The Eastern State Penitentiary looms over Philadelphia like an ominous fortress.

The first time I visited the city was in 2019, and I was struck by the abandoned prison's dark force as my family drove past. Once a prominent prison for famous inmates, today Eastern State is abandoned but does offer daily tours for $16.

After finally making my way to tour the prison and spending three hours inside its walls, I left with goosebumps. This is what it's like inside the now-abandoned Eastern State Penitentiary.

The looming and ominous building sits on 9.8 acres of land in Philadelphia's Fairmount neighborhood. When the prison was built in 1829, it was on the outskirts of Philadelphia. But the city expanded around the prison walls, so it now stands awkwardly within the metropolis.

It was surprising to find out that on the other side of the wall, the windows don't exist and the towers have no entrances. The whole exterior is just a facade.

The fortress-like architecture was meant to scare people away and keep prisoners inside its walls. In fact, the towers and windows on the exterior are not functional and are all for show.

Once I stepped through the main lobby, I was given a map of the premises and learned about the intricate layout of the inner prison

Inmates would enter the prison through this hallway and go through the intake process.

At the end of the hallway is an open room with vaulted ceilings.

In 1787, some thought criminals were victims of their environment and the only way to curb criminal acts was through solitude.

The Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons was formed to create a "house of repentance," or a prison where each inmate never left his or her cell. The goal was to prompt inner reflection and to ensure regret or penitence for one's actions. The Eastern State Penitentiary was the first prison in the world to do this.

For 23 hours a day, the only light inmates saw light came through a small window in the ceiling.
The Eastern State Penitentiary became known for its vaulted ceilings that were made to resemble a chapel. The small skylight in the vaulted ceiling was meant to be a direct view of the heavens, but, in reality it was the inmate's only connection to the outside world.

Announcement due to my data balance I'll end here Good morning everyone.



Source: https://www.insider.com/eastern-state-penitentiary-philadelphia-tour-2019-7#for-23-hours-a-day-the-only-light-inmates-saw-light-came-through-a-small-window-in-the-ceiling-10

Na here fit the typical Nigerian politician.

Sometimes, I wonder if people really know the meaning of the word "creepy"...

Sometimes, I feel it is often misused.

For me, asides from the fact or prior knowledge that the building in those pictures was used as a prison, there is absolutely nothing creepy about it.

To me, it is nothing but an impressive looking fotress-esque piece of architecture. Wonder who designed it?

Missyajoke:
The fortress-like architecture was meant to scare people away and keep prisoners inside its walls. In fact, the towers and windows on the exterior are not functional and are all for show.

My point exactly.

It does looks every inch a fortress. Massive, imposing, impregnable, formidable, idomitable- throw in all the right adjectives.

Only one thing is missing though- a moat.

OP dey wait who go send am data before e finish the post....

This is Nairaland not dataland o

it looks very scary. only God knows the offenses of people sent here

Reading alone sends shivers of fever down me, no window, no light.

See fine house.

FB accounts for sale, contact in Siggy

Informative.

Meanwhile

Umu Igbo no na ulo ma na mba, udo diri unu
O buru na I bu ezigbo onye Igbo, cheta kwa aku luo ulo.
Le kwa anya na signature ka I juo maka iwurite ulo, i zuta ala, ime ala survey, na ife ndi ozo.
Akala ekwe-nti mu bu kwa efu, asato, efu, isii, ano, ano, asaa, ato, ano, ano, ato. Udo diri umu Igbo.

Freedom is underrated.

But some person in Nigeria is gagging fellow citizens and indirectly enslaving the same citizens.

Dem dey quick forget say, one day we will all die.

I no see anything creepy here o,
E con be like say US abandoned prison better pass our functional one

Nothing creepy here

Wait till you see all the houses existing now, in the year 2100

Common Meeenh

kambili999:
it looks very scary. only God knows the offenses of people sent here

You want to know their offences, right?

Have you ever heard of the name Alphonse Gabriel Capone(Al Capone) aka Scarface?

If you know what Alphonse Capone was famous/infamous for in the 1920s, then you will have fair idea as to what sort of criminals were locked up in there in the heyday of that prison.

The doors seen in the cell block today were actually installed much later. When the prison first opened, these doors were actually just small openings to pass food through so the inmate could live in solitude.

For one hour each day, inmates could walk through the door at the back of their cell and enter an enclosed space with an open roof.

This system of isolation as a correctional practice became known as the Pennsylvania System

I stepped inside one of the jail cells and the walls instantly felt as if they were closing in on me. I could not imagine staying in one for 23 hours straight.

In 1913, the Pennsylvania System was abandoned and the isolation practices ended.