Sean Kelly, Senior Vice President, Director of Interpretation, described the nation’s most historic prison, Eastern State Peniteniary. Quaker built for penitence, then shifting to a mass communal prison in the 1920s as American ideas of punishment and rehabilitation changed. Eastern State uses its preservation, interpretation, and public programs will move visitors to engage in dialogue and deepen the national conversation about criminal justice as today the US incarcerates more citizens than any other country. He spoke of the art and interpretation exhibits such as The Searchlight Series and Prisons and the Pandemic, and through exhibits like The Big Graph and Prisons Today and their plans for new site-specific art installations. He invites us to visit by advance reservation, and described the upcoming night tours, refurnished Al Capone’s cell, and the pop-up beer garden on the penitentiary’s baseball field. Grab a local craft beer, and get the conversation started with special presentations by historic site staff. Visit EASTERNSTATE.ORG
The nation's only 'Prison Museum,' Eastern State Peniteniary