Eastern State Penitentiary: How it serves the community

The Fairmount community in Philadelphia has undergone many transformations since the 19^th century. Most recently it has enjoyed a renaissance as a desirable residential area, complete with businesses and restaurants to support its neighborhood population. The added attraction to outside visitors of the neighborhood to the Eastern State Penitentiary Museum and its special programming has helped to secure a future of continuous growth potential. While tourism undoubtedly plays a large part in the attraction to the site, it is the added attraction of local Philadelphians to the entertainment provided by the Haunted House that gives Eastern State its added focus. The very important question of the true function of a Museum within its surrounding community becomes more complex with the addition of programming that might not be comfortably accepted by the academic or intellectual community that is the traditional arbiter most often accepted by the Museum community. 

Eastern State Penitentiary is, within itself a fascinating addition to the rich museum heritage that exists in Philadelphia. It stands in contrast to the more formalized, preserved House Museums. There is no attempt to restore the site to its former existance. The presentation of its structures, and grounds is as is. The very nature of its crumbling and aging structure only adds cache to its identity as a historical site. While it is clearly a 20th century establishment, it also recalls a sense of the importance of ruins within a city or country that help to heighten the sense of timelessness and cultural significance that define it as an institution.