Located in the Fairmount Neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Eastern State Penitentiary is chock full of history, and quite a site to see!  Be sure to take a moment to read the history and timeline of this place…you won’t be disappointed!

If you ever want a REAL scare, visit this landmark at night in the month of October for “Terror Behind the Walls!” …by far THE scariest Halloween Haunted tour I’ve ever been on!!

If you look closely, you will see Jenny and Cello standing just to the left of the front opening of the penitentiary:

Opening in 1829, Eastern State Penitentiary was the most expensive structure of its time, and became the most famous prison in the world. The penitentiary was also “home” to many famous criminals including:

• Al “Scarface” Capone – Chicago’s most famous mob boss
• William Francis Sutton – one of the most famous bank robbers in American history
• William “Blackie” Zupkoski – Self-proclaimed “Toughest Man in Philadelphia”
• Leo Callahan – the only prisoner to ever successfully escape from the penitentiary

You many even recognize the penitentiary in some of these movies/videos:

• Tina Turner’s One of the Living music video, 1985
• The Dead Milkmen’s Punk Rock Girl music video, 1988
• The movie, 12 Monkeys, starring Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis, 1995
• The movie, Return to Paradise, starring Vince Vaughn and Ann Heche
• The movie, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, 2009
• Whitney Peyton’s music video, Crazy, 2010

If you are ever in the Philadelphia area, a visit to Eastern State Penitentiary is a must!!