On 9-10-06, I received E-Mail that said:
You forgot one of the most important castles ever built in America, not to mention one of the largest. The Eastern State Penitentiary was constructed as a great medieval castle in Philadelphia to scare the hell out of anyone thinking of breaking the law. It remained as the most expensive government building project for many many years. When Charles Dickens visited the United States it was one of the most desired sites he wanted to see. He even wrote a large section of his book "Travels in America" about it.
Later it would serve as the home to two very famous criminals, Willie Sutton, and Al Capone. It has been used in countless films, including Twelve Monkeys and a Tina Turner video in the 80's. Today it is a highly rated tourist attraction and holds many fun and lively civic fundtions. On Bastille day they have a big rally there where Marie Antoinette throws desert cakes at the crowd below just before a bunch of the mob break in and we see her head fly over the wall. This coming month be doing their annual "Terror Behind the Walls" haunted prison event. It is absolutely massive and they have a wonderful website. If you ever have the chance to visit it, do so, it is a lot of fun.
More info here:
http://www.easternstate.org/
To return to this page, click on the BACK button.
Back to "Castles of the United States"