WATCH: Film Recalls When Eastern State Was a Playground for Fairmount Kids

Philly videographer Cory J. Popp released the latest in his “Uncover Philly” series, which takes a look at and tells the stories behind some of our favorite spots around the city.

In “From Prison to Playground” he goes inside Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP), and recalls the days long before tourists were let in, when a bunch of local kids used it as a place to hang. He talked to Bobby Quinn, one of the leaders of that group in the 1980s, who tells the story with a sense of nostalgia that almost brings tears to his eyes. “It was our playground. It was our city,” he says. “It was our neighborhood inside a neighborhood—a kids neighborhood.”

Then Popp takes you inside the prison, in rarely seen spots that have yet to be opened to tourists. It provides a glimpse of what the facility may have looked like to Quinn and his friends in the ’80s, when the storied prison was kept in a state of preserved ruin. It’s kind of ironic, given that in about a month one of the busiest days at ESP will take place, when hordes flock over to see the annual Bastille Day Celebration (and gorge on Tastykakes). More info here.

Check out “From Prison to Playground” below.