. We keep trying to call but the line is always busy. She asked the actor to stop but he pressed harder on her neck. This is unacceptable.

It was intense being inside this two hundred year old prison. I was fascinated, loved the spell-binding tour and relieved when we got outside. I heard the prison puts on a great Halloween event. I bet it s spectacular.

It was a great experience. They clean up some but just leaving preserved. It spooky and awesome at the same time.

It is a highly recommended visit if you are visiting Philadelphia, it is a jail practically without restoring, this is how they left it when they left it, it is simply arranged to facilitate the visit to the tourist. This is always appreciated, they leave you a free audio guide and explain how life was in this old jail