The Happy Hatters left the Absecon Train Station on the 9:02 AM train to the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. The forcast for the day was an 80% chance of rain, so we all carried our umbrella's and jackets. Clouds appeared over Philadelphia although Absecon was dry with some sunshine.
17 of us boarded the train and enjoyed our trip into Philadelphia. People on the train were wondering who we were. I suppose our purple tops and big red flowers in our hair looked a little odd to some. I simply told the poor gentleman who asked that “we were going to the “hooker” convention”
The look on his face was priceless. LOL We arrived at the station and boarded 5 cabs to the Penitentiary. Skies continued to be grey, but the rain didn't come. 
Here we are as we arrived at the Penitentiary.
Our guide, Toby, was fantastic. We were so fortunate to be able to have a private tour. Toby offered to answer any of our questions at any time. We wanted to take him home with us, but he wouldn’t come.
Initially, we got the “housekeeping” issues in order. Above you will see our bathroom facilities. Oh boy. This is going to be good. Good thing we used the restrooms at the train station. (I never thought I would utter those words)
The building was built to look like a castle, but inside the walls was quite a functional building. Above is a greenhouse that was tended by the inmates and provided fresh vegetables for their meals. Still - no rain in sight.
Toby explained to us that Eastern State Penitentiary was the world’s first true penitentiary, a prison designed to inspire “penitence” or true regret – in the hearts of criminals. The original seven cellblocks spread like the spokes of a wheel, and had running water and heat before the White House.
It’s vaulted sky-lit cells held many of America’s most notorious criminals, including bank robber “Slick Willie Sutton and “Scarface” Al Capone.
The prison stands today in ruin, a haunting world of crumbling cellblocks and a surprising eerie beauty.
Toby talked about the prisoners being involved in many sports, especially baseball, football and bocce. Directly above is a picture of their bocce court.
Above is Al Capone’s Cell. Capone’s time in Eastern was spent in relative luxury. His cell on “Park Avenue” had fine furniture, oriental rugs, and a cabinet radio.
Lunch at Jack’s Firehouse was wonderful. The food was great, the service was fantastic, and the atmosphere was awesome. And - of course - the company was fabulous, as always.
BIG THANKS GO OUT TO SUE AND DONNA FOR COORDINATING OUR DAY!
After lunch, Jack’s was nice enough to call taxi’s for us so we could return to the station.
We truly had an extraordinary experience today. 17 Happy Hatter’s took Philadelphia by storm.
We look forward to many more adventures. “ GIRL POWER” History
Designed by John Haviland and opened on October 25, 1829, Eastern State is considered to be the world's first true penitentiary, despite the fact that the Walnut Street Jail, which opened in 1776, was called a "penitentiary" as early as 1790 . The word "penitentiary" derives from the word "penitence." Eastern State's 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 State's radial floor plan and system of solitary confinement was the model for over 300 prisons worldwide.
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", hinting to the prisoners that God was always watching them. Outside the cell, there was an individual area for exercise, enclosed by high walls so prisoners couldn't communicate. Each exercise time for each prisoner was synchronized so no two prisoners would be out at the same time. Prisoners were allowed to garden and even keep pets in their exercise yards. When prisoners left the cell, a guard would accompany them and wrap them in a hood.[6]
The original design of the building was for seven one-story cell blocks, but by the time cell block three was completed, it was already over capacity. From then on, all the other cell blocks were two floors. Toward the end, cell blocks 14 and 15 were hastily built due to overcrowding. They were built and designed by prisoners. Cell block 15 was for the worst prisoners, and the guards were gated off.
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 State's creation, the Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons (today's Pennsylvania Prison Society) was in fact less than half Quaker, and was led for nearly fifty years by Philadelphia's 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. In reality, the guards and councilors of the facility designed a variety of physical and psychological torture regimens for various infractions, including dousing prisoners in freezing water outside during winter months, chaining their tongues to their wrists in a fashion such that struggling against the chains could cause the tongue to tear, strapping prisoners into chairs with tight leather restraints for days on end, and putting them into a pit called "The Hole" dug under cellblock 14 where they would have no light, no human contact, and little food for as long as two weeks.
In 1924, Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot allegedly sentenced Pep "The Cat-Murdering Dog" (an actual dog) to a life sentence at Eastern State. Pep allegedly murdered the governor’s wife’s cherished cat. Prison records reflect that Pep was assigned an inmate number (no. C2559), which is seen in his mug shot. However, the reason for Pep’s incarceration remains a subject of some debate. A newspaper article reported that the governor donated his own dog to the prison to increase inmate morale.[1]
On April 3, 1945, a major prison escape was carried out by twelve inmates (including the infamous Willie Sutton) who over the course of a year managed to dig an undiscovered 97-foot (30 m) tunnel under the prison wall to freedom. During renovations in the 1930s an additional 30 incomplete inmate-dug tunnels were also discovered.
It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966.[3][7]
The prison was closed and abandoned in 1971. Many prisoners and guards were transferred to Graterford Prison, about 31 miles (50 km) northwest of 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 80s) a "forest" grew in the cell blocks and outside within the walls. The prison also became home to many stray cats.
In 1988, the Eastern State Penitentiary Task Force successfully petitioned Mayor Wilson Goode to halt redevelopment. In 1994, Eastern State opened to the public for historic tours.
http://www.easternstate.org/
http://www.jacksfirehouse.com/
