Eastern State Penitentiary

Eastern State Penitentiary, built in 1829, opened in 1913 and closed in 1970, has castle-like walls and imposing guard towers, while being the first prison to adopt solitary confinement measures. The prison was later abandoned due to overcrowding.In 1994, Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site welcomed 10,000 visitors for its first year of hard hat tours. In the decades since, hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the country and around the world have had the opportunity to bear witness to and learn from this architectural wonder and the many stories it holds.Today, Eastern State continues to preserve the historic site—shedding light on its complicated legacy—to advance public understanding of the criminal justice system and its impact on the lives of those affected by it, to inspire a more just future.