Author Archives: Joe

Photography

Philadelphia City Hall

CityHall

This is another example of the wonderful architecture the city of Philadelphia has to offer. City Hall is an all stone building with no metal support structure. It was the tallest building in Philadelphia for many years and a 30 foot statue of William Penn stands atop this building.

Fujifilm X100s – 1/40 @ f/2.8 – ISO 200

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Photography

Cathedral Of Saints Peter And Paul

Basilica

This is the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. It is an imposing Brownstone structure that was just across the road from a hotel we were staying in on a recent trip the city of Philadelpia.

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It is also one of the most beautiful cathedrals I have ever seen. I do have a soft spot for any sort of brownstone building such as the older apartments in Brooklyn and NYC but this cathedral is just a spectacular example of brownstone construction. As you can see from the plaque it is also a very old structure.

Plaque

The carvings and details on this building are really incredible, and the pictures really do not do justice to this magnificent cathedral.

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Here is a night view from our hotel balcony at the Embassy Suites at Center City Philadelphia.

Dome

I hope you enjoy.

All photos taken with a Fujifilm X100s

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Photography

Eastern State Penitentiary (Part Five)

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In this section of the prison we will visit the Hospital wing. Back in the days when this prison was operational the doctors were brought here to perform surgery rather than transporting dangerous prisoners to local hospitals.

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This is the entry door to the surgical suite and it was so deteriorated with the peeling paint I had to take a photo of it.

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This is the operating room light and above it is a skylight which the doctors used for surgery before there was electricity. “Scarface” Al Capone had his tonsils removed in this operating room suite.

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And speaking of Al Capone this was his cell. He was arrested and brought here on weapons charges and spent one year in this cell. It was said that he knew the warden and was allowed some comforts which other prisoners were not allowed.

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I don’t know this cell looks fairly similar to the other inmates cells, LOL.

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On our way out of the prison my wife and I couldn’t help but think of what prison life must have been like in this facility when it was operational.

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Some light reflecting through an arch top door on our way out.

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I hope you enjoyed this short trip through this historical facility. If you are within driving distance of this prison I would strongly suggest visiting and maybe purchasing some T-shirts or other memorabilia that is on sale at the gift shop. It will certainly go a long way towards providing the much needed funds it takes to restore this magnificent facility.

For those of you into paranormal activity here is a link – http://www.hauntingamerica.com/eastern-state-penitentiary/

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Photography

Eastern State Penitentiary (Part Four)

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This is the main guard tower and all areas of the prison are visible from this area.

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There are also auxiliary guard towers in each corner of the prison with spotlights.

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Some cells accessible from the exterior of the cell blocks. All of the cells in this penitentiary are solitary confinement and this is what’s known as “The Pennsylvania System” and it originated here. The “Auburn System” eventually superseded the “Pennsylvania System” because it was determined to be more humane.

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These are some of the deteriorating benches around the perimeter walls that face towards the baseball diamond.

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I am not quite sure but I think this portion of the prison was the laundry where some of the prisoners worked.

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The thickness of these stone walls (even interior) were incredible and its hard to imagine trees growing through them, but they did.

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