1998: Cellblock 1 Roofing
$475,000.

Second roofing project placed a new structure over the existing roof, skylights and exercise yard areas. The new roof has twenty-five year EPDM roofing.

Being the first cellblock completed by Architect John Haviland, Cellblock 1 is of special significance. When the Penitentiary opened on October 23, 1829, Eastern State’s first inmate, Charles Williams, was taken to Cellblock 1 after being processed by Warden Samuel R. Wood. Charles Williams spent two years in Cellblock 1 for the theft of one twenty-dollar watch, one three-dollar gold seal, and one gold key.

Funded by: City of Philadelphia ($375,000), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Keystone Historic Preservation Grant($100,000).