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As a building on the National Register, the ESP is fully protected against future desecration and misuse. NOTHING can be altered in perpetuity. In knowing disregard of this canon, and recognizing that the entire complex is so huge (11 acres) and
Eastern State Penitentiary (at 2027 Fairmount Avenue, originally open fields just northeast of the city of Philadelphia , once the world’s largest and most expensive house of incarceration, was designed by architects John Haviland In contrast to th
The Philadelphia History Museum (PHM) is the former Atwater Kent Museum- existed from 1938 til 2018, when it closed due to inadequate funding coupled with a serious lack of visitors. Its closure was a civic tragedy, but Drexel University came forwa
Not only has the supremely elegant design of the panopticon- plus-wings concept been compromised with the clutter of endless clumsy additions, but the experience of the visitor today to the rotted cells and decrepit corridors is NOT what the early i
The original Neo-Medieval exterior was constructed in the early 1820;s, but in 1934 a clumsy stone vestibule was added to the central gate to provide doubled-up security for comings and goings. The original architect John Haviland also designed the
Though over time, the original layout has been jammed full with awkward additions and since being abandoned in 1971, the Penitentiary, as is, bears witness to the decrepitude of 50 years of total neglect, with everything rotted, moldy and in partial
Well-meaning Quakers who supported isolation in single cells because they felt that this decision was most humane, and so the monastery did indeed provide an appropriate architectural model. Walled in a medieval-like defensive manner, there was mo
Newer history museum theories focus on becoming more equitable, relevant and impactful. How to connect users on a deep emotional level, “so its about me, my experience, my interest”. These museums are not necessarily sequential, and do not demand
The four reconstituted “Prison Yards” (in green), rotate around the central axis, each one broadly dedicated to a century of city history. From the SW corner: YARD 1: PRE-PHILADELPHIA. The history of the region, of the land and waters and of the
The central panopticon/guard tower is clearly the all-controlling center of the complex. and majestically dominates the skyline’s geometric layout- although few people would have ever experienced it. In this scheme, that will now be substantially c
Aside from the theme of the proposal as well as the specifics of the content- the character and the aesthetic integrity of the installation is to be carefully considered. One cannot touch the existing decaying wall, and so the proposal requires a f
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