Modern-day
The Eastern State Penitentiary operates as a museum and historic site, open year-round. Guided tours are offered during the winter, and during the warmer months, self-guided tours are also available (narrated mainly by Steve Buscemi, with former guards, wardens and prisoners also contributing). In addition, it holds many special events throughout the year. Each July, there is a Bastille Day celebration, complete with a comedic reinterpretation of the storming of the Bastille and the tossing of thousands of Tastykakes from the towers, accompanied by a cry of "let them eat Tastykake!" from an actress portraying Marie Antoinette.
The facility has been kept in "preserved ruin", meaning no significant attempts have been made at renovations or restoration.
Due to its ominous appearance, gloomy atmosphere, and long history, Eastern State has been used as a location for television programs and films about hauntings. Paranormal TV shows like Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, and MTV's Fear explored the paranormal at Eastern State. Eastern State was also used in a episode of Cold Case titled "The House" which dealt with a murder after an inmate escape. For the show, the prison was renamed Northern State Penitentiary. On June 1, 2007, Most Haunted Live! conducted and broadcast a paranormal investigation live (for the first time in the United States) from Eastern State Penitentiary for an unprecedented seven continuous hours hoping to come in contact with supernatural beings. Punk group the Dead Milkmen also filmed the music video for their song "Punk Rock Girl" in Eastern State. In the PlayStation 2 game, The Suffering, players can find a video documentary of Eastern State Penitentary, one of the inspirations for the game.
Eastern State has also served as a location in several feature films. Terry Gilliam's 1995 film Twelve Monkeys used it as the setting for a mental hospital. The 2000 film Animal Factory, directed by Steve Buscemi relied heavily on Eastern State in its portrayal of a prison in a state of advancing decay. In June 2008, Paramount Pictures used parts of Eastern State Penitentiary for the filming of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
In 1996 and 2000, the World Monuments Fund included Eastern State Penitentiary on its World Monuments Watch, its biennial list of the "Most Endangered" cultural heritage sites.
In September 2008 the History Press released Eastern State Penitentiary: A History, the only comprehensive history book currently in print about Eastern State. It was written by a former tour guide with the assistance of the site's education director, and has a forward written by the penitentiary's former social worker.
In 2012, the soundtrack to the film Alpha Girls was recorded in Eastern State Penitentiary by the band Southwork.
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