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THE HISTORICAL
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Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Morgue

 
 
Morgue Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), March 19, 2022
1. Morgue Marker
Inscription.
More than 1,400 prisoners died at Eastern State Penitentiary (of the roughly 80,000 people who served time here). The most common cause was tuberculosis.

The penitentiary's morgue was moved several times. When it was moved from this space around 1960, the autopsy table seen in the photo was replaced with the mattress sterilizer that remains today.
 
Erected by Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial SitesIndustry & CommerceLaw Enforcement. A significant historical year for this entry is 1960.
 
Location. 39° 58.131′ N, 75° 10.333′ W. Marker is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia County. It is in Eastern State Penitentiary. It is on Fairmount Avenue west of Corinthian Avenue, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2027 Fairmount Ave, Philadelphia PA 19130, United States of America. Touch for directions.

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,
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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: Sports at ESP (a few steps from this marker); Eastern State in Ruin (within shouting distance of this marker); Incinerator (within shouting distance of this marker); The Big Graph (within shouting distance of this marker); The United States no longer has the highest rate of incarceration in the world. (within shouting distance of this marker); Solitary Exercise Yard (within shouting distance of this marker); Notable Inmate: Clarence Klinedinst (within shouting distance of this marker); Death Row Courtyard (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Philadelphia.
 
Another marker is no longer nearby. 2020 Rate of Incarceration (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
 
Morgue Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), March 19, 2022
2. Morgue Marker
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 26, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 475 times since then and 29 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on March 26, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
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Jul. 31, 2026