Eastern State’s May Programming Spotlights Faith, Preservation, and Shared Reflection 

Philadelphia, PA (May 12, 2026) — This May, Eastern State presents a series of programs exploring preservation, faith, and public conversation as part of its ongoing “A Time for Liberty” initiative. The month’s lineup brings together Justice 101 discussions, including Philly Saves: Adaptive Reuse of Sites of Memory and Trauma on May 21 and Faith, Reentry, and Prison Reform on May 27, alongside special events and seasonal programming that invite visitors to engage with the site in new ways. 

From conversations on how historic spaces can be reclaimed for community life to interfaith dialogue on rehabilitation and reintegration, May programming reflects on how the history of incarceration continues to shape public life today. Additional highlights include Memorial Day Weekend Preservation Fest and the start of Finding Freedom Civic Season. 

“May programming at Eastern State invites guests to reflect, connect, and engage with the site in meaningful ways,” said Dr. Kerry Sautner, President and CEO. “From conversations on faith and adaptive reuse to hands-on preservation experiences, these programs create space for deeper understanding of the past and its continued impact today. We are grateful to our partners who help make these programs possible and expand the reach of this work.”  

Eastern State’s May calendar features: 

Justice 101: The History of Solitary Confinement
Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Online Via Zoom and YouTube
Join Eastern State for a virtual guided journey through the historic site exploring the origins of the “separate system.” Led by Thomas “Bug” Finegar and Dr. Kerry Sautner, the program examines how solitary confinement was implemented and why its legacy continues to spark debate today. This is a free event, and advance registration is required here.

 

American Alliance of Museums (AAM) Workshop: Mission & Masonry: Behind the Scenes at Eastern State Penitentiary and Girard College
Wednesday, May 20, 2026, 1:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
This sold-out program for AAM Conference attendees explores how Eastern State and Girard College use historic architecture to advance their missions today. Participants will visit both sites and hear from curators and architects about ongoing preservation efforts and recent renovations. Admission is free, and advance registration is required here.

 

Justice 101: Dying on the Inside —The History of America’s Incarceration of Women
Wednesday, May 20, 2026, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
In Person at Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site and Online Via Zoom and YouTube
Join Eastern State and WHYY for a discussion exploring the intersection of incarceration, aging, and health through the lens of the new investigative podcast series, Dying on the Inside: Women Lifers at Muncy Prison. The program will examine the realities facing women serving life sentences at Pennsylvania’s State Correctional Institution at Muncy and the broader systems, policies, and historical decisions that shaped long-term incarceration for women in America.

Moderated by WHYY’s Cherri Gregg, the conversation will feature Eastern State’s Dr. Kerry Sautner, Keisha Hudson, Esq., Chief Defender at the Defender Association of Philadelphia, and Tonie Willis, Founder & Executive Director of Ardella’s House, and additional panelists discussing the human, financial, and moral implications of aging and dying in prison.

Dying on the Inside: Women Lifers at Muncy Prison is a production of Create. Genius. Media and Temple University's Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting. Follow @dyingontheinsidepodcast on social media for info about events, issues around mass incarceration and history.

 

Justice 101: Philly Saves: Adaptive Reuse of Sites of Memory and Trauma
Thursday, May 21, 2026, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
In Person at Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site and Online Via Zoom and YouTube
As America marks 250 years of independence, Philly Saves presents a conversation on how to steward the physical legacy of democracy, from prisons and churches to burial grounds, homes, shopping centers, and factories, and how these sites can be preserved and reimagined as spaces for civic dialogue, healing, and community life. Set within Philadelphia’s layered history of freedom alongside legacies of incarceration, displacement, and injustice, the discussion will explore how places at risk of deterioration can be reclaimed, adapted, and transformed to serve new public purposes while honoring their past.  

Speakers include Michael Coard, J.D., Criminal Defense Attorney and Founding Member of the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition; Kathryn Ott Lovell, President and CEO of the Philadelphia Visitor Center Corporation; and Paul Steinke, Executive Director of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, and will be moderated by Dr. Kerry Sautner, President and CEO of Eastern State. Admission is free, and advance registration is required here. 

 

Memorial Day Weekend Preservation Fest
Saturday and Sunday, May 23-24, 2026, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Considered the world’s first penitentiary, Eastern State’s architectural design served as a model for over 300 prisons across the globe. Now a National Historic Landmark and criminal justice museum, Eastern State staff carefully navigate decisions around conservation and preservation while interpreting the past and present of prison reform in the building’s historic cellblocks. Go beyond the typical tour and learn how the site is preserved, explore rarely seen areas with preservation staff, and get hands-on with restoration techniques. Enjoy the following special activities, all included with admission. 

• Pop-Up Talk - Capone: Wealth, Fame, and Preservation – Dive into the history of one of Eastern State’s most notorious guests. In this talk, visitors will explore the intersection of wealth and notoriety through the recreation of Al Capone’s infamous cell. Discover how a routine restoration project stripped back the fame to reveal hidden layers of painted decoration, and learn how new archival finds are challenging long-held myths about the mobster’s lavish stay at Eastern State.
• Museum Activities:
  • Lego radial design competition: Put your architectural skills to the test by participating in the Eastern State LEGO Contest. Using the provided guide, compete to see who can most accurately recreate the historic seven-cellblock radial plan using 24 specific bricks.
  • Demo wall: Graduates from our Preservation Trades Center lead a demonstration of repointing techniques used on both brick and rubble stone walls. Repointing, or replacing the mortar between stones or bricks, is a common maintenance practice on both new and historic buildings. At Eastern State, we use a special mortar mix and technique that is historically appropriate. Program graduates will share the challenges and rewards of preserving buildings like Eastern State Penitentiary!
    • Saturday: 12:00-4:00
    • Sunday: 12:00-4:00
  • Self-Guided Scavenger Hunt – Come explore the history of one of the most famous buildings in the field of carceral architecture through our self-guided experience. Through a mixture of restored spaces and preserved ruins, visitors can learn about the bones of the building.
  • What-IS-It Exhibit and Talk – Discover the mysteries behind the everyday objects of the past with our “What IS It?!" exhibit. Visitors wandering around Eastern State frequently uncover surprising items that were once essential to the penitentiary’s daily operations or tell the story of its 20-year period of abandonment.
    • Saturday: 11:30 and 1:30

