Eastern State Penitentiary held tens of thousands of inmates and employed hundreds of workers over its 142-year history. Did these men and women leave any personal trace? Yes! Some made physical marks on the building itself—small, enigmatic reminders of life behind the walls.
Guards often permitted prisoners to paint their own cells. (When Charles Dickens visited Eastern State in 1842, he observed that one inmate “had painted [his cell] walls and ceiling quite beautifully.”) In Cellblock 8, a layer of institutional green and white paint has chipped away to reveal an eye with a teardrop over a cell door. In addition, the prisoner painted one wall with a wood grain pattern to resemble paneling.
In the courtyard between Cellblocks 3 and 4, we glimpse a grinning face in the stonewall mortar. An inmate laborer working on the wall was compelled to add this flourish along with the year (1938) and his initials (CK, not pictured). We believe this prisoner may have been Clarence Klinedinst, a skilled stonemason. His other contributions to the site include a 97-foot underground escape tunnel from his cell out to Fairmount Avenue!
Finally, compare these two Pennsylvania state seals, both embedded in the walls of the intake room (now historic site staff offices):
Notice anything odd about the one on the right? Yes—instead of horses, the seal has UNICORNS! Even in a desolate prison ruin, a bit of whimsy survives. Amazing!
Fabulous story, very informative and easy to read!
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