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Eastern State Penitentiary

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Eastern State Penitentiary is a really interesting historical site in Philadelphia. It was the world’s first true penitentiary when it opened in 1829. In the 140+ years it was an active penitentiary, it housed many famous criminals, such as Al Capone and Willie Sutton. When it closed in the early 1970s, it sat empty and abandoned for 20 years before it was cleaned up and opened for daily tours. Much of the prison is in ruins today…ceilings collapsed, walls crumbling… but it is beautiful in its own way.