• Missing photo caption page 12, for photographs 156-165.
• Significance: Built between 1822 and 1836, Eastern State Penitentiary expressed in physical form the progressive penological philosophy known as the "Pennsylvania System" of solitary confinement. At the center of debates on prison design and governance, it attracted thousands of visitors from all over the world during its early decades. The penitentiary was the product of an early 19th century rational humanitarianism which believed that controlling social institutions could reform deviant members of the population. Its physical structure incorporated advanced building systems technologies (central heating, ventilation, indoor plumbing) and construction methods (cast iron, standardized elements) on an immense scale. The erection of Eastern State also constituted a watershed project in the career of nationally prominent architect John Haviland, who went on to build ten more prisons in six states.

The ongoing conversion and expansion of the penitentiary through the late 19th and 20th century has demonstrated the evolution of American philosophies of incarceration and rehabilitation. It was elected to the World Monuments List in 1996 as one of the world's 100 most endangered monuments. Eastern State Penitentiary is an internationally significant landmark which has directly influenced the design of 300 prisons on four continents and inspired an ongoing conversation about architecture and social control.

• Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N435
• Survey number: HABS PA-1729
• Building/structure dates: 1822-1836 Initial Construction