Eastern State Penitentiary

Congratulations to our Preservation Carpentry Academy graduates! Last Friday, we celebrated the hard work and achievements of our PTC crew in the heart of Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site.

During their six weeks here, crew members completed OSHA certifications, built and installed 8 skylight covers, attended lectures, and took several field trips to learn about historic preservation throughout the city. Most recently, they learned about wood window restoration with Fairmount Park Conservancy.

Through classroom instruction and hands-on training, they learned how to assess, restore, repair, and weatherproof both historic and traditional wood windows—delving into skills like preservation techniques, safe paint removal, glazing, sash repair, hardware restoration, and finishing methods.

PTC provides paid, hands-on training at Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, preparing crew members for construction careers while connecting underrepresented Philadelphia communities—including returning citizens, women, and people of color—to long-term skilled trades jobs.

The work of the Preservation Trades Center would not be possible without the tremendous support of our partners. Special thanks to Fairmount Park Conservancy, PowerCorps PHL, City College for Municipal Employment, City of Philadelphia Government, Fulton Bank, and the William Penn Foundation.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Spring Fling last week! On Thursday, we welcomed more than 100 special guests to Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site for an evening of mingling, mini tours, and more.

Our leadership team and Board of Directors were thrilled to have the chance to share the many ways we’re moving our mission forward—preserving America’s first penitentiary, advancing public understanding of the criminal justice system, and inspiring a more just future.

Special thanks to our event sponsors EY, Cashman & Associates, Matthew Lee & Elinor Haider, The Union Forge, and Victory Beer.

Cellblock 15, also known as "Death Row", was the last cellblock constructed at Eastern State Penitentiary and notably the most modern-looking block at the prison. Individuals housed here were awaiting death penalty sentences that would be carried out at SCI-Rockview.
While the original bars are gone following Eastern State Penitentiary's nearly 20 years of abandonment, acrylic bars represent the lost cell doors and corridor, which separated guards on duty from the prison cells.

Have you visited Cellblock 15 during your tour?

A peek inside Cellblock 5, one of the seven original cellblocks at Eastern State Penitentiary. The condition of Cellblock 5 remains largely untouched from the period when Eastern State was abandoned between 1971 and 1997, offering a glimpse into how this historic building changed over time.
📸: tidphoto on instagram

Hand-painted murals, intricate model ships, and beaded bags—art of all kinds allowed people incarcerated at Eastern State Penitentiary to reclaim their voices and tell their own stories.

Today, we want to build on this long legacy of meaningful art centering those impacted by the justice system with our new artist-in-residency program, ReVision: Art and Justice. Through this initiative, we’re providing a platform for justice-impacted artists to create major installations and to work closely with our staff, community partners, and visitors on public programs and behind-the-scenes digital storytelling all along the way.

Your gift will help make it possible for artists who might not otherwise ever have a chance to create and exhibit
their work at this scale.

🔗 Learn more and make your gift today: https://easternstate.org/support/donate/our-latest-appeal?utm_source=social_media_general&utm_medium=social&utm_id=sp26_social