Philadelphia, PA; The Eastern State Penitentiary Hospital and Laboratory Wards for the imprisoned. There were laboratories, medical teams and archaic operating rooms. All of the prison walls are decomposing, and the health facilities haven't been used since the prison stopped accepting prisoners in 1971. Having a population over the years of 75,000 prisoners, there was bound to be illnesses, and disease which the prison provided for.

Philadelphia, PA; Eastern State Penitentiary Prison, The original prison was built in 1822- 1836 on a radial plan by John Haviland. Linking solitude with moral and vocational instruction, it exemplified the Pennsylvania System of penology and became a model for over 300 prisons worldwide. One can see the remnants one of the one-celled prisons. The prison walls were 30 feet tall with little chance of escape. The prison closed in 1971.

Philadelphia, PA; All that remains of the men's cell is a toilet and an old radiator in the men’s unit of Eastern State Penitentiary. The prison was closed in 1971 and became a tourist attraction. The decaying prison itself almost becomes a canvas piece of art. The first two female prisoners, Amy Rogers (No. 73) and Henrietta Johnson (No. 74), arrived at Eastern State on April 30, 1831—less than two years after Eastern State opened. Both women were sentenced for manslaughter. Early on, women lived on the gallery of Cellblock 7. Later, they inhabited Cellblock 2. Though kept separate, male and female prisoners sometimes made contact.

Philadelphia, PA; Eastern State Penitentiary Prison, The original prison was built in 1822- 1836 on a radial plan by John Haviland. Linking solitude with moral and vocational instruction, it exemplified the Pennsylvania System of penology and became a model for over 300 prisons worldwide. This view of a shower used by the prisoners. The prisons were so dangerous that often prisoners were attacked while showering. This prison eventually closed in 1971.

Philadelphia, PA; Eastern State Penitentiary. This was an interesting view of the Eastern State Penitentiary showing multiple levels of the prison. The prison closed in 1971 and years of entropy and decomposition show rust, mold, dust and peeling walls taking over. There was also very little natural daylight in the prisons. Prisons represented corruption, poverty, justice, discrimination and human injustice, gangs, state violence, and gun control. Often times, prison sentences are generational. Touring at-risk young men and women through this facility may have prevented the youth from getting into trouble with the law and serving time.

Philadelphia; PA; A look at the brick walls and a broken light fixture used for surveillance should a prisoner escape. Escapes were rare at the prison which was closed in 1971 and later became a tourist attraction. Eastern State housed all kinds of prisoners from 1836 - 1971 who were mostly males. The prison did house an area for a few women. The perimeter walls are 30 feet tall. They hide what’s going on inside, so people had forgotten the history of it, what it represented, the early period of the country. They didn’t realize it was built for prison reform. It’s a powerful building and from this view, one could see a sampling of the radial style prison at the Eastern State Penitentiary.

Philadelphia, PA; A look at the brick walls of the Eastern State Penitentiary prevented prisoners from escaping. The prison was closed in 1971 and became a tourist attraction. The original prison was built in 1822 - 1836 on a radial plan by John Haviland. Linking solitude with moral and vocational instruction, it exemplified the Pennsylvania System of penology and became a model for over 300 prisons worldwide.

Philadelphia, PA; This image was made from the concept of Entropy. In the case of the Eastern State Penitentiary, the roots of a tree and nature reclaim a men's cell at the Eastern State Penitentiary which closed to the prison population in 1971. This image was made with the concept of Entropy. In the case of the Eastern State Penitentiary, operations started in 1829 and entropy or death of the facility started in 1971 when the prison was closed. Years of entropy and decomposition show rust, mold, dust and peeling walls taking over.

Philadelphia, PA. The Eastern State Penitentiary is a former American prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The sign on the lower right welcomes all prisoners of the Jewish faith. Though the Jewish prison population never numbered more than 80 at a single time, there was a strong Jewish presence at the penitentiary dating back to 1845. Local rabbis came to counsel the inmates and provide religious readings. By the early 1920s, after the Pennsylvania System of isolation had been abandoned, Alfred Fleisher, then president of the prison's board of trustees, advocated the construction of a synagogue to better accommodate the needs of the Jewish inmates. Prisoners and local volunteers set out to build the religious center in the former exercise yards of cellblock seven. Inside was an ornate space, with a decorated ceiling and red tiled floor. Benches lined the walls while a reader's table and wooden Torah Ark filled the room. Albert Fleisher joined the inmates for every service at the synagogue until his death in 1928. Later that year, the synagogue was dedicated to Fleisher and a bronze plaque was erected in his memory.

Philadelphia, PA. The Eastern State Penitentiary is a former American prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Eastern State Penitentiary may have Protestant roots, but it also had a Jewish synagogue, which, along with its rich history, was revealed to the public for a limited period in April 2008. Though the Jewish prison population never numbered more than 80 at a single time, there was a strong Jewish presence at the penitentiary dating back to 1845. Local rabbis came to counsel the inmates and provide religious readings. It was an ornate space, with a decorated ceiling and red tiled floor. Benches lined the walls while a reader's table and wooden Torah Ark filled the room. Albert Fleisher joined the inmates for every service at the synagogue until his death in 1928. Later that year, the synagogue was dedicated to Fleisher and a bronze plaque was erected in his memory.

Philadelphia, PA. The Eastern State Penitentiary is a former American prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Eastern State Penitentiary may have Protestant roots, but it also had a Jewish synagogue, which, along with its rich history, was revealed to the public for a limited period in April 2008. Though the Jewish prison population never numbered more than 80 at a single time, there was a strong Jewish presence at the penitentiary dating back to 1845. Local rabbis came to counsel the inmates and provide religious readings.

Philadelphia, PA. Eastern State Penitentiary's most famous prisoner was Al Capone. Al Capone was a Gangster and Bootlegger during Prohibition. Alphonse ‘Scarface’ Capone was arrested outside of a Philadelphia movie theater for carrying a concealed, unlicensed .38 caliber revolver. He was given the maximum sentence of seven months and lived in a luxurious Park Avenue cell furnished with fine furniture, Oriental rugs, a polished desk, a radio, a chest of drawers, a bed and oil paintings. His prison cell became a major attraction at the Penitentiary. Often accused of hiding in prison at a time when violence was high, Capone spent thousands of dollars trying to get released. Al ‘Scarface’ Capone died in 1947.