The Triangle

Issue date: 10/10/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: Andrew Garn

In May 1929, supreme Chicago gang lord Al Capone was arrested for possession of a concealed weapon. It was only three months prior to his arrest that Capone was widely credited with ordering the notorious "St. Valentine's Day Massacre," but conventional law had no place in gangland those days. He received his first prison sentence and served eight months in Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary.

Opened in 1829, Eastern State Penitentiary was designed by architect John Haviland, whose plan comprised of seven narrow cell blocks all meeting in the center, also referred to as the "Hub and Spoke" design.

The initial government spending on the facility was $770,000, second only to the U.S. Capitol at the time. Cells featured indoor plumbing and central heat even before the White House had the commodities. However, the fame stretches far beyond the structure.

More formidable than the 10.5 acres surrounded by four stone castle walls rising over 30 feet were the innovative methods of incarceration. Shaking the typical poor living conditions and corporal punishment, the Eastern State staff developed what would be known as "The Pennsylvania System."

The Eastern State Penitentiary has been a part of Pennsylvania's historic society since 1965. Philadelphia bought the landmark from the state in 1980 after its close in 1970 resulting from failing electric and mechanical utilities. After years of debate on the location's possible uses, the building was staffed once again in 1988 for the first group tours as blocks of the penitentiary were preserved and revived.

While the prison continues to offer daytime tours, the main attraction right now is its haunted nighttime tour, "Terror Behind the Walls." In its 18th Halloween season, "Terror Behind the Walls" actually runs more like a production than a tour with over 150 auditioned actors starring in the show.

Once inside of the walls, guests experience the walk in five consecutive segments. "Intake" sets the scene as you are rushed through the yard by deformed prison guards who yell from various levels, simulating a demented prisoner admission day. From here, each chapter takes you through another part of the facility with mutated prisoners and staff lurking around each corner. Ghastly orchestrated backing soundtracks accompany along the way while the moonlight casts shadows down through arched skylight windows covering the cell blocks.

Continued...

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