A Time for Liberty: Our Shared History, Our Shared Future

In the early days of our nation, the idea for Eastern State Penitentiary—the nation’s first penitentiary—emerged as a bold initiative to reform the criminal justice system. Framed in 1787, just 11 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Eastern State Penitentiary was built on a radical belief in human dignity and our capacity for change. Its founders sought to answer a question that still echoes through our country today: Have we established justice?

In 2026, Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site will host "A Time for Liberty: Our Shared History, Our Shared Future," a yearlong slate of free, inclusive programs that invites visitors to wrestle with evolving meanings of liberty and justice. A Time for Liberty will feature 5 family-friendly festivals, 9 panel discussions with scholars and systems-impacted leaders, 2 pop-up exhibitions drawn from the site's archival collections, and new online learning resources that extend the experience to classrooms nationwide.