But what's a "preserved ruin" you ask?

They’re maintaining it just enough so that the structure won’t deteriorate in any major way.  Most areas in ESP are completely safe for visitors of all ages.  And those areas that aren’t so safe?  Well…you can look…but you can’t touch.

Solitary or Sardines?

When ESP opened prisoners were kept in small cells which individual outdoor exercise areas.  (From what I saw it looked to be about the size of a dorm room.  WHAT? I s’pose they were able to run a couple laps?  Maybe?).  The time they spent outdoors was staggered with the time their cell neighbors spent outside in an attempt to hold them truly incommunicado. The guards even wore wool socks over their boots to prevent any sounds from reverberating down the cell block.
<shudder>
It’s nice to be alone every now and again but I think that’s ground from some serious mental illness.

After prison populations started to rise the very same single man cells were converted to hold four inmates.  Four?  Again with the mental illness!

So..what’s your preference?  Alone or Not alone?

Let Them Eat Tastykake!

If I haven’t fully convinced you of the awesome-ness that is The Eastern State Penitentiary then chickity-check yourself (before you wreck yourself) a few of the events scheduled for 2008.

• 7/01/2008  Free Screening of the Shawshank Redemption. 9pm. (Doors open 8-8:45pm) FREE!
• 7/12/2008 Bastille Day! 5:30pm (Beware of flying butterscotch krimpets. A Marie Antoinette impersonator throwing tastykakes from the towers. Need I say more?)
• 8/2 and 8/3 2008 Willie Sutton/Tunnel Escape Weekend.
• 9/12/2008 Shhh! It’s a Secret Cinema.  For $8 bucks you will see a movie projected on the cell blocks.
• 10/4/2008 Bring your jackets.  It’s the Members only photography contest.
• 9/19-11/2/2008 Terror Behind the Walls.
• Plus many more!!

ESP on the Screen

• Ghosthunters and MTV’s Fear both searched for supernatural occurences.
• Twelve Monkeys (1995) filmed here. (OMG. Brad Pitt was TOTALLY there!).
• The Dead Milkmen filmed their video for “Punk Rock Girl” at ESP.
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2008) also filmed at ESP.

Paranormal Activity

Considering the way inmates were held and the magnitude of their crimes it should be no surprise that The ESP is considered to be one of the most haunted places in the United States.
Visitors have been known to hear whispering, giggling, and weeping coming from inside the prison.
WHAT?  I didn’t hear any of THAT business. (Although, I did have those headphones on most of the time).

So, do you believe?

If you're into the ghosties on the serious tip...

ESP is available for private tours of groups of 15 or more. And you can come at night, if you’re brave enough. But come prepared.  It’s B.Y.O.EMF.D (That’s Bring Your Own EMF Detector for all you non ghost-hunting readers).

Did you know...

...just five blocks north of the Philadelphia Museum of Art is the “preserved ruin” of the Eastern State Penitentiary?  Hey,  that’s close enough to walk.  Come on!  As my dad would say “Go outside and get the stink blown off ya!”

Sorry folks. It does cost a bit to maintain this monster of a Philadelphia attraction, and you know what that means.

I’m a fan of free.  But in order to get inside the walls it’ll cost ya. 

This is what is included in your admission:

• The Voices of Eastern State Audio Tour
  
• Art Installations currently on display
  
• Special Guided Tours happening at various times throughout the day

Here’s my lil’ insider tip.  DO THE AUDIO TOUR!  I’m no self-guided audio tour expert, however, the ESP version rocks!  Steve Buscemi narrates but you also get to hear bits and pieces of the history told by actual inmates.  It’s well worth wearing the geeky headphones! (And super fun to try to synchronize with your friends).

Scarface spent some time...

No, not the movie.  The REAL deal…Al “Scarface” Capone was imprisoned in ESP for eight months in 1929.  Check out his cell compared to the regular cells.  I guess being Amercia’s Best Known Gangster has it’s benefits.

If you're into the ghosties on the commercial tip...

It’s probably not exactly like doing a real paranormal investigation.  But if you would rather spend some loot for a thrill that won’t keep you up at night then Terror Behind the Wall is just for you.

Rachel Ray has been quoted as believing it to be “the SCARIEST haunted house in America”.  (Seriously, she did.  I read it right on the testimonials page).