Philadelphia - Event

Each July the storming of the Bastille is remembered with a re-enactment at Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary. During the day the old prison is open as usual before, at 5.30pm, the grim walls are stormed by the armed troops of the revolution!

As Marie Antoinette tosses sweets from the tower (let them eat cake) the reenactors of the Old Fort Mifflin Historical Society lay seige to the prison. After capturing the rogue monarch, they drag her to a real functioning guillotine, where the crowds decide her fate.

The event promises to be more in the spirit of Monty Python than Robespierre and visitors are encouraged to attend dressed as medieval French peasants.

After the victory of the revolution, the Penitentiary reopens for rare evening tours, which last about 20 minutes and provide a quick introduction to the building and its history. There is also a Bastille Day neighbourhood party.