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From Ferret Man to Al Capone: A Road Trip Through Philadelphia's Past

2026-05-17

This morning we escaped Motel 6 alive. As we loaded the car, Ferret Man sat outside Room 214 on a fold-up chair smoking quietly with his feet resting on his microwave, watching us leave like we would even attempt to…

This morning we escaped Motel 6 alive. As we loaded the car, Ferret Man sat outside Room 214 on a fold-up chair smoking quietly with his feet resting on his microwave, watching us leave like we would even attempt to steal his caged ferret. The ferret stood and stared. Neither of them blinked. I still don’t fully believe any of it happened. From there we headed into Philadelphia to visit the absolutely incredible Eastern State Penitentiary … a gigantic abandoned prison right in the middle of the city. It opened in 1829, was once the most famous prisons in the world and housed inmates including Al Capone. Walking through the crumbling cell blocks trying to imagine what life was like for the prisoners was genuinely strange. The whole prison was built around silence. Prisoners weren’t allowed to talk to each other and spent most of their lives alone in tiny cells. It finally closed in 1970. One of the most fascinating stories was the famous escape from Cell 68 on Cellblock 7. In 1945, twelve inmates spent months secretly digging a tunnel from underneath the prison, eventually making it beyond the outer wall. We actually saw the start of the tunnel inside the cell and then the painted l…

Topics: Travel

Matthew Eaves — escape room franchise founder, operator, and writer. Also: franchise, posts, contact.