Eastern State Penitentiary – The Best Ways to Travel There
View of Pennsylvania Historic Marker Sign, at Eastern State Penitentiary, 21st Street and Fairmount Avenue. To better ead the sign, just click directly on the photo, to enlarge it. Regrettably, Eastern State Penitentiary is one of the few major Philadelphia attractions, which is not easily accessible by SEPTA, SEPTA Regional Rail, or the Phlash Trolley. But here's how you get there... You can consult the outstanding official web site of Eastern State Penitentiary. In addition, here are our own recommendations, for getting to the ruined fortress... By SEPTA, when the Phlash is in season from May 1 to October 31, and when the Phlash is running, only from approximately 10 AM to 6 PM Take your R_ train to Suburban Station. From Suburban, you have several options. When the Phlash is in season - i.e., from May 1 through Halloween - you can board the purple trolley, right outside Suburban, at 16th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard. However, make sure that the Phlash is going in the correct direction - ask the driver, if he/she is going to 22nd and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. This is important, because if the Phlash is going the opposite way, you're going to be on it for a very long time. So, ask! Disembark from the Phlash, at 22nd and the Parkway, also home to the Rodin Museum. You won't be on the Phlash for long, as it's only about six or seven blocks from Suburban. This will place you about six blocks away from Eastern State Penitentiary. The map below shows where you will be, relative to the prison. View Rodin Museum to Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia in a larger map The purple teardrop indicates the Phlash stop at 22nd and the Ben Franklin Parkway; the red teardrop, Eastern State Penitentiary Once you're at the Rodin Museum, at 22nd and the Parkway... here are the directions by foot. This walk is 0.5 miles, and will take about 10 minutes. Make a right onto 22nd Street, going north. You'll cross the following major streets - Spring Garden, Green, and Wallace. You will then reach the intersection of 22nd and Fairmount Avenues, and you'll see the gigantic fortress. The exact address is at 2124 Fairmount Avenue - in other words, on Fairmount between 22nd and 21st Streets. But what about taking SEPTA, when the Phlash is not in season, from November 1 to April 30? Likewise, take your R_ train to Suburban Station. You can connect with SEPTA bus Route 33, just outside Suburban. We would strongly recommend, that you pick up a copy of the 33 schedule when you are at Suburban, as service varies depending on time of day and whether it is a weekday or weekend, plus there will be a map of the route in the schedule. When you're at Suburban, ask a SEPTA employee for one. (And this is particularly important if you are from out of town.) The 33 will eventually head northbound up 20th Street, which is one-way. You want to get off the 33 at 20th and Fairmount Avenue, and then walk westbound on Fairmount, crossing 21st Street, to enter Eastern State Penitentiary. Important tip for heading back - the 33 runs southbound down 19th Street, also one-way. So after you're done at Eastern State, you have to walk an additional block, back to 19th and Fairmount, in order to pick up the 33 and ride back to Center City. View Suburban Station to Eastern State Penitentiary in a larger map These icons indicate Suburban Station (the train), the Route 33 stops (the buses), and the prison (the red teardrop) If you would like to leave How to Travel to the Fortress, and return to the main page for the prison, please click here. If you'd like to return to the Home Page of Enjoying Philadelphia, please click here.
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