Evaluation of Potential Collection Storage Areas at Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site.

FAIN: PF-50322-12

Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, Inc. (Philadelphia, PA 19130-2610)
Sara Jane Elk (Project Director: December 2011 to May 2015)

A planning project to determine storage solutions for 2,600 artifacts and 1,300 publications, archival records, photographs, and oral history recordings of prison life dating from the late 18th to mid-20th centuries.

Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, Inc.( ESPHS) seeks a $40,000 Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections grant to conduct a planning study to assess the potential of two historic structures for transformation into a facility for the “Abandoned Collection” of items left on the site during the penitentiary’s period of disuse from 1971-1994. ESPHS will also evaluate present storage of the donated "New Collection," housed in the staff offices. The organization will consider practical aspects such as visitor circulation, availability of electricity and mechanical systems, and overall environmental sustainability. During the grant period, the buildings will be evaluated, previous studies will be reviewed, nearly one year of environmental monitoring data will be analyzed, and staff, architects, and a conservator will consult to develop an Environmental Management Plan. The final plan will reflect cost-effective solutions for managing two collections on a large site with many needs.