Celebrate Love in the Cellblocks at Eastern State Penitentiary this Valentine's Day

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Eastern State Penitentiary invites couples to break out of the ordinary and celebrate Valentine's Day with special Winter Adventure Tours from Saturday, February 11 through Tuesday, February 14, 2012.  Bring your valentine to receive buy one get one free admission and experience the history of Eastern State with a focus on love stories throughout the prison's history.  Visitors can also share their own modern day Eastern State love stories online for a chance to win a romantic candlelit dinner in the cellblocks. 

Throughout Eastern State's 142-year history, there are many love stories to be told – inmates who fell in love while incarcerated together, wardens who met their wives while working at Eastern State, and even romantic stories of couples who kept their love alive while one was inside the walls.  One story demonstrates how two inmates, Elizabeth Velora Elwell and Albert Green Jackson, wrote letters to each other and had secret meetings in a cold cellar while both were prisoners at Eastern State in 1862.

The staff at Eastern State Penitentiary hears from many visitors that the penitentiary has played a role in their own love stories – first dates, anniversary celebrations, proposals, and even a few weddings.  Through a contest on Eastern State's Facebook page and website, visitors are asked to share these love stories from now until February 1.  The top entries will be posted on www.easternstate.org, and people can vote on the best modern day Eastern State love story.  The winner will receive dinner for two in the cellblocks of Eastern State!

Eastern State Penitentiary is beautiful in the stark, cold months of winter and makes for a perfect setting for romance.  The buy one get one free offer to bring your valentine on February 11-14, 2012 is valid for one full price adult admission only.  This offer can only be redeemed online by using the code "BALLANDCHAIN."

Winter Adventure Tours

Eastern State's Winter Adventure Tours run from December through March, are limited to 25 people, and pair each small group with an expert Eastern State guide for a one-hour tour of the penitentiary complex. The tour route changes to accommodate the weather, but may include the cellblocks, center surveillance hub, Al Capone's Cell, Death Row, and the newly restored Alfred W. Fleisher Memorial Synagogue.

New this season, the Winter Adventure Tour program is expanded to include select artist installations and Hands-On History interactive experiences. Visitors will be able to unlock one of Eastern's intricate "escape-proof" cells, see inmate-painted murals in the Chaplain's Office, and lower a hidden panel to expose original cell doors and padlocks in the prison synagogue. Also, back by popular demand, hot chocolate is available for visitors before or after their tour and is included in admission.

The schedule is as follows:
Mondays through Fridays – 10:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Saturdays and Sundays – Every hour from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.EasternState.org/tickets. Tickets are also available at the door, subject to availability.

Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site
Eastern State Penitentiary was once the most famous and expensive prison in the world, but stands today in ruin, a haunting world of crumbling cellblocks and empty guard towers. Known for its grand architecture and strict discipline, this was the world's first true "penitentiary," a prison designed to inspire penitence, or true regret, in the hearts of convicts. Its vaulted, sky-lit cells once held many of America's most notorious criminals, including bank robber "Slick Willie" Sutton and Al Capone.

Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site is located at 22nd Street and Fairmount Avenue, just five blocks from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, and $8 for students and children ages 7-12. (Not recommended for children under the age of seven). The penitentiary is open every day, year round. For more information and schedules, please call (215) 236-3300 or visit www.EasternState.org.

SOURCE Eastern State Penitentiary