Notorious criminals such as Al Capone and bank robber Willie Sutton were held inside its innovative wagon wheel design . James Bruno ( Big Joe ) and several male relatives were incarcerated here between 1936 and 1948 for the alleged murders in the Kelayres massacre of 1934 , before they were paroled . At its completion , the building was the largest and most expensive public structure ever erected in the United States , and quickly became a model for more than 300 prisons worldwide
Kelayres massacre
Kelayres massacre
Eastern State Penitentiary