America’s Best Crime and Punishment Attractions

Secret deals. Conspiracy theories. Clandestine meetings in dark warehouses.  It’s the stuff of many a movie thriller and a part of our social and political culture. Although seedy and violent at times, the underbelly attracts the curious and can somehow be exciting (until someone gets whacked or arrested!).

If you enjoy the intrigue and don’t mind dipping your toe into the dark side, check out these five captivating attractions to help plan your own crime and punishment-themed itinerary.

The International Spy Museum – Washington DC

If our nation’s capital seems an apropos location for the International Spy Museum, you’re right. But what you’ll find here spans far beyond just wire-tapping and top-secret encounters. It is “the only public museum in the US solely dedicated to espionage and the only one in the world to provide a global perspective on an all-but-invisible profession which has shaped history and continues to have a significant impact on world events.” It is also home to the largest collection of espionage artifacts on public display.

The experience here is fascinating – state-of-the-art interactive exhibits and displays shed light on a multitude of historical incidents. You’ll learn about the strategies and elaborate techniques behind some of the most famous (or infamous) secret missions. You and your friends can enter the fictional country of “Khandar” to participate in a Critical Mission Intel. The spy-life is major mystery and intrigue on steroids and is unexpectedly entertaining. (Note: a new permanent International Spy Museum home is under construction in southwest DC and is expected to open in 2019).

The Mob Museum – Las Vegas, Nevada

No visit to Las Vegas would be complete without a stop at The Mob Museum, The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement. From the moment you enter the expansive three-story building, you’ll realize that mob history is much deeper and richer than the life and crimes of modern day outlaws like John Gotti, Sam Giancana and Al Capone.  And, that Vegas and Chicago were not the only hotbeds of activity.

The integrated, multi-sensory exhibits here are mind-blowing, revealing themes like Hollywood and the Mob, the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, Prohibition, and The Feds Fight Back, to name a few.  Many of the artifacts and historic timelines are divided into “Case Files” that provide a more in-depth comprehension of the role the Mob has played in our cultural landscape. An interactive Crime Lab, Speakeasy, “Listening In” stations and the “Mob’s Greatest Hits” are also part of the fun.

The Ohio State Reformatory – Mansfield, Ohio 

If you’re like me, you’ve seen the movie The Shawshank Redemption starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins a few times. But I never thought about the setting where it was filmed. Enter the Ohio State Reformatory.

Originally built in 1834 as the Ohio Penitentiary, the facility has a long and storied history. Intended for use as an intermediate state prison (somewhere between a juvenile and hardcore lock-down) it also served as a training site for over 4,000 soldiers during the Civil War. The over one-mile long, self-guided and docent-led tours (the latter offered between June and August), explore almost all the architecturally stunning Penitentiary, including the central guard room, cellblocks, bullpens, solitary confinement areas and more. Themes here are presented via the Beyond the Bars Tour, History Meets Hollywood Tour and Inmate Tour. The Inmate Tour drops you right into day-to-day prison life, including the inhumane treatment, graphic descriptions of violence and abuse, and the like (ergo, it’s for ages 13 and older).

At its height in 1955, the Penitentiary housed 5,235 convicts but closed its doors in 1990. Its renown was resurrected in 1994 during the filming of the movie. Today, The Shawshank Trail is a popular driving tour through 15 authentic filming sites in and around Mansfield. The Reformatory also offers Paranormal Ghost Walks (again, for ages 13 and older) during the summer, and just added a new INKcarceration Tattoo and Music Festival. I think “Red” and “Andy” would be proud!

Eastern State Penitentiary – Philadelphia, PA

Opened in 1829, Eastern State Penitentiary is a prime example of how rehabilitation can be achieved with compassion and understanding. The Penitentiary came about because of the desire of the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons to provide a place where the work “penitence” could take place in humane conditions. Revolutionary for its time, its founders refused to dehumanize its occupants, making it a model for many prisons built after it.

The focus on empathetic rehabilitation and the facility’s innovative design is evident at the psychological and spiritual counseling center, synagogue and even the barbershop, which visitors can explore along a self-guided audio tour. Al Capone served time here too, his former cell illustrating his influence and wealth even behind bars. Exhibits, artifacts, oral history projects, art installations and interactive experiences make a visit here a profound experience.

Missouri State Penitentiary – Jefferson City, MO

When a prison is dubbed the “bloodiest 47 acres in America,” there’s no question some really awful things happened there. Opened in 1836, the Missouri State Penitentiary was the oldest continually operating prison west of the Mississippi when it closed in 2004. At one time the MSP housed 4,900 inmates in conditions that can only be described as inhumane.

Pretty Boy Floyd did time here as did Sonny Liston, who went on to become a five-time world boxing champion after his release. James Earl Ray escaped from the prison in a bread truck and killed Martin Luther King, Jr. a year later. You can learn about all the infamous felons who were housed within these spooky walls at the attached Missouri State Penitentiary Museum, located in former warden Col. Darwin W. Marmaduke’s house.

The prison offers intriguing history tours and spine-tingling ghost tours. If you’re brave enough there’s even an overnight paranormal tour that includes time in the cells on Death Row. For the ultimate haunting experience, visit the gas chamber where 40 executions took place over 168 years.