Alcatraz

The ferry we took out to Alcatraz Island with picutes of San Francisco and the San Francisco Bay along the way.

Coit Tower

Bay Bridge

Arriving at the Island

(This shot makes a GREAT screensaver!)

Landing at the rock

The Island offered an excellend self-paced, walking, audio tour.

Exploring the Island

Historical Items

Pausing along the tour for a photo of a beautiful day!

In front of the Admin Building

Administrative Building/Duty

Control Room Area

Guard Tower

CELL LIFE

Space Behind the Cells (Used in the actual Escape From Alcatraz)

Broadway, Michigan Avenue, Park Avenue

The prisoners kept their humor about them as they served their time, giving each hallway between the blocks nicknames. The hallway in the center was named Broadway, and the other two were named Michigan Avenue and Park Avenue. The area that sat between the mess hall and the blocks was named Times Square. At the opposite end of the cell blocks was what prisoners called the “gun gallery.” It was given this name due to the guards that would stroll the many walkways, all armed and ready to take shot at any prisoner who caused too much trouble or tried to escape.

Warden's House
During the nineteen months and nine days of Native American occupation, several buildings were damaged or destroyed by fire, including the recreation hall, the Coast Guard quarters and the Warden's home. The origins of the fires are unknown. The U.S. government demolished a number of other buildings (mostly apartments) after the occupation had ended. Graffiti from the period of Native American occupation are still visible at many locations on the island.

Warden's Office

Recreation Yard

Looking Down From Recreation Yard Area

Visitation:

1946 Escape Attempt: The Battle of Alcatraz

Scars from the "Battle of Alcatraz" can still be seen on the floor.

Prison Library

Solitary "THE HOLE"

Famous Inmates

DINING HALL - Considered the most dangerous place!

move closure

The Prison Morgue

The Children of Alzatraz

The Alcatraz Prison Closure - 1963

BEAUTIFUL BIRDS AND FLOWERS

Alcatraz is, and has always been, a seagull Mecca - an island virtually adrift in baby seagull fluff during fledgling season.
Long before Alcatraz was a federal penitentiary, long before it was a military prison, long before it was a Civil War fortress, Alcatraz belonged to the birds.
Early explorers described it as a rock painted white with guano. Today, it remains a haven for bird life - black-crowned night herons, great egrets, brown pelicans, mallards, western gulls, cormorants. And, a surprise to most of the some 1.3 million who annually visit the Rock in the San Francisco Bay.

This was an AWESOME place to visit!