Eastern State Penitentiary

Eastern State Penitentiary is a former American prison that was once the most famous and expensive prison in the world. It is located in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia and was operational from 1829 until 1971. The penitentiary refined the revolutionary system of separate incarceration, with its soaring, castle-like Gothic architecture and its founders' Quaker-inspired belief that solitary confinement could help reform criminals. Today, it is a U.S. National Historic Landmark and is open to the public as a museum for tours, offering a glimpse of life inside the prison's historic cell blocks through exhibits like Al Capone's restored 19th-century cell, stories of inmate escapes, and critically acclaimed art installations. Each year, Eastern State hosts Terror Behind the Walls, one of the region's most anticipated Halloween haunted houses