March 31-April 6, 2005

mixpicks

Free Willie

by Duane Swierczynski

Jail Bait

An early example of Philadelphia white flight, bank robber Willie Sutton tried to flee this city not once but twice. The second time was on February 10, 1947, when Sutton and some friends used stolen guard uniforms and two huge ladders to scale the walls of Holmesburg Prison. That time, he made his way to Route 1, then up to Princeton, and he stayed away for good. (That is, until he was nabbed on the streets of Brooklyn years later and uttered the famous line, "Do I look like a bank robber to you?") His first attempt, however, wasn't as successful. Along with 11 other convicts, Sutton tunneled out of Fairmount's Eastern State Penitentiary on April 3, 1945, then ran, well, Willie-nilly into the neighborhood. Their freedom was short-lived. The cons had the bad luck to pop out of the ground just as two beat cops were walking by. A wild chase ensued.

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the break, Eastern State Penitentiary will host an 8 a.m. re-creation on Saturday (using actors, of course; unsuspecting passersby might think the Erin Express has returned) followed by an archaeological discussion of the escape tunnel and a "Willie Sutton Dinner" at nearby London Grill. Some say that Sutton had time to stop by the restaurant before being rounded up. Why would he do such a thing? Because that's where the beer is.

Willie Sutton 60th anniversary weekend, Sat.-Sun., April 2-3, 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; escape re-creation, Sun., April 3, 8 a.m., followed by archaeological discussion, Eastern State Penitentiary, 2124 Fairmount Ave., 215-236-5111, www.easternstate.org.