Eastern State Penitentiary is admittedly the reason that we went to Philadelphia in the first place. As I mentioned here, we basically drove 9.5 hours so that Chris and I could take one picture for the Picture Me, Loving You photo series, coming out later this Spring. I had seen pictures of this place, and I just HAD to visit there. If you've hung around me at all, you know I have an affinity for abandoned / decaying places, and Eastern State certainly fits the bill.
So how was it? Well, let me just say that it was SO cool, that Holly and I visited it twice in as many days. The first time we visited the site was to do our photoshoot, and even though we got there about an hour before our start time, we didn't feel we had enough time to really get a feel for the place because I was busy trying to scout for our photo. We did a private session that evening, and had the place to ourselves, but we were working… so it felt rushed. Holly and I caught enough of the walking tour that we knew we wanted to take it all in, so the next day we went back when we could spend a good bit of time there. I must say, the place is fascinating! The walking tour itself is narrated by actor Steve Buscemi (and I couldn't think of a better person to do it), of which you can hear parts of on their website, as well as other members of the community and former inmates. It is extremely well done.
The place is a bit creepy, so prepare yourself for that, and it isn't climate controlled, so if you go in the winter, bring warm clothes. The tour itself takes about 45 minutes if you don't stop and take everything in, and listen to the many additional audio pieces available. All in all, I think Holly and spent about 2 hours there on our second day. Seriously, it's neat. If you REALLY want to freak yourself out, check out the various "ghost hunter" type shows that have done spots here… you'll get chills for certain!
–Dan Thompson