Give the gift of membership to Eastern State Penitentiary! Members receive exciting and exclusive benefits, like free daytime admission, invitations to exclusive events, discounts to ticketed …

From solitary worship to the construction of the first ever prison synagogue, this month's Unlocking History video focuses on the practice of Judaism at Eastern State Penitentiary.

Eastern State preserves America's first penitentiary, advancing public understanding of the criminal justice system and its impact on the lives of those affected by it, to inspire a more just future.

Eastern State Penitentiary America's Most Historic Prison 2027 Fairmount Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19130 (215) 236-3300 Email us

Thousands of visitors tour Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site every week without incident. That said, Eastern State Penitentiary was abandoned for more than 20 years and remains in a state of …

This 45-minute tour is led by an Eastern State educator and explores the penitentiary’s complex history, its ongoing relevance to contemporary social issues, and sets the stage for conversation about the …

In 1821, at the urging of the Society, the Pennsylvania legislature approved funding to build Eastern State Penitentiary, a first-of-its-kind prison designed to encourage regret or “penitence” through a …

Every visit to Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site is unique! ESPHS offers a variety of tours, exhibits, programs, and other dynamic ways to engage with this iconic site’s powerful history and reflect on …

This program explores how postwar reforms, shifting labor systems, and emerging state and local policies influenced patterns of incarceration and social order in the late nineteenth and early …

Built to the scale of Eastern State’s walls, this massive, three-dimensional bar graph sculpture illustrates the unprecedented growth in the United States’ incarceration rates since 1900. It also shows the …