Eastern State Penitentiary oral history project 1993-2012

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Eastern State Penitentiary oral history project 1993-2012

http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/ead.html?id=PACSCL_HSP_ESP02

When it opened in 1829, the State Penitentiary for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ("Eastern State Penitentiary") was the world's first true "penitentiary" in the sense that it was designed to inspire true feelings of penitence in the hearts of inmates. Initially characterized by its system of strict isolation and grand architecture, more than 300 prisons on five continents were modeled after Eastern State Penitentiary. Over 142 years of operation, the system of isolation was gradually abandoned and the penitentiary became a traditional modern prison; in 1971, the facility was closed. The Eastern State Penitentiary oral history project, 1993-2012, consists of about 130 oral history interviews with former inmates, employees of the State Penitentiary for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ("Eastern State Penitentiary"), family members of employees, and volunteers such as Chaplains.

5.0 Linear feet

Eastern State Penitentiary

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SNAC Resource ID: 6328154

Related Entities

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Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63g80w8 (corporateBody)

The State Penitentiary for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, commonly known as Eastern State Penitentiary, was the world's first true "penitentiary" in the sense that it was designed to inspire true feelings of penitence in the hearts of inmates. "...Most eighteenth century prisons were simply large holding pens. Groups of adults and children, men and women, and petty thieves and murderers, sorted out their own affairs behind locked doors. Physical punishment and mut...

State penitentiary for the Eastern district of Pennsylvania

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6v46vfd (corporateBody)

The State Penitentiary for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is situated on 13 acres known as "Cherry Hill", two miles northwest of the Court House in Philadelphia, Pa. The Pennsylvania Legislature authorized its construction on March 20 1821. Construction begain on May 22 1823 and was completed in 1829. From the description of List of prisoner discharges and scrapbook, 1885-1890. (Historical Society of Pennsylvania). WorldCat record id: 151382914 The State P...