Written by Carly Dessain and Mary Wetherbee
A week ago, students from the LMHS Art Department and Art Forum traveled to Eastern State Penitentiary for a guided tour of the campus. The penitentiary, located in Philadelphia, is the first solitary confinement prison in the world. Students were eager to see and take photos of the interior and exterior of the building, as well as learn about the philosophy @ history of the institution.
The buildings were designed by John Haviland, who purposely gave it a neo-Gothic look to implant a feeling of fear into people who thought of committing a crime. It was located on a hill and overlooked the city, which probably helped add to that feeling of fear. Upon arriving at the penitentiary, you are greeted by massive walls that hug the entire block, and are more than 30 feet high, with its initial foundation, 15 feet under ground. The campus houses multiple building made of stone, but the focus of the tour was in and around the buildings that housed the prisoners.
Our tour guide led us through long, cold, damp, musty hallways with, what seemed like hundreds of small cells. Peering through opened iron doors, you see that each cell had a tiny sink and toilet, a rusted metal cot, a little bench, and what might be some kind of a desk. Each cell also contained a skylight, built into the very high ceiling. Men, women, and children, who were convicted for crimes ranging from horse stealing to murder, were housed in these individual rooms for the duration of their rehabilitation.
Eastern State Penitentiary