EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY - PART 6

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Alphonse “Scarface” Capone got his first taste of prison life in Philadelphia. 

He stopped in Philadelphia while traveling from Atlantic City back to his home in Chicago in May, 1929.

He was arrested outside a movie theater for carrying a concealed, unlicensed .38 caliber revolver.

The Philadelphia courts were tough.

They handed Capone the maximum sentence: one year in prison. 

Capone served eight months of that sentence in this cell.

But while the Philadelphia courts tried to make an example of Chicago’s famous bootlegger, the officials at Eastern State Penitentiary were nothing if not generous.

They allowed Capone comforts not typically granted to inmates, including fine furniture, oriental rugs, oil paintings and a fancy radio. 

He liked to listen to waltzes in his cell. 

--easternstate.org

EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY - PART 3

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Though “Pep the black” was sentenced to life in prison for murder, he was an ideal cellmate. Not only was this 1920s convict innocent of his crime, he was a dog. A literal labrador retriever.

The story starts in the 1920s at Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary, the largest and most expensive public building in history at the time of its construction. It was one of the first prisons to isolate prisoners as a rehabilitation tool. Before Eastern State, it was standard to force inmate into silent labor "with the goal of punishing the accused instead of reforming them," reports Now I Know.

Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot wanted to help change the state of the U.S. prison system. He believed inmates could be reformed, and solitary confinement was not the way. Enter Pep, the Pinchots' black lab who liked to chew cushions.

The Pinchot family bred labradors, which gave the governor an idea. He "sentenced" Pep, who was a relatively bad-behaved dog, to life in prison at Eastern State for murdering his wife's cat. 

This cutesy backstory (he wasn't really a kitty killer) was much more fun than simply saying Pinchot was donating a therapy dog. The prison played along with the colorful tale, too. Pep had his mugshot snapped with his inmate number, C2559. Not a real inmate himself, Pep freely roamed around as the cutest morale-booster in the cell block.

EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY -- WHEELCHAIR ACCESS

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Many visitors with special needs visit Eastern State Penitentiary every year. 

That said, the penitentiary complex is not fully ADA compliant. The building is nearly 200 years old and is a National Historic Landmark. Sections of it may never be fully accessible.

There is a small exhibit and gift shop that are only accessible by a set of three steps. 

This section of the penitentiary can easily be bypassed. 

The rest of the tour route is equipped with ADA compliant ramps and meets most ADA guidelines.

Guide dogs, service animals, or service animals in training are welcome. 

The digital equipment used for "The Voices of Eastern State" Audio Tour includes special features for those with sight, hearing and mobility impairments. 

These special features include raised dots that indicate the number five on the keypad, color-coded and shaped control buttons, compatibility with hearing aid T-switch, lightweight design with comfortable carrying strap and telephone-style keypads with backlit buttons.

https://www.easternstate.org/daytime-prison-tours/plan-your-visit

WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE PHILLY

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

For an old eastern seaboard city, Philadelphia has made great strides toward being more accessible to people with disabilities.

This 21st century exhibit proves that Philly is getting it, in terms of infrastructure and mindset:

Please Touch Museum launched a new exhibition called access/ABILITY. This traveling, interactive exhibit will be in Philadelphia through April 24, 2011.

It was developed by the Boston Children’s Museum and was designed to show the similarities and differences in how each of us, with or without disabilities, goes places, communicates, has fun, and learns.

Visitors will have a chance to learn a few phrases in American Sign Language, type their name in Braille and try out a hand-pedaled bike.

There’s also an opportunity for kids to interact with a puppet with cerebral palsy and try to navigate up a ramp and through a door in a wheelchair.

--visitphilly.com

MAGIC GARDENS WHEELCHAIR ACCESS

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Covering an indoor and outdoor space equivalent to half a city block, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens glistens with creativity, urban renaissance and a hint of madness.

Isaiah Zagar, a local artist who began tiling South Street in the 1960s and never stopped, constructed the space out of cement, bicycle spokes, bottles, ceramic shards and other artistic knick-knacks.

The tiled passages of the Magic Gardens weave over- and underground — and, perhaps more than anything, through the mind of a dedicated and inspired artist.

Zagar has created more than 100 mosaics in Philadelphia, the majority of them along the South Street corridor.

Heidi Johnson-Wright explores the wheelchair access, which rates a B.

A walk around the neighborhood unveils not only the work of the artist, but also of a geographic renaissance.

--visitphilly.com

PENN MUSEUM WHEELCHAIR ACCESS

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

A million objects — including art and artifacts from around the globe — are housed at the Penn Museum, one of the world’s finest archaeological and anthropological museums.

From stone tools and household items to architectural monuments and rare art objects, the museum illustrates the story of humanity’s history and achievements.

With materials from ancient Egypt, Asia, Mesopotamia, the Americas and ancient Greece and Italy, the Penn Museum explores the world — all under one roof.

--visitphilly.com

Heidi Johnson-Wright explores wheelchair access, which is above average for an old facility.