Memorial Day Weekend Preservation Fest

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. 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 the 4th Amendment
  In this talk visitors will uncover layers of the past, focusing on one of the most talked-about spaces at Eastern State – the recreation of Al Capone’s cell. Learn how a routine project revealed hidden layers of painted decoration and how new archival discoveries shifted long-held assumptions about Capone’s time at Eastern State Penitentiary.
   
• Self-Guided Scavenger Hunt
  Come explore the history of one of the most famous buildings in the field of prison architecture through our self-guided experience. Through a mixture of restored spaces and preserved ruins, visitors can learn about the bones of the building.

This program has been funded in part by a grant from the National Trust Preservation Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.