Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Eastern State Penitentiary
Inmate B-2975. Fourteen-year-old Edgar Gordon, sentenced in 1905 to one year and six months at Eastern State Penitentiary for attempted rape. Photo: collection of Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, gift of the Scheerer Family.
Inmate B-3368. Frank Keuding, a 24-year-old engineer sentenced to 12 years for burglary in 1906. Keuding died at Eastern State Penitentiary in 1912 from tuberculosis. Photo: collection of Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, gift of the Scheerer Family.
Inmate A-8527. Lee Gum You, one of the few Chinese inmates at Eastern State. Received in February 1896 with a Life sentence for murder, he was paroled in 1908. Photo: collection of Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site.
Inmate B-2675. After setting fire to the straw mattress in her jail cell in Scranton, PA for unknown reasons, Delia Gilmore was sent to Eastern State Penitentiary in 1905. Her original crime is unknown. Photo: collection of Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, gift of the Scheerer Family.
Inmate in a cell with two beds, c. 1897. Photo: collection of Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, from Warden
this page online
Rear view of Administration Building, c. 1927. Photo: collection of Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, from The Annual Report of the Eastern State Penitentiary, for the Year Ending May 31, 1927.
Engraving of Eastern State Penitentiary's faηade, c. 1840. Image: collection of Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site.
Center guard tower from alleyway, c. 1960. Photo: collection of Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site.
Four guards outside original front door, c. 1937. The second guard from the left is Sergeant Elwood T. Cannon; to his right is Jim McGregor. The two guards on the ends are unknown. Photo: collection of Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site.
Inmates in Cellblock 7, c. 1970. Photo: courtesy of Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, PA.
Erected by Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Asian Americans • Industry & Commerce • Law Enforcement • Women. A significant historical month for this entry is February 1896.
Location. 39° 58.052′ N, 75° 10.335′ W.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Pennsylvania. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, New Netherland, and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Born at "E.S.P." (a few steps from this marker); a different marker also named Eastern State Penitentiary (within shouting distance of this marker); Eastern State Penitentiary Terrace Garden (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Eastern State Penitentiary (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Eastern State Penitentiary (within shouting distance of this marker); Escape! (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Eastern State Penitentiary (within shouting distance of this marker); Restored Bocce Court (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Philadelphia.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 22, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 561 times since then and 24 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 22, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
