Moyamensing Prison
Encyclopedia
Moyamensing Prison was a prison
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, designed by Thomas U. Walter
and completed in 1835.
. It was an eclectic, romantic structure, that included a particularly fine Egyptian Revival wing. It was built to house 400 inmates, with a separate attached wing that would serve as a debtor’s prison. The Debtors’ Apartment was built in this style in imitation of the Temple of Amenophis III, on the Isle d’Elephantine
on the Nile
. But the Debtors’ Apartment never served as such, as changes in law ended the imprisonment of debtors and the wing was combined with the main prison in 1868 and used to house women prisoners.
Other than the Debtors’ Apartment, most of prison was built in a castellated Gothic
style with towers and battlement
s. Its designer was Philadelphia architect Thomas Ustick Walter, who later designed the dome of the United States Capitol
, and the United States Senate
and United States House of Representatives
wings of the Capitol as they exist today.
On July 1, 1849, when Edgar Allan Poe
was in Philadelphia, he drank, became drunk and hallucinatory, and made a suicide attempt. He was detained for public drunkenness and incarcerated for one night in Moyamensing Prison.
While imprisoned here in 1855, abolitionist Passmore Williamson
became a focus of the press, as northern publications spread his story throughout the country. Friends comfortably furnished his cell, and he received letters and several hundred visitors including both Frederick Douglass
and Harriet Tubman
.
On May 7, 1896, serial murderer H. H. Holmes
was hanged at the prison. Holmes' neck did not snap immediately; he instead died slowly, twitching over ten minutes before being pronounced dead 15 minutes after the trap was sprung.
The prison was destroyed in 1968. Today, all that is left is a low heavy masonry stone wall remaining from the prison of the 1830s on the site along Reed Street.
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, designed by Thomas U. Walter
Thomas U. Walter
Thomas Ustick Walter of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was an American architect, the dean of American architecture between the 1820 death of Benjamin Latrobe and the emergence of H.H. Richardson in the 1870s...
and completed in 1835.
History
The prison's cornerstone was laid April 2, 1832, and it was finished in 1835. For nearly 140 years the Moyamensing, or New County, Prison dominated 1400 South 10th Street, at the southwest intersection with Passyunk Avenue and Reed Streets in South PhiladelphiaSouth Philadelphia
South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west.-History:...
. It was an eclectic, romantic structure, that included a particularly fine Egyptian Revival wing. It was built to house 400 inmates, with a separate attached wing that would serve as a debtor’s prison. The Debtors’ Apartment was built in this style in imitation of the Temple of Amenophis III, on the Isle d’Elephantine
Elephantine
Elephantine is an island in the River Nile, located just downstream of the First Cataract at the southern border of Ancient Egypt. This region is referred to as Upper Egypt because the land is higher than that near the Mediterranean coast. The island may have received its name because it was a...
on the Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
. But the Debtors’ Apartment never served as such, as changes in law ended the imprisonment of debtors and the wing was combined with the main prison in 1868 and used to house women prisoners.
Other than the Debtors’ Apartment, most of prison was built in a castellated Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style with towers and battlement
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
s. Its designer was Philadelphia architect Thomas Ustick Walter, who later designed the dome of the United States Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
, and the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
and United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
wings of the Capitol as they exist today.
On July 1, 1849, when Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
was in Philadelphia, he drank, became drunk and hallucinatory, and made a suicide attempt. He was detained for public drunkenness and incarcerated for one night in Moyamensing Prison.
While imprisoned here in 1855, abolitionist Passmore Williamson
Passmore Williamson
Passmore Williamson was an abolitionist in Pennsylvania who is best known for a legal episode challenging the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850....
became a focus of the press, as northern publications spread his story throughout the country. Friends comfortably furnished his cell, and he received letters and several hundred visitors including both Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
and Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Harriet Ross; (1820 – 1913) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves...
.
On May 7, 1896, serial murderer H. H. Holmes
H. H. Holmes
Herman Webster Mudgett , better known under the alias of Dr. Henry Howard Holmes, was one of the first documented American serial killers in the modern sense of the term...
was hanged at the prison. Holmes' neck did not snap immediately; he instead died slowly, twitching over ten minutes before being pronounced dead 15 minutes after the trap was sprung.
The prison was destroyed in 1968. Today, all that is left is a low heavy masonry stone wall remaining from the prison of the 1830s on the site along Reed Street.