When the original 13 members of APA met in Philadelphia in 1844 to establish the country’s first medical specialty organization, they toured the recently built Eastern State Penitentiary so they could learn more about the treatment of the “criminally insane.” This year’s EduTour will take participants on a tour of this historic site, which is believed to be the first prison to use approaches aimed at reforming and rehabilitating inmates.
The roots of Eastern State Penitentiary can be traced back to an important APA figure: Benjamin Rush. In 1787, Rush founded the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons, a group dedicated to improving the appalling conditions of Philadelphia jails. Rush and others believed the key to prisoner reform was to keep individuals in separate cells and provide vocational tasks to keep them busy. Work and solitude would promote “penitence” in this new facility known as a “penitentiary.”
Though Rush would not live to see the results, the group he founded eventually convinced the Philadelphia legislature to fund a new facility using the penitentiary model, and Eastern State Penitentiary opened on October 25, 1829. The building itself was considered a marvel in 19th century engineering, and the penitentiary model was subsequently adopted for prisons across the world.
As with other noted prisons, Eastern State Penitentiary has seen its share of famous inmates (such as Al Capone), daring escapes, and controversies over prisoner maltreatment before the building closed for good in 1970.
EduTour attendees will be able to soak in all the history during a special 90-minute guided tour of the penitentiary. EduTour attendees will also learn more on how psychiatry and the penal system have been intertwined from the time of Benjamin Rush to today, when prisons tragically serve as de facto mental health centers. EduTour guests will also get an interactive tour of the penitentiary’s medical wing and an up-close look at the facility’s laboratories, operating room, and psychiatric ward.
Those who are not able to attend the EduTour on Sunday, April 26 (tickets are limited), may still want to stop by this important medical landmark. General guided tours are available every day at 2 p.m., or guests can take a self-guided audio tour narrated by actor Steve Buscemi. ■
The visit to Eastern State Penitentiary will be held on Sunday, April 26, from 1:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. There is an additional $89 registration fee to participate, and the tour is limited to 45 participants on a first-come, first-served basis. More information can be accessed
here. Please
email if you have questions.
