A is for Alcatraz

L is for luxury.

Which really doesn't describe what the life of the common Alcatraz inmate was like back before the island shut its prison bars in 1963. That's what I imagine anyway.

Alcatraz was the one and only thing that I had in mind to visit when I first got here about two months ago. I remember seeing it in the third X-Men movie (I am a huge fan btw) where it was used as a research center. I see it every day as I pass Crissy Fields too, so I had a huge craving to visit. Today was the day I finally got my chance.

So the six-year-old took a day out from school and the four of us went to visit the island. It began with a ferry ride that took 15 minutes. Usually, this is the point where you get to take pictures of the San Francisco bay, but the fog this morning was incredible. It had been a very sunny week, so I was surprised by the dense fog we had. You could see about 300 feet in front of you at most.

The dock

On the ferry

The ferry dropped us off at the island (obviously) and every tourist scattered to have a look around. The tour begins with walking a 5 minute walk up to the main prison. On the way up, we passed the morgue and some closed off buildings. The morgue had a table and a couple of old instruments on the side, not that much more. There were never actual autopsies made at the morgue and dead inmates were usually sent to their families...

Random fact: eight inmates were murdered by other inmates, five committed suicide and fifteen died of natural causes.

The morgue

We were handed earphones and a player to listen to an audio tour as we went around the cell blocks. Since we had two kids with us though, I only got to about halfway before we had to give up and entertain them. Alcatraz audio tours aren't really the best things for children after all, too much talking. So we spent a few minutes just walking around the building and looking into cells and the yard. After the fog began to clear a little (because of the sun), we were able to enjoy a little bit of what you could see of the bay. You could even hear the police cars/ambulances/fire trucks that were driving around in San Francisco.

Random fact: There were over 300 civilians living on Alcatraz island. Most of the officers on patrol and the warden lived on the island with their families.

This was greeting us when we got off the boat

The main prison area

Imagine trying to escape and swim into that fog...

Regular cell, 5ft by 9ft

Regular cell with privileges to the use of an instrument 

Broadway

Inmates had the privilege of having one visitor per month

Inmate playtime was spent here

The warden's house, what's left of it

Random fact: On New Years Eve, inmates could hear people laughing on the shoreline. It was the only day of the year when you could hear sounds from the city reaching the island.

I've been re-watching Prison Break for a while now and I think it totally messed up my understanding of a prison. It wasn't too misleading though; the broadway and the aligning of the cells looked almost identical. What really shocked me was how small the cells were. 5 feet by 9 feet with a toilet and small sink plus the bed. So there really isn't that much room to stretch out in. These were the cells from the B- and C-blocks. D-block, or isolation, had much bigger cells. This was because the inmates would spend 24h in the cell, only let out once a week to exercise and shower. This was were Al Capone spent some of his time.

And if the prisoners got really out of control, they would be put in solitary confinement or "the hole". There, they would only be eating on a restricted diet and didn't have the luxury of going outside. No one would be kept inside for more than 19 days though, they would have gone crazy.

Solitary cell

The hole. Inside was nothing but empty space, locked with double doors.

Random fact: The showers in Alcatraz were always supplied with somewhat hot water in order to hinder inmates from becoming accustomed to the freezing Bay water.

Seeing the Bay Area from the island itself, I can only imagine how desperate someone would have to be to decide to try and swim over there. The water is around 50-55 degrees fahrenheit and the currents are really strong. Almost every escape attempt I heard about ended up with the escapees either drowning or not wanting to take the swim at all.

Random fact: A total of 36 men tried to escape from Alcatraz (including two dumbasses who tried to do it twice). 23 were caught, six were shot and killed and two drowned. Five prisoners are listed as "missing and presumed drowned". A sign of a successful escape or an escape gone terribly wrong? Who knows..

I really feel like going back there on my own and finishing the audio tour. I feel like I missed a few places that were accessible to the public as well. But by the end of our small tour, we were all so hungry that I think it was best that we left. We went to enjoy lunch at a small restaurant called Pier 23. Delicious burgers once more and another satisfied tummy. I was so tired by the end of the day that I just collapsed onto my bed and have been lying here since. But not before I had to go buy myself a new pair of sweatpants to roll around in and some food. To end my day, the key to my dorm room didn't work, so I had to walk back to my host family to get my spare key.. What would have been a 15 minute trip home ended up being a 2,5h trip around the city..

Today was a good day.

Sidenote: some of these pictures are edited (it's sort of obvious) because I was really bored and was trying new things with my camera...

I recommend going to Alcatraz, even to those who have no interest whatsoever in one of the most interesting things to see in San Francisco.