Jailbird

My birthday was earlier this week so I decided to spend some time with friends on a mini field trip at an historic site in Philadelphia. We went to Eastern State Penitentiary, which is a very cool old (and reportedly haunted) jail, which, at the time, was considered a very advanced facility.

According to a Time Magazine article on the subject:

"Built in 1829 with castle-like walls and imposing guard towers, Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Penn. was the first prison to institute solitary confinement. Prisoners lived alone, ate alone, and even exercised alone in individual yards. When an inmate left his cell, a guard covered his head with a hood so that he remained in confinement. Although the solitary system was quickly discarded due to overcrowding, Eastern State is widely believed to have caused mental illness among its prisoners. It operated as a regular prison from 1913 until it closed in 1970, during which time it housed both Al Capone and bank robber Willie Sutton. The prison was abandoned in 1971, and rumors of strange happenings have plagued the stone penitentiary ever since."

I had been to Eastern State several years ago but decided it was high-time for a return visit. Some photos from the Pen:

My friends and my husband at the entrance of the jail block.

Another artist (name unknown to me) installed sculptures of cats throughout the prison in honor of one of  the colony of cats that lived in the prison for almost 30 years, and were taken care of by one of the staff.

The birthday girl

We had a really great meal at Rembrandts afterwards.