Welcome to The Rock

We took a boat ride out to the infamous Alcatraz, just off the San Francisco mainland. It's a quick ferry ride, which departs from Pier 33 at Fisherman's Wharf.

Fisherman's Wharf sign

Often referred to as "The Rock", the small island was developed with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison, and a federal prison until March 21 1963.

 

Liesl on the ferry

Me in my new hat. It was freaking cold out there!

ALCATRAZ!

Beginning in November 1969, the island was occupied for more than 19 months by a group of American Indians from San Francisco, who were part of a wave of Indian activism across the nation, with public protests through the 1970s. Later, in 1972, Alcatraz became a national recreation area and received designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1986. And today, you can take a tour of the island as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Approaching the dock

 

During the 29 years it was in use, the jail held such notable criminals as Al "Scarface" Capone, Robert Stroud (The Birdman), Machine Gun Kelly, Bumpy Johnson and Mickey Cohen. It also provided housing for the Bureau of Prisons staff and their families.

We took the self-guided audio tour which takes place mainly within the Prison Cell blocks. The above photo is of the ramps which lead to the main prison house.

The Morgue. It's such a happy place.

First stop is the prison showers

Be careful not to drop the soap!

Second stop is to pick up your prison party clothes.

Inside one of the cells of a "normal" prisoner

Prisoners were allowed out during the day, and at night would retire to the type of cell above.

The slightly "larger" cells held the really bad dudes. They were only allowed out for an hour a day.

Robert "Bird Man" Stroud was transferred to Alcatraz in 1942. He spent the next seventeen years on "the Rock"—six years in segregation in D Block, and eleven years in the prison hospital. In 1959 he was transferred to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners.

Although called the Birdman of Alcatraz, Stroud was not allowed to keep birds while incarcerated there.He did write several books on ornithology though..

The isolation cells in D Block

Me taking a photo of Liesl from inside the isolation cell

Me inside the isolation cell. It was creepy

The visitors room

A room with a view

The kitchen

The dining room

The tear gas canisters in the dining room - in case inmates got out of hand

The above was a pulley erected so that prison guards could send keys up and down between floors instead of taking the stairs.

During its 29 years of operation, the penitentiary claimed no prisoner had successfully escaped. A total of 36 prisoners made 14 escape attempts, two men trying twice; 23 were caught, six were shot and killed during their escape, and three escaped and were never found . The most violent occurred on May 2, 1946, when a failed escape attempt by six prisoners led to the  Battle of Alcatraz.

The above pulley played a significant part in the escape attempt. Prisoners climbed up to the above level and forced the bars apart, thinking that the key would open a nearby door. It didn't.

On June 11, 1962, Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin carried out one of the most intricate escapes ever devised. This was the basis of the film "Escape from Alcatraz".

Behind the prisoners' cells in Cell Block B (where the escapees were interned) was an unguarded 3-foot (0.91 m) wide utility corridor. 

The prisoners chiseled away the moisture-damaged concrete from around an air vent leading to this corridor, using tools such as a metal spoon soldered with silver from a dime and an electric drill improvised from a stolen vacuum cleaner motor. The noise was disguised by accordions played during music hour, and the progress was concealed by false walls which, in the dark recesses of the cells, fooled the guards.

The escape route led up through a fan vent; the prisoners removed the fan and motor, replacing them with a steel grille and leaving a shaft large enough for a prisoner to climb through. The escapees also constructed an inflatable raft from several stolen raincoats for the trip to the mainland. Leaving dummies in their cells affixed with stolen human hair from the barbershop, they escaped. 

The official report on the escape says the prisoners drowned while trying to reach the mainland in the cold waters of the bay. But there were reported sightings of the men over the years, and friends and family of Morris and the Anglins claimed to have received postcards written in the men's handwriting.

 

The Great Escape

The lighthouse

Old prison guard house

View of San Francisco from Alcatraz

View of the Golden Gate Bridge from Alcatraz

I've posted all of the Alcatraz photos in my Facebook albumn, in case you want to see more :-)

More on the Bay area to follow...

xxx