Plaque to memorialize 'bygone' Moyamensing Prison

In its almost 130-year life-span, the Moyamensing Prison was home to history.

It was designed by Thomas Ustick Walter, who was also the architect for the dome of the U.S. Capitol building.

It held Edgar Allan Poe and Al Capone in its cells.

And it conducted Pennsylvania's last execution by hanging, in 1916.

An Acme supermarket now sits where the demolished prison once stood at Passyunk Avenue and Reed Street, in South Philly. But while it may be gone, it won't be forgotten.

The Moyamensing Prison's memory is being honored with an official state historical marker, to be dedicated today at noon.

The plaque is "a big deal," said Cindy Little, a historian at the Philadelphia History Museum, who will speak at the dedication. The Historical Marker Program "is one of those programs that kind of gets people's attention."

Opening in 1835, "the prison was built in the Egyptian Revival style. "For many people, the Moyamensing Prison is most famous for its architecture," Little said.

Moyamensing was the county prison and primarily held people for short periods of time, said historian Celeste Morello, who nominated the prison for a marker. The short-term inmates included people who couldn't make bail, and fugitive slaves who were captured before their masters collected them, she said.

In addition to Poe and Capone, inmates included a number of other notable people. Little said she plans to speak at the plaque dedication about Passmore Williamson, an anti-slavery activist who spent time in Moyamensing and became "a huge cause celebre" in 1855 after he helped a slave escape and was falsely imprisoned for contempt.

And in the late 1800s, H.H. Holmes, who is considered to be one of America's first serial killers, was hanged at Moyamensing.

The prison closed in 1963 and demolition ended in 1968. Morello said that Moyamensing was shut down because it needed to be modernized and it would have cost more to update the facility than it would to close it.

"It's just a shame that it doesn't exist anymore," Morello said. "The prison was of the bygone days."