The ROCK
The only way to get to Alcatraz prison is by official routes. Alcatraz Island is located 2 km from San Francisco. You have to take a ferry across the choppy waters of San Francisco Bay. This brief trip for us tourists made the difference between life and death for many inmates at The Rock.
Alcatraz Island used to be a fort in the mid-19th century and was part of the line of defense to protect Calfornia during the height of the Gold Rush. In 1934 it was converted into a maximum security escape-proof prison. It was known to be the toughest prison in the United States and housed some of the most notorious prisoners.
The main prison has three floors and four cell blocks, A through D. The corridors inside the building are named after well-known American landmarks: Michigan Avenue, Broadway, Times Square, Park Avenue, Sunset Strip. Since most of the inmates spent so much time or even their entire lives at The Rocks, perhaps this helped them feel like they were still in America.
INSIDE THE PRISON
The cost of the ticket includes a self-guided tour of the prison and a walk around the outside grounds. It was a bit surreal to walk into such an infamous prison and, frankly, a bit unsettling. As I recall, this is where prisoners were 'processed' once they arrived. You can see the shower heads in the center. Some years after this trip, I went to Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, I remember seeing similar facilities. People passing through Auschwitz had no idea what their destination was, but at least here, the prisoners knew why and how long they would be here.
The whole place was quite large and people wandered around by themselves, learning about the place and life on Alcatraz with the audio tour. It was great, because you didn't have to walk around with a large group and wait for people or try to get in front of the group to listen to the tour guide.
Privacy was not high on the agenda in a high-security prison, nor was space. Each cell measured approximately 9 feet by 5 feet, which, to be honest, for some countries is considered quite spacious. They all had bathrooms ... but with no privacy and using salt water to flush the toilet, conditions weren't exactly five-star. But of course, this was built in the 1930s and it was a tough prison, so what do you expect?
Prisoners were not the only ones who lived on The Rock. The Watchmen, and there were four of them during the 30 years that Alcatraz was in operation, also lived on the island. Of course, their living conditions were much better and they lived in the Warden's House, located next to the Lighthouse. This mansion had something like 18 rooms and only the most reliable inmates got to work there. The Warden's House was set on fire by an activist in 1970 when they occupied the island after the closing of Alcatraz.
It certainly scared the hell out of me!
This is San Francisco from The Rocks. It's probably the view the inmates had when they were allowed out of their cells. So close but so far away. I thought the black and white image suited the somber mode they were probably feeling.
A tourist site that is worth visiting I highly recommend it hahaha I hope you like my article thanks for your time