On the Map: A Trip to Eastern State Penitentiary and the Barnes Museum, Philadelphia
On the Map is a feature at LGBTSr for the not-so-weary traveler.
We took the train to Philadelphia with our friends Beth and Doris for a day of sightseeing and lunch at the Barnes Foundation museum. First stop: Eastern State Penitentiary, which was open for over 140 years, from 1829 until 1971! It was started by the Quakers and revolutionized incarceration at the time. It was the first to confine every prisoner in a single cell – today known as solitary confinement and a huge contributor to mental illness among the incarcerated. Back then they thought it was a better way to rehabilitate prisoners. They were allowed nothing to read but the bible, and they spent 23 hours a day alone in their cells. This could be something the architects of Project 2025 may want to look into …
After touring Donald Trump’s future lifestyle, we walked over to the Barnes Foundation museum, where we saw an art collection that is among the most unique in the world. I have never imagined seeing so many Cezannes, Picassos, and other modern masters in one location. Dr. Albert Barnes was an astute collector, purchasing works by artists in their un-famous prime that would later be with tens of millions of dollars.
“Our founder, Dr. Albert C. Barnes, believed that art had the power to improve minds and transform lives. Our diverse educational programs are based on his teachings and one-of-a-kind collections.
Philadelphia art collector Albert C. Barnes (1872–1951) chartered the Barnes in 1922 to teach people from all walks of life how to look at art. Over three decades, he collected some of the world’s most important impressionist, post-impressionist, and modern paintings, including works by Renoir, Cézanne, Matisse, and Picasso. He displayed them alongside African masks, native American jewelry, Greek antiquities, and decorative metalwork.”
I have to take age’s pleasures where I can, and having a senior pass for free travel on trains to Philadelphia is one of them. If you live in Pennsylvania, New Jersey or Delaware and you’re over 65, you can get a pass to ride for free. We had to go to Philly to get them, but they’re great to have. I prefer going to Philadelphia over New York City for a number of reasons: it’s less congested, it’s much closer, and commuting on a train beats driving to Manhattan any day. We occasionally take a bus to NYC, but I won’t drive there again. Eleven years of that was enough.
