Eastern State Penitentiary Wikipedia. The Eastern State Penitentiary, also known as ESP, is a former American prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located at 2. Fairmount Avenue between Corinthian Avenue and North 2. Street in the Fairmount section of the city, and was operational from 1. The penitentiary refined the revolutionary system of separate incarceration first pioneered at the Walnut Street Jail which emphasized principles of reform rather than punishment. Notorious criminals such as Al Capone and bank robber Willie Sutton were held inside its innovative wagon wheel design. James Bruno Big Joe and several male relatives were incarcerated here between 1. Kelayres Massacre of 1. At its completion, the building was the largest and most expensive public structure ever erected in the United States,8 and quickly became a model for more than 3. The prison is currently a U. S. National Historic Landmark,4 which is open to the public as a museum for tours seven days a week, twelve months a year, 1. Historyedit. Eastern State Penitentiarys 1. Designed by John Haviland and opened on October 2. Eastern State is considered to be the worlds first true penitentiary. Eastern States revolutionary system of incarceration, dubbed the Pennsylvania system or separate system, encouraged separate confinement the warden was legally required to visit every inmate every day, and the overseers were mandated to see each inmate three times a day as a form of rehabilitation. The Pennsylvania System was opposed contemporaneously by the Auburn system also known as the New York system, which held that prisoners should be forced to work together in silence, and could be subjected to physical punishment Sing Sing prison was an example of the Auburn system. Although the Auburn system was favored in the United States, Eastern States radial floor plan and system of solitary confinement was the model for over 3. Originally, inmates were housed in cells that could only be accessed by entering through a small exercise yard attached to the back of the prison only a small portal, just large enough to pass meals, opened onto the cell blocks. This design proved impractical, and in the middle of construction, cells were constructed that allowed prisoners to enter and leave the cell blocks through metal doors that were covered by a heavy wooden door to filter out noise. The halls were designed to have the feel of a church. Some believe that the doors were small so prisoners would have a harder time getting out, minimizing an attack on a security guard. Others have explained the small doors forced the prisoners to bow while entering their cell. This design is related to penance and ties to the religious inspiration of the prison. The cells were made of concrete with a single glass skylight, representing the Eye of God, suggesting to the prisoners that God was always watching them. Outside the cell was an individual area for exercise, enclosed by high walls so prisoners could not communicate. A goat that was extremely bored, ornery, or both decided to smash in the front door of polyurethane manufacturer Argonics Inc. Colorado office this weekend, and. The Eastern State Penitentiary, also known as ESP, is a former American prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located at 2027 Fairmount Avenue between. When you installed Microsofts Word Flow keyboard on your iPhone, you probably thought it was an app or extension. Turns out, it was an experiment, an. Exercise time for each prisoner was synchronized so no two prisoners next to each other would be out at the same time. Prisoners were allowed to garden and even keep pets in their exercise yards. When a prisoner left his cell, an accompanying guard would wrap a hood over his head to prevent him from being recognized by other prisoners. Cell accommodations were advanced for their time, including a faucet with running water over a flush toilet, as well as curved pipes along part of one wall which served as central heating during the winter months where hot water would be run through the pipes to keep the cells reasonably heated. Toilets were remotely flushed twice a week by the guards of the cellblock. How to Build a Profitable, Low Danger, Riot Free Prison in Prison Architect. It is entirely possible to legitimately build a riot free, low danger. Get the latest breaking news across the U. S. on ABCNews. com. InformationWeek. com News, analysis and research for business technology professionals, plus peertopeer knowledge sharing. Engage with our community. One of the two story cell blocks in Eastern State Penitentiary. The original design of the building was for seven one story cell blocks, but by the time cell block three was completed, the prison was already over capacity. All subsequent cell blocks had two floors. Toward the end, cell blocks 1. They were built and designed by prisoners. Cell block 1. 5 was for the worst behaved prisoners, and the guards were gated off from there entirely. Inmates were punished with the individual treatment system. At the time this form of punishment was thought to be most effective. They would be separated from others. In 1. 92. 4, Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot allegedly sentenced Pep The Cat Murdering Dog an actual dog to a life sentence at Eastern State. Prison Architect Alpha 11 Windows' title='Prison Architect Alpha 11 Windows' />Pep allegedly murdered the governors wifes cherished cat. Prison records reflect that Pep was assigned an inmate number no. C2. 55. 9, which is seen in his mug shot. However, the reason for Peps incarceration remains a subject of some debate. A contemporary newspaper article reported that the governor donated his own dog to the prison to increase inmate morale. On April 3, 1. Willie Sutton, who over the course of a year managed to dig an undiscovered 9. During renovations in the 1. How To Install Windows Update Cab Files For Windows. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1. The prison was closed in 1. Many prisoners and guards were transferred to Graterford Prison, about 3. Eastern State. The City of Philadelphia purchased the property with the intention of redeveloping it. The site had several proposals, including a mall and a luxury apartment complex surrounded by the old prison walls. During the abandoned era from closing until the late 8. The prison also became home to many stray cats. In 1. 98. 8, the Eastern State Penitentiary Task Force successfully petitioned Mayor Wilson Goode to halt redevelopment. In 1. 99. 4, Eastern State opened to the public for historic tours. End of the solitary confinement systemedit. A typical cell in restored condition. The solitary confinement system eventually collapsed due to overcrowding problems. By 1. 91. 3, Eastern State officially abandoned the solitary system and operated as a congregate prison until it closed in 1. Eastern State was briefly used to house city inmates in 1. Holmesburg Prison. The remains of the barber shop. The prison was one of the largest public works projects of the early republic, and was a tourist destination in the 1. Notable visitors included Charles Dickens and Alexis de Tocqueville while notable inmates included Willie Sutton and Al Capone in 1. Visitors spoke with prisoners in their cells, proving that inmates were not isolated, though the prisoners themselves were not allowed to have any visits with family or friends during their stay. Most of the early prisoners were petty criminals incarcerated for various robbery and theft charges muggers, pickpockets, purse snatchers, burglars, etc. The Penitentiary was intended not simply to punish, but to move the criminal toward spiritual reflection and change. While some have argued that the Pennsylvania System was Quaker inspired, there is little evidence to support this the organization that promoted Eastern States creation, the Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons todays Pennsylvania Prison Society was less than half Quaker, and was led for nearly fifty years by Philadelphias Anglican bishop, William White. Proponents of the system believed strongly that the criminals, exposed, in silence, to thoughts of their behavior and the ugliness of their crimes, would become genuinely penitent.