Eric & I wait to board an
Alcatraz City Cruise Boat
to cross the Bay to the Prison.
We have tickets for The Behind the Scenes Tour. Eric and I will be visiting areas that are off-limits to the public.
It's said that when you break the community's rules, you go to prison. When you break prison rules, you go to Alcatraz.
After Alcatraz Prison was decommissioned on March 21, 1963, it was abandoned. Potential plans for the island included creating monuments or turning the land over to developers for a shopping mall. The public was upset about the options put forward. American Indians across the country joined forces and in 1969 started their 19 month occupation of the island.
United Indian Property
Indian Land
All of California was originally occupied by Indians. This Island was taken and used as a Military Outpost and then a Prison. Indians took control of the island to stop further development of what was always theirs.
Alcatraz is now a National
Landmark run by the
National Parks Service.
Our group walks through
the Sally Port into the
old Fort.
was the last line of
defense against
attackers.
We are allowed into a formerly
The Officers Club is now
a ruin.
There were no invasions for the Fort on Alcatraz to defend against. It then became Minimum Security Military Prison. The Military Prison closed and the island was turned over to The Bureau of Prisons. After added construction, Alcatraz Federal Prison opened in 1934. A lot of planning went into the new Federal Prison. Some details were not considered.
sealed tunnel.
The Production Company of The Rock paid to have the tunnel opened up for the Movie. They never shot any scenes in the tunnel, or on its other end...
We walk through the rough
hewn passageway...
... and enter a large workroom.
Alcatraz Island Area 12 Acres
1 1/2 Miles To Transport Dock
Only Government Boats Permitted
Others Must Keep Off 200 Yards
No One Allowed Ashore
Without a Pass
The Tool Room would have
This is one of the Commercial
Dryers used in the Laundry
Prisoners did the laundry for the Military.
been very important for
those planning escapes.
In its years as a Federal Prison, 36 men tried to escape Alcatraz. Those who tried to escape and were recaptured wore a ball and chain for three months.
Prisoners were paroled from Alcatraz. Jaime told us that the recidivism rate was 50 percent. Inmate Robert Luther was amazed to smell fresh-cut grass one day. He carefully examined his life and decided to do the rest of his time without getting into trouble. After he was paroled in 1959, Robert returned home and his family accepted this lifelong, reformed criminal. Robert was honest with Ida and they had a happy supportive marriage.
He returned to The Rock 51 years after his release and shared his stories with a Tour Group. Fearing anger and disgust, Robert was surprised that the audience treated him with compassion. He returned and spoke to other visitors until his health no longer allowed the travel.
We stop at the gardens one
the way to the Prison.
The Prison Superintendent, Guards, and Staff lived on Alcatraz with their families. The gardens were a pleasant place to spend place to time. Vegetables and flowers were grown here. Volunteers maintain the gardens today.
Cell Block A was built for
Minimum Security Military
Prisoners.
Construction of the Cell Doors was not hardened and each Door needed to be opened by hand. This wasn't secure enough for expected Federal Prisoners, Cell Block A was used for storage.
A member of our Tour
Group is given keys
to open the Gate...
Jaime takes us down a set of stairs to the basement. Neither the Military Prison nor the Federal Prison planned to segregate troublesome inmates.
We see dimly lit corridors.
This is a creepy place.
This secure Prison Island had inmates who wouldn't follow the rules. They needed to be separated from the General Population.
They were put in cells
in the basement.
(Retouched photo of
the "Dungeons."
Paroled inmates gave interviews to the San Francisco Press and stories of mistreated prisoners became public. Sending hardened criminals to a Prison Island is one thing. Confining them in dark dank places with no plumbing was inhumane.
Jaime's part of the Tour has come to an end. She walks us to the Main Prison and says goodbye.
hardened steel gates & a remote
locking system to keep Guards
from being overwhelmed by
inmates when their Cells open.
Visitors get preloaded audio recorders for the rest of the Tour.
All inmates get prison clothing.
We walk through deserted
B & C Cell Blocks.
by 5 foot Cells.
Apparently, double-bunking was not allowed here.
D Block was built to
segregate inmates
who would not
follow the rules.
These Cells are deeper
than the ones in the
other Cell Blocks.
Al Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, and Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson spent time in this area of the Prison.
For those who just would not
follow the rules, there were
3 Segregation Cells.
Close the door outside the
Cell & it's a very lonely
quiet place to be.
Alcatraz did have some amenities...
Inmates read the Classics,
Philosophy, & Shakespeare.
Outdoor exercise in the Yard.
Baseball equipment was issued
to the players.
I'm sure every piece of equipment was accounted for before inmates returned to their Cells.
Follow the rules & you
can have Visits.
The last attempted escape
occurred in June 1962.
Frank Morris and brothers, Clarence and John Anglin managed to enlarge the air grates in their Cells and were gone when the morning headcount occurred on June 12, 1962.
notice the escape because
they each placed a dummy
head in their bunk.
Were spoons used to claw
through the concrete &
into the unguarded
Utility Corridor behind
their Cells?
They salvaged tool parts.
Here's an Electric Drill.
I think their neighbors chose not to report the sounds of scraping and the electric drill.
The swim in frigid water with strong currents would be very difficult. Within days homemade paddles, a life vest, and a packet of letters were found. No other evidence of the escape was found. Their bodies were never found in San Francisco Bay. No cars or trucks were reported stolen near the Bay after the escape.
The FBI searched for 17 years and never found an inmate, alive or dead.
Our time at Alcatraz Prison has come to an end.
Eric & I return to the dock
to wait for our ride back
to the mainland.
I'm glad Eric and I took The Behind the Scenes Alcatraz Tour. We learned a lot about this one of a kind former Federal Prison. Prison movies filmed here include Alcatraz Island, The Birdman of Alcatraz, Escape from Alcatraz, Murder in the First, and some Horror Films.
This prison continues to fascinate people and will always be a popular tourist attraction.
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