As ESPHS works diligently to build a new and improved ticketing area and museum store this winter, one treasured artifact will make its way into storage after having been on display for many years in a small museum space at the front of the property.
Dirty scandals erupt from undisclosed marmot informant.
On Thursday, February 2, 2012, the Group Tour offices of Eastern State Penitentiary received a stunning phone call from one undisclosed but very persistent marmot - or hibernating - member of the squirrel family…
We frequently hear stories about couples who met at ESP, had their first dates at ESP, their anniversaries, marriage proposals, wedding photos, and other momentous occasions.
Last month, we asked those of you with modern-day ESP love stories to share them with us for a chance to win a candlelit dinner amid the vaulted, sky-lit cells of the penitentiary. Several entered, but only one couple will win. The top five entries are listed below.
As Director of Marketing, one of my responsibilities is to order map brochures for visitors on site. As part of this task, I need to determine how many to order by looking at a variety of factors including previous orders and attendance projections. I felt pretty confident going into the Winter Adventure Tour season with the quantity ordered. Here we are nearing the end of January, and we are almost out of maps. Two months to go and no more maps. I wanted to know - What does this mean?
We frequently hear stories about couples who met at ESP, had their first date at ESP, their anniversaries, marriage proposals, wedding photos, and other momentous occasions.
Twenty-four years ago, in an editorial published January 18, 1988, the Philadelphia Inquirer stated that "making Eastern State a museum… is out of the question." The abandoned ruin was put up for sale in 1987 by the city of Philadelphia, and developers proposed a wide range of possibilities for the 12 acre site: condominiums, a theme park, restaurants, a nightclub, and a supermarket. Three proposals then under consideration by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority involved transforming ESP into a shopping mall.
I try not to play favorites, especially when it comes to our visitors at Eastern State. So many really interesting, nice people visit ESP, and we try to make sure that everyone has a memorable experience. I have to say, though, that I may have picked a favorite. In all of my years at Eastern, I don’t think I’ve ever liked any visitor as much as I liked Wade.
Today is Friday the 13th. As you probably know, people traditionally believe this day brings bad luck. But did you know that this widely held superstition actually has a negative impact on our economy?
The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute estimates that nearly $900 million of revenue is lost each Friday the 13th because so many “Paraskevidekatriaphobics” (that’s the term for people who fear Friday the 13th) refuse to go about their normal routines because they are paralyzed by fear.
Several years ago, I was in the pen late at night after all of the haunted house visitors and employees had left the building. A coworker and I were cleaning makeup brushes in a space that once functioned as the prison’s parole office. I can assure you that things were very quiet; no one else was in the building.
June 19, 1958
With the subject heading "Paint," this memo (pictured below) issued by ESP Warden William J. Banmiller officially declared the penitentiary's new color scheme: white and green.
The memo reads:
Effective immediately the only color paints to be used throughout the institution are white and green.
Any exceptions that have been made or contemplated will be done only with the approval of this office upon proper application.
I’ve worked with Sally Elk, our President and CEO, for more than ten years. I’ve known her for twenty. She’s wonderful. She’s also an extraordinary optimist, so much so that I once coined the phrase, “E.E.O.,” for the “Eternal Elk Optimism.”
Which brings us to this photograph (see above).
Being relatively new to Eastern State Penitentiary, I had no idea how much the staff dresses up and gets down… until I attended the Terror Behind the Walls cast party in November. Among ESP daytime staff, there were cowpokes, a Katy Perry lookalike, a ferocious honey badger, a flasher (of flesh), and Bob Dylan, circa “Subterranean Homesick Blues.”
Last year I took this snapshot in Cellblock 9 (with my phone) just after it snowed. This site is a great place to photograph in the winter. During Eastern State's Winter Adventure Tour season (December through March), there are two blocks open for independent exploration and photography. You may find that the pictures you get from these two blocks alone are worth the trip.
...Oh, and the tour is fun, too! Just remember to dress warmly.
Colleen McCann
Tour Guide
Throughout the year, ESP offers several Behind The Scenes tours that provide a glimpse into areas of the prison that are not normally accessible to the public. This weekend, we will be taking people into the operating room in the Hospital Block, an extremely popular area with daytime visitors. Because of the deterioration of Cellblock 3 (the block that houses the hospital), visitors – and staff – are not normally granted access to this space. So this is an exciting event not just for members, but for us tour guides too!!
Once upon a workday’s closing,
beneath a desk lamp dimly glowing,
I, in silence, sat composing notes to school group tours-
When….SUDDEN! LOUD! There came a ringing!
So startled was I by the trilling,
I jumped and set my chair a’swiveling, then toppled to the floor!
HA! Silly had I been for falling!- “ ‘ Tis just a visitor that’s calling!”
I stiffly chuckled rising from all fours...
“Rings now a guest with queries to explore!
Only this, and nothing more!”
