Prison Tours | Missouri State Penitentiary (2024)

FAQs

Does Eastern State Penitentiary have tours? ›

Throughout the day, we offer quick, interactive tours led by our educators. These Mini Tours are a great way to explore otherwise-off-limits areas of the prison and learn more about life at Eastern State and in prison today. Our Mini Tours schedule changes daily. Ask any staff member for more information.

Jefferson City's Past Comes to Life

The prison housed inmates for 168 years and was the oldest continually operating prison west of the Mississippi until it was decommissioned in 2004.

Ready to discover the history of Missouri's prison that was once called “the bloodiest 47 acres in America?” We have three fun and unique ways to explore this infamous landmark.

Alphonse “Scarface” Capone got his first taste of prison life in Philadelphia. He stopped in Philadelphia while traveling from Atlantic City back to his home in Chicago in May, 1929.

Alphonse "Scarface" Capone

Chicago's most famous mob boss spent eight months at Eastern State in 1929-1930. Arrested for carrying a concealed, deadly weapon, this was Capone's first prison sentence. His time in Eastern State was spent in relative luxury.

In 1967 the Missouri State Penitentiary was infamously named the "bloodiest 47 acres in America" by Time magazine because of the incredibly high number of serious assaults on the grounds between 1963 and 1964.

About the Penitentiary

Louisiana State Penitentiary, once known as “America's Bloodiest Prison,” is the largest maximum security prison in the nation. The penitentiary's storied history of instability and reform serve as a reminder of the progress made within corrections and the possibilities of rehabilitation.

Missouri History Today April 23, 1967: James Earl Ray escapes from the Missouri State Penitentiary.

The Jefferson City Correctional Center (JCCC) is a maximum security prison in Jefferson City, Missouri operated by the Missouri Department of Corrections. It houses up to 1996 inmates, with a staff of 660.

Who was buried alive for 18 years? ›

Buried Alive ; Or, Eighteen Years in the Missouri Penitentiary: The Story of J.B. Johnson's Life in a Dungeon, Graphically Described and Vividly Portrayed by His Own Pen ...

San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, formerly known as San Quentin State Prison, stands as California's oldest correctional institution, tracing its origins back to 1852. During its construction, incarcerated persons labored during the day to build the new prison while sleeping on the prison ship, the Waban, at night.

The Missouri State Penitentiary closed in 2004 due to deteriorating conditions at the 150-year-old facility.

The Missouri State Penitentiary, also called MSP or the Walls, was a notoriously brutal prison. In 1967, Time Magazine named it “the bloodiest 47 acres in America.”

For the 2021 budget, Gov. Mike Parson proposes the closure of housing units at Algoa and Tipton correctional centers. Other affected centers include sites at Boonville, Farmington, Northeast (in Bowling Green), and Western Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center (in St. Joseph).

Two hours is fine. Helpful? For me 2 to 3 hours gave me a feeling that I learned the major points of the history of prisons in the U.S., and the history of Eastern State. I love the audio tour narrated by Steve Buscemi.

Eastern State Penitentiary is a must-do visit if you're in Philly! This haunting but fascinating former prison refined the revolutionary system of separate incarceration, and housed criminals such as Al Capone. For $16 USD, you receive entry to the prison and an audio set to guide you around the site.

A jail holds people for shorter periods of time or for pre-trial detention and is usually operated by a local government, typically the county sheriff. A prison or penitentiary holds people for longer periods of time, such as many years, and is operated by a state or federal government.

The solitary confinement system eventually collapsed due to overcrowding problems. By 1913, Eastern State officially abandoned the solitary system and operated as a congregate prison until it closed in 1970. Eastern State was briefly used to house city inmates in 1971 after a riot at Holmesburg Prison.