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March 31, 2008
2008 Season Sneak Peek
Eastern State Penitentiary is free all day for a sneak peek at the 2008 exhibits and tours.
April 5 & 6, 2008
Free with admission.
Reservations strongly recommended:
call (215) 236-5111 x14
The Lost Synagogue Weekend
Eastern State Penitentiary's beautiful, long-abandoned synagogue opens to the public for the first time ever, and for one weekend only.
It has been more than three and half decades since the last Jewish service at Eastern State Penitentiary, but the small synagogue, tucked into an alleyway off Cellblock 7, still feels like a holy place. The Readers' Table still faces the arc, the room is still lined with benches, and sunlight still falls through the skylights onto the tile floor. But very few people – aside from a handful of archeologists, preservationists, and funders – have seen the room during the past 35 years. It has never been open to the public.
Come meet the archaeologists, see the vision for the synagogue's rebirth, and visit this beautiful, poignant space. One weekend only.
The Eastern State synagogue after the excavation was nearly complete.
Samples of decorative plaster and paint fragments that were found
during the excavation are visible on the floor.
May 9, 2008
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Reception for the 2008 Artists
Free
Eastern State Penitentiary hosts a changing series on artist
installations as part of the historic site’s exhibits on
history and criminal justice. In 2008 there will be ten
installations on view during all public hours. Join us for a chance
to meet the artists and see the new work! Light refreshments
served.
With Linda Brenner’s Ghost Cats installation posed above them, visitors
celebrate the 2005 artist installations on the penitentiary’s
baseball diamond.
May 17, 2008
2:30 pm
Alumni Reunion
Free with Admission
People are sometimes surprised to find that many of Eastern
State's former officers and inmates are still quite young, and
enjoy returning to the cellblocks to remember old times. This
weekend only, our Alumni – both officers and inmates –
answer questions and meet the public.
June 22
11:30 am
Behind the Scenes Tour: Kitchen and Bakery
Sunday, June 22 at 11:00 am - 12:15 pm
Join Eastern State's Administrative Staff for a rare look at the penitentiary's dramatic kitchen, storehouse and bakery. These locations are not open to the public, and open to Members only on occasional tours. This event is limited to current historic site members and their guests only.
Tours depart at 11:00 am, 11:15 am, 11:30 am, 11:45 am, 12:00 pm and 12:15 pm. If you plan to attend, please RSVP by emailing --EMail-- or calling (215) 236-5111 x10 and indicate your desired tour time.
(Historic Site Members: Free / Members / Guests: $12.00 – Limit Two)
The penitentiary?s bake ovens, shown here in operation during the late 19th century,
will be included on the tour.
Standard Hours & Admission
Sunoco Welcome America
Eastern State Penitentiary is a proud cultural and promotional partner for Sunoco Welcome America. Make sure your Welcome America plans include a tour of Eastern State. The Penitentiary will be open standard hours everyday during Sunoco Welcome America.
9:00 pm (Doors Open: 8 pm to 8:45 pm)
Free
Sunoco Welcome America Movie Night: Shawshank Redemption
Join us for a free screening of Shawshank Redemption on Eastern State's baseball diamond! Bring your lawn chair or blanket, buy some popcorn, and settle in beneath the big wall for one of the all-time classic prison films.
No alcohol, candles or open flames are permitted in the penitentiary. Doors are open from 8 pm to 8:45 pm. Admission is free, but attendance is limited and is on a first come, first served basis.
5:30 pm
Bastille Day!
Reenactment and Street Party Free
One of Philadelphia’s most popular summertime events! Local businesses team with Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site for a playful reenactment of the Storming of the Bastille (influenced more by Monty Python than the French Revolution), followed by a French-themed street party. Come early and take a tour of Eastern State (standard admission), or stay late and take a 25-minute evening tour following the Reenactment ($5 per person).
August 2 & 3, 2008
11:30 – 4:30
Willie Sutton / Tunnel Escape Weekend
Tunnel Escape Living History
Free with admission
Join us for a weekend commemorating one of the most famous prison breaks in American history, the 1945 Eastern State Tunnel Escape.
The event will feature interactive activities for families surrounding the subject of prison escapes and a debate between actors portraying Clarence Klinedinst and "Slick Willie" Sutton highlighting conflicting accounts of the famous escape.
8:00 pm
(Doors open at 7:00 pm)
$8.00
Secret Cinema: House of Women (1962, Dir: Walter Doniger)
One of the loopiest entries of the ever-popular WIP (Women In Prison) genre, this film shocks not with its violent action (some of the tensest moments involve throwing mashed potatoes or drawing moustaches on photos), but with its non-stop outlandish situations and logic.
The film will be projected in 16mm film on a giant screen (not video) in the cellblocks just outside Capone's cell, surrounded by iron bars and ghosts of convicts past.
2 pm – 3 pm
(Judging 3 pm – 3:30 pm)
Members’ Photo Contest
Free with Admission
Eastern State is one of the most photogenic locations in America.
Each year photographers travel from as far away as California and
Canada to photograph the penitentiary. Each Member may submit one
color and one black and white Eastern State photograph for our 2008
Members’ Only photo competition.
Download the Photo Contest Guidelines and Entry Form
Terror Behind the Walls Haunted House
Called “perfect for Halloween” by the New York Times and ranked No. 5 in the nation by A.O.L. Digital City, Terror Behind the Walls is the region’s premier haunted attraction. Tickets go on sale Sept. 10, 2008. Check the Halloween website for coupons, previews, photos and ticketing.
10 am to 5 pm
Free for college students with valid ID
College Day on the Parkway
Free for Students with I.D. Special programs and free admission to Eastern State Penitentiary and other local museums for college and high school students. Free shuttle busses will run among participating attractions.
11:00 am - 12:15 pm
Behind the Scenes Tour: The Back Alleys
Eastern State was built on a simple floor plan of straight cellblocks radiating from a central hub. The design was intended, in part, for surveillance. The “hub and spoke” plan would have few hiding places. But during the prison‘s 142 years of consecutive use, additional cellblocks, out buildings, offices and shops filled the open spaces inside the complex, leaving some areas of Eastern State a winding series of alleyways. Join Eastern State administrative staff for views down (and sometimes into) these intriguing spaces not normally open to the public.
Limited to current historic site members and their guests only. Tours depart at 10:30 am, 10:45 am, 11:15 am, 2:00 pm, 2:15 pm, 2:30 pm, 2:45 pm, and 3:00 pm. If you plan to attend, please RSVP by emailing --EMail-- or calling (215) 236-5111 x10 and indicate your desired tour time.
(Historic Site Members: Free. Members' Guests: $12.00 - Limit Two)
Closed for Thanksgiving
10:00 am
Free with Admission
Ice Sculpture Contest at Eastern State
To kick off the Winter Adventure Tour season, Fear No Ice, the world's first and only performance ice sculpting company, located right here in Philadelphia, will sculpt three designs based on Eastern State's architecture and history.
The event, on Thursday, December 11 beginning at 10 am, will include sculptures of Eastern State's facade, a view of the radial design from overhead, and a mugshot of Al Capone.
Visitors will have the opportunity to see the artists at work and the finished results will be on display throughout the weekend. Visitors will be able to vote on their favorite design and a winner will be announced on our website, on Monday, December 15.
Closed for New Years
Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, Inc.