Within the dank, antiquated confines of Eastern State Peniten-tiary, Alphonse "Scar-face" Capone lived for eight months in relative luxury.

Capone's cell, in the prison's "Park Avenue" section, had two skylights and was furnished with Oriental rugs, oil paintings, a cabinet radio, and a desk. No wonder the Chicago gang leader, convicted in 1929 of carrying a concealed weapon, told a Philadelphia Public Ledger reporter that he was "very comfortable" in his new accommodations.

Today, visitors to Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site can peer through a grated door at a re-creation of Capone's abode -- and ponder the fate of other, less fortunate inmates in what was once the most famous prison in the world. Wandering the crumbling corridors and gravel walkways, listening to the recollections of 20th century prisoners and guards, and stumbling on white plaster casts of the wild cats that used to populate the grounds, tourists find themselves immersed in a place that seems to exist simultaneously in several different eras.

The first approach to the prison, built on an 11-acre hilltop tract, is at once forbidding and surreal. Designed to strike fear into the hearts of would-be miscreants, the facade resembles a medieval fortress, with crenellated watchtowers and neo-Gothic false windows that let in no light.
Eastern's stone perimeter walls, more than 30 feet high, now loom over the rehabbed town houses of the Fairmount section of Philadelphia.

Opened in 1829 and closed in 1971, the prison, despite its Gothic appearance, was a marvel of modernity. John Haviland's hub-and-spoke, or radial, architectural design meshed with a Quaker-inspired system of "solitary confinement at labour" that launched a new era in penology, emphasizing repentance over punishment. The design has inspired more than 300 imitators worldwide, including the Carabanchel Prison in Madrid and the Pentonville Prison in London.

Since debuting as a museum in 1994, Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site has maintained a delicate, purposeful balance between restoration and ruin.
"It's a place where one can see 150 years of changes in penal thinking and practice," says Paul Eisenhauer, associate professor of sociology at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia. The site's innovative programming -- including alumni reunions, art installations, theatrical performances and special-interest tours and discussions -- now draws about 100,000 visitors a year.