Holmesburg Prison
Updated December 15, 2022 | By Matthew Christopher
Holmesburg Prison was opened in 1896 to relieve overcrowding at Philadelphia's Moyamensing Prison and was closed in 1995, though portions of the campus are still sporadically used for prisoner overflow and work programs. While one does not expect prisons to have cheery histories, Holmesburg's past manages to include some particularly barbarous instances of rioting, rape, torture, corruption, medical experimentation, and murder.
Designed on the same spoke-and-wheel layout of the nearby Eastern State Penitentiary, the original philosophy was 'separate penal confinement', where prisoners were isolated and left to contemplate their crimes. A narrow slit in the ceiling allowed light into the cells. Overcrowding quickly overcame the model, and as early as 1928 riots occurred due in part to the ratio of three prisoners to a single cell, leading to an expansion of the prison.
Many of Holmesburg Prison's cells bear a striking resemblance to Eastern State Penitentiary, which its design was loosely based on.
Reactions to unrest were swift and brutal. One of the prison's most gruesome incidents was in reaction to a 1938 hunger strike where half of the prison refused to eat because of complaints about the food. Twenty-five of the prisoners identified as leaders of the strike were taken to a building called the Klondike, a narrow cell block lined with radiators and steam pipes. The windows and ventilation grills were closed and, in conjunction with an August heat wave, raised temperatures in the building to nearly 200 degrees. Four of the men died of horrific injuries consistent with severe beatings and being boiled alive. The governor visited to investigate following public outcry and was so shaken by what he saw that he reported to the press, "in this case, having gone into the matter, I find the press has, if anything, understated the horror of the death of four men." Of the 14 prison staff members charges were brought against, only two were convicted and given light sentences. The Klondike was torn down in the 1970s.
Other instances of murders and beatings dotted the years, including an incident in 1973 where the warden and his deputy were stabbed to death by inmates. A riot in 1970 was started by roughly 100 prisoners who were, according to a Bulletin article, "armed with meat cleavers, boning knives, makeshift pitchforks and table legs", destroying the dining hall and butchering other inmates and guards. Nearly 100 people were injured in the incident. A lawsuit followed, focusing public attention on beatings, filthy conditions, and sexual assault and leading to some reforms aimed at addressing overcrowded conditions.
Another dark passage in Holmesburg's history was the twenty year period where Dr. Albert M. Kligman performed a variety of medical experiments on the prisoners, exposing them to herpes, staphylococcus, cosmetics, skin blistering chemicals, radioactive isotopes, psychoactive drugs, and carcinogenic compounds such as dioxins. The experiments were financed by 33 different sponsors including Johnson & Johnson, Dow Chemicals, and the U.S. Army. Prisoners were paid minimal amounts and were not properly advised of risks or treated for the complications that arose.
One of the most decayed and eerie cell block in Holmesburg Prison in Philadelphia
It is reported that as many as nine tenths of the prison population underwent these studies during the period they were conducted from 1951 to 1974. The experiments ended in congressional hearings, public outcry, and lawsuits alleging the tests were a breach of the Nuremburg Code. The records were destroyed and the lawsuits dismissed, but led to strict regulations regarding the use of prisoners in medical studies.
It's safe to say that objectively, Holmesburg Prison was a terrible place. It was where the worst of the worst prisoners were sent and earned its nickname "The Terrordome." If the city of Philadelphia ever gets around to tearing it down, I'll be sad to see it go, though. If nothing else, it serves as an important indicator of who we are, what we can do, and how frighteningly close we are to the worst parts of our own past.
Holmesburg Prison is a chapter in my book, Abandoned America: Age of Consequences.
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