Beneath the Bricks of Pennhurst

Step inside Pennhurst with us—past the red-brick façades and into the story of how a Progressive Era “model campus” opened in 1908, became overcrowded and exposed on local TV in 1968, and ultimately helped reshape disability rights through landmark court battles before closing in 1987. We trace the tunnels, the daily routines, the community transitions that followed, and how the grounds now hold both a growing on-site museum and a seasonal Halloween haunt. It’s a history-forward ride: architecture, policy, and people—told with empathy, a little wonder, and just enough goosebumps to match a night on the hill above Spring City.