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Eastern State Penitentiary
2027 Fairmount Ave Phone: ☎ +1 215 236-3300About
Eastern State Penitentiary, 2027 Fairmount Ave (at 21st St), ☎ +1 215 236-3300, [1]. 10AM-5PM daily; haunted house: see website. A former prison and National Historic Landmark, which once housed notorious criminals like bank robber Willie Sutton and Al Capone (the former tunneled out), and drew famous visitors like Charles Dickens and Alexis de Tocqueville. It was a progressive institution upon its founding, dedicated to reform, rather than punishment, and the principal new method used to enable the reform process (dubbed the Pennsylvania System) was to keep prisoners in separate confinement (it was then debated whether this would help lead to reform or to mental illness). Today it is open for guided tours by day, and by night around the month of October turns into what has got to be one of the country's most terrifying haunted houses! Children below the age of seven are not permitted to visit, and it's strongly recommended that no children under thirteen attend the haunted house. $12 adults, $10 seniors, $8 students/children.