 

Finding Freedom Civic Season
Monday, May 5, 2026 – Monday, September 7, 2026, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
As Philadelphia commemorates the 250th anniversary of American independence, Eastern State invites visitors to explore the history and legacy of one of America’s most influential prisons to reflect on the how the past informs our shared future.  Through storytelling, historical interpretation, and creative engagement, these programs highlight the story an institution built off the founding fathers' vision of liberty and justice and how that vision quickly collided with the reality of total isolation. All activities are included with admission.

• Guide-Led Tours & Discussions: These 45-minute guided tour and discussions are led by an Eastern State educator and explore the penitentiary’s complex history, its ongoing relevance to contemporary social issues, and sets the stage for conversation about the role of prisons in society today.
  • 10:30 am — Civil Rights and Stories of Resilience Tour:
    Explore how the racial dynamics of the outside world were mirrored within Eastern State Penitentiary, highlighting powerful stories of defiance and resilience in the face of systemic discrimination. This tour examines the intersection of civil rights and the prison system, showing how the struggle for justice and equality shaped the lives of those serving time.
  • 11:30 am — Solitary Confinement Tour:
    Discover the origins of modern solitary confinement as you walk through the historic cellblocks of America's first true penitentiary and the birthplace of the practice. This tour traces that complex history to the present day, highlighting the lasting impacts of the "Separate System" on the modern justice system.
  • 12:30 pm — General History Tour:
    This general tour explores the revolutionary architecture and shifting philosophies of America’s first penitentiary as it evolved from an experiment in reform into a complex, 20th-century congregate system. This tour traces both the story of the building as well as the people who lived, worked, and visited the space. 
• Museum Activities:
  Drop-in hands-on activities. Available between 11 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. daily. All materials provided.
  • Voices of Change Zine Activity:
    Every day from 2:00 - 4:00 pm
    Inspired by the counterculture power of the DIY zine, visitors can tell their own stories of liberty and cut-and-paste their own vision of justice.
  • Freedom Poetry:
    Inspired by Langston Hughes and other Civil Rights poets, and poetry written by people incarcerated at Eastern State. Visitors can create poems envisioning justice in their own lives. All materials are provided, and no artistic experience is necessary.
  • “Promises of Freedom” Wish Wall:
    Share your vision for the country. Visitors are invited to contribute their answer to the prompt, “What’s your wish for the United States?” on Eastern State’s Wish Wall, presented in partnership with Made By Us.
  • Self-Guided Activity:
    Using a self-guided tour handout, visitors will explore the historic site to learn about the justice system from stories of people who served time at Eastern State. Through their investigation, visitors will learn about their first amendment rights and the importance of free press.
  • Baseball Pop-Up Talks & Home Run Hits:
    Every day at 12:00 pm
    Step onto the penitentiary's historic baseball field where you'll learn more about the impact of baseball and the freedom of expression in prisons, past and present, from one of our Educators. Then, step up to the "plate" and see how far you can hit a wiffle ball toward Eastern State's tall perimeter wall.
  • Sports & Recreation Scavenger Hunt:
    Pick up a packet at the entrance, and complete this sports-themed scavenger hunt to receive an exclusive sticker prize! Designed with kids and their caregivers in mind. 

 

Justice 101: Faith, Reentry, and Prison Reform
Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 5:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
In Person at Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site and Online Via Zoom and YouTube
Presented as part of The Aaron Reichlin Restorative Justice and Faith Conversations and Lecture250, this program explores the role of faith in shaping justice, rehabilitation, and reintegration 250 years after the nation’s founding.  

Michael Moreland, J.D., Ph.D., Professor of Law and Religion and Director of the Eleanor H. McCullen Center for Law at Villanova University, will introduce an interfaith dialogue featuring Imam Quaiser Abdullah, Ph.D., Director of the Mayor’s Office of Muslim Engagement for the City of Philadelphia; Damone B. Jones Sr., DMin, Senior Pastor of Bible Way Baptist Church; Yehuda Pryce, DSW, LCSW, Psychotherapist and Senior Director of National Mental Health and Well-Being Programs at Defy Ventures; and Lewis Webb Jr., U.S. Peacebuilding Director at the American Friends Service Committee, moderated by Kerry Sautner, Ed.D., President and CEO of Eastern State. Rooted in Eastern State’s A Time for Liberty initiative, the discussion will examine how faith traditions continue to influence approaches to accountability, restoration, and community life. This free public event is presented as part of Lecture250, supported by America250PA, and The Aaron Reichlin Restorative Justice and Faith Conversations, made possible by the Reichlin and Tuck Families. Admission is free, and advance registration is required here. 

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Media Contact
Abby Kleman
Cashman & Associates
[email protected]
M: 302-668-4781

 

About Eastern State
Eastern State preserves America’s first penitentiary, advancing public understanding of the criminal justice system and its impact on the lives of those affected by it, to inspire a more just future. For more information, visit EasternState.org and follow Eastern State on Facebook, Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok, and YouTube.