The program is administrated by the Pennsylvania Prison Society, formerly the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons, which had lobbied for the building's construction nearly two centuries earlier. More than 10,000 visitors attend in the first year. With funding from the William Penn Foundation, permanent museum exhibits are constructed and a marketing campaign begins. An on-site art exhibition, Prison Sentences, receives international attention. A cultural performance series begins.
Attendance nearly doubles.
The city grants the Pennsylvania Prison Society a ten-year license to develop the historic site. The World Monument Fund includes Eastern State Penitentiary on its list of the one-hundred most important endangered landmarks in the world.