Monday, June 15, 2009

Eastern State Penitentiary

Looking along the wall toward a guard post on the right

The central guardhouse with clock Medieval looking turret on the corner seen from outside
The remains of a cell Looking down a row of stacked cells in black and white As I mentioned the other day, I went to see the old Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. It was used from 1829 to 1971. This place is pretty amazing. It was closed and left to the elements for decades and has the water damage to prove it. A few interesting tidbits that I gathered are that it was the world's first penitentiary, it was very innovative in its time with a wheel spoke type design and over the years modern conveniences were added here before most people got them on the outside. The walls are really high. It reminds me of an old fortress.

I hope to go back and take one of the tours so I can find out more about this interesting place.
I'll post more pictures over time.
This my "My World Tuesday" post. If you would like to see My World posts from other blogs, please click here.

37 comments:

cieldequimper said...

OK... Now I know. I thought Pen was that kind of abbreviation.

Julie said...

These shots make me very happy I am on the right side of the law, lOL. Great shots.

Cezar and Léia said...

Spooky !
Anyway, beautiful pictures!I really don't know if I would like to visit this place.Looks sad.When we visited San Francisco , Cezar was very keen on to visit Alcatraz.I need to confess it wasn't make my mind!Fortunately for me and unfortunately for him we couldn't visit because it was sold out in that weekend.
LOL ;-))
"Boy's toys"
Léia

Lois said...

Fascinating pictures! I will look forward to seeing more.

david mcmahon said...

Looks like a place with a million stories to tell, James.

In answer to your question, yes, Australia has a huge basketball fraternity and the news of the Lakers was VERY big here.

Wolynski said...

Looks really ominous, like a horror flick, but interesting to visit. Not as bad as the dungeons in European castles. Great photos.

Latane Barton said...

a sad place, left to stand alone in the elements. Reminders of the bad part of this world.

Martha Z said...

Very interesting, it does look a bit like a midevil castle.

Elisabeth's bright side said...

Great pictures from this place of horror. A place full of pain like Bastillen and d'If I think. Have a great week!

Guy D said...

Very cool shots James, I love the old rockwalls. The last pic is amazing.

Have a great week
Guy
Regina In Pictures

Sylvia K said...

Fantastic photos, James! And what an interesting old building! Like Guy, I find the last shot amazing!

Have a great week!

Marja said...

It really looks like an old catle but inside it is a bit scary

Mary Elizabeth said...

Interesting! I love the last photo.
Thanks for sharing your world.
Now and Then

Ebie said...

That's interesting info! I look forward to your photos and posts too!

2sweetnsaxy said...

Great shots and I enjoyed the info you shared about this place. Can't imagine ever having to live in something like that.

SandyCarlson said...

That's enough to make me behave!

Sally in WA said...

Great photos of the pen in Penn.

penny said...

Now this is a place I only want to visit from the outside. Thanks for the journey.

alicesg said...

Wow so lovely. It looked like a scene from the movie. Thanks for sharing.

Eve said...

That looks like a lot of architectural work. What an interesting location!

Gaelyn said...

Such an interesting combination of architecural designs. Love the Black and White. Interesting post and gret captures.

Irene said...

Whoa, thanks for the tour of this place and a bit about its history. Hope to come back for more...

VP said...

Great set of images of a sad but fascinating place.

Oman said...

These are beautiful shots. I would have the time of my life just exploring the place. Great Job.

crocrodyl said...

Wow, I'm not sure if it is a "nice" place:) but no doubt that it is fascinating. Very impressive photos. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

great images from a world long gone. :)

www.metrobloggen.se/nfphoto

Arija said...

An interesting post, I have only oce been inside an old prison and was overpowered with alll the gruesome things that had gon onthere before. Don't think I'd dare to go into another one. I am a bit too receptive.

Carver said...

Great shots of that imposing penitentiary. It looks very secure. Would hate to be stuck there.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

James: I'm so glad I never went there. Great set of photos from the prison.

Janie said...

This does resemble a medieval fortress. Fascinating tour and photos.

Lowell said...

Delicious photos, James. It certainly looks like an old European fort...which may be what it was modeled after. Enjoyed the pics!

Unknown said...

Wonderful images !!

Looking at places like this, made me really glad that I'm leading a law abiding life !!!

Susan at Stony River said...

I love that black and white one best of all, but they're all great photos. I used to work in a prison... yes it's a cheery place!
NOT!
Wonderful MWT.

Anonymous said...

Fascinating series of photographs beautifully presented!
Hugs and blessings,

Martha said...

You might convince me to go!
Check it out at Halloween, I think they have some extra events (at least I believe they used to!)

Tanya Breese said...

If those walls could talk! What an eerie place, definitely go back and take the tour! I went through the old Yuma prison, it was really creepy!

Anonymous said...

You did a great job capturing the haunting feel of the place. Modern conveniences or not, I wouldn't want to be sentenced to serve time there.