# Old Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia (Highsmith, Library of Congress)

Canonical: https://mobfiles.org/items/loc-2011630491-old-eastern-state-penitentiary-highsmith/

Color photograph of the gatehouse of Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia by Carol M. Highsmith, dated by the Library of Congress between 1980 and 2006. A modern view of the building, not a period image.

The Library's record titles the photograph "Old Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania," dates it "between 1980 and 2006," and notes that the title, date and keywords were provided by the photographer.

The photograph faces the gatehouse straight on: a central octagonal tower with a lancet window, the stone front wall with pointed gables, and a lower stone entrance block whose open gate shows a barred inner gate beyond.

It is a modern view of the building and says nothing about any prisoner. The 1929 and 1930 newspaper pages on Al Capone's confinement there are filed separately, beginning with the [Washington Times of August 22, 1929](/clippings/clip-washington-times-1929-08-22-p11/).

## Sources

- Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division (Carol M. Highsmith Archive): https://www.loc.gov/item/2011630491/