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Margie Rothberg and alumni Eric Rothberg ’73,
and Carly Hill '04, listen to a story from the tour
guide (left) in the prison courtyard. photo by JoAnn
Erfer |
Philadelphia
Alumni Tour the Eastern State Penitentiary More
than a dozen Philadelphia alumni got a “treat” just in time
for Halloween: a guided tour of the Eastern State Penitentiary, America’s
most historic prison.
As
AU’s Philly alums explored the many empty cell blocks, halls, and
guard towers of the prison, which closed in 1970, alumni came to find
out that one of the tour guides, Jesse Sarnoff, CAS/BA ’06,
also graduated from AU.
The guided tour was preceded by lunch at lluminare Italian Ristorante,
where everyone enjoyed the restaurant’s authentic brick oven pizza.
Chapter leader JoAnn Erfer, CAS/ BA ’70, said the
group enjoyed being able to get together and recount their experiences
at AU.
“We
had a delightful event attended by alumni from classes in the early ’60s
through the class of ’04,” said Erfer.
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Alumni JoAnn Erfer ’70, Sarah Flint ’00, Melanie
Funderella ’94, Lynn Young’96, Rebecca Clothey ’96,
and Carly Hill ’04, in one of the prison cells.
photo by Theodore Erfer |
The penitentiary opened in 1829 as part of a controversial movement to change
the behavior of inmates through "confinement in solitude with labor."
The prison was built as an experiment by the Quakers, who founded Philadelphia.
Each prisoner was placed in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day and
were only permitted to go outside into a small grassy area attached to their
cells to exercise for a brief time. To prevent talking, the prisoners were
let out at intervals in every other cell. The
building quickly became one of the most expensive and copied prisons in
the United States. It is estimated that more than 300 prisons worldwide
are based on the penitentiary's wagon-wheel floor plan. Its famous prisoners
include bank robber Willie Sutton and Al Capone, who served time for tax
evasion.
Stay tuned for notices regarding more fun and interesting events for Philly
alumni in 2007.
-Ema
Gantcheva, SIS/BA ’06
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