“The Mad Chair” from Eastern State Penitentiary
The Lost Project
Eastern State Penitentiary
“Fotography is the art of experience. It is an imprint of a life left behind”
As a young fotographer from the Bronx, I grew up in the “Bronx is Burning era” of the 1970’s. I recall exploring an old tenement building and found a human femur on the second floor of the building. My fascination with abandoned structures had begun.
When I contemplate abandonment and loss, I chose to focus on the loss of freedom. I was fortunate enough to find The Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia.
These fotos represent a series of visits to the properties and were fotographed with an Olympus Pen F (Digital) and an Olympus OM 10 (Film) Cameras.
The use of Photoshop was NOT employed for this project.
#photoshopnotincluded
Doors @ ESP
The Cells of Eastern State Penitentiary have two layers of security. Behind the wooden sliding door, there is a metal door with a slot to pass food.
In addition, the doorways are lower than average doors so when an inmate exits the cell, their head is lowered into a “pentinent position” as if praying.
Metal Door
Door with Food Slot
The Mad Chair
At ESP incarcerated prisoners were kept in cells for 23 hours a day and communication with other inmates was forbidden.
When inmates began to tap on pipes and whisper to each other through vents in desperate need of human contact, the consequences were severe.
One method of (torture) punishment was the "Mad Chair". Inmates were strapped so tightly their circulation was cut off, left to sit for days without food. In the best cases, limbs had to be amputated. At times, prisoners were driven to insanity.
Death Row
While ESP did indeed have a Death Row, executions were not held at the prison.
Cell #1
Controlled
From this panel, a Corrections Officer can control the doors at their discretion.
The Green Mile
The story of the Green Mile by Stephen King was inspired by the death row of Eastern State Penitentiary. Even after 30 years of abandonment, the green hue of the floor is abundantly clear.
Coat
An Inmates coat hangs on the wall. Coats were often taken away from prisoners as a form of punishment during the cold months of the year. Inmates habitually hung their coats in different places of their cells to be warmed by the sunlight.
Pants
The pattern, similar to that of traditional Chef Pants, were also fire retardant.
Al Capone’s Cell
Al Capone, reputed Mobster, was a guest of ESP for several months. Clearly, while incarcerated, he lived in the “lap of luxury” as compared to his fellow inmates.
It is noted that Al Capone suffered consistent nightmares whilst at ESP. Many believe that he was haunted by the ghosts of those he murdered in the Valentines Day Massacre of 1929 involving the North Side Gang of Chicago.
Tossed
Inmates had a bed, a small night stand, a latrine and a foot locker in their cells. Inmates were not allowed to look outside of their cells and were often transferred about the prison blind-folded.
Bed on Edge
The only light allowed in the cells was that provided by G-d.
Bed & Drawers
Frame & Shadows
A bed within the rubble of a solitary confinement cell.
Opened
Weathered paint upon a side table with drawers.
Necessities
When taking this foto, the face detector on my camera was targeting something nowhere near the latrine I was trying to capture. This was the haunting foto produced.
Bricks & Bed
Chifforobe
A Chifforobe is a closet-like piece of furniture that combines a long space for hanging clothes like a wardrobe or armoire with a chest of drawers.
Infirmary
Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP) is known for being one of the most haunted places in the United States along with Letchworth Village which is also part of the Lost Project. The Infirmary at ESP for those who connect with past lives is painful to visit. While the area is closed off to visitors, you need only go to the door of the infirmary and feel as it you are “attacked”. It leaves you with a very unsettling feeling.
Gated Infirmary
Halls
ESP is designed like a spoke wheel and at its center a “hub” where guards can be found. Each hallway is numbered and extends outward.
Cell Doors
Mop
Synagogue
Though the Jewish prison population never numbered more than 80 at a single time, there was a strong Jewish presence at the penitentiary dating back to 1845. Local rabbis came to counsel the inmates and provide religious readings.
A Door to Faith
By the early 1920s, after the Pennsylvania System of isolation had been abandoned, Alfred Fleisher, president of the prison's board of trustees, advocated the construction of a synagogue for Jewish inmates. Prisoners and local volunteers built the synagogue in the former exercise yards of cell block seven.
A View from the Yard
Guard Tower