We set off today to pier 33, and had a quick look at the deserted pier 39 (due to it only being 8am!). We saw a colony of sea lions lazing about nearby.
Then we caught the boat over to Alcatraz. These days due to the National park service being in charge, the number of people visiting the island each day is restricted and closely monitored, which is good. It’s part of the largest urban national park in the world. Friends that have visited told me to book in advance, and we were glad we had. Times were booked out until next decade!! ...January 5. We were lucky we had booked early and got the first slot of the day to beat the worst of the crowds.
We disembarked and first watched a short informative film about the island. Alcatraz comes from the Spanish word ‘Alcatraces’ meaning pelicans. In 1848, gold was discovered nearby and the population of San Francisco exploded. It was decided that the army should fortify the island in order to keep an eye on the bay. It was used as a military post during the American Civil War, but California’s was never attacked.
In 1930, it was decided that the military base was too costly to maintain. Due to prohibition related gangster crime, a place was needed to keep such criminals. In 1934 the island began functioning as a prison and housed notorious gangsters such as Al Capone.
After the short film, we ascended to the cell block section where we listened to a fantastic 45 minute audio guide that took us through. We saw many of the 300 single man cells, as well as the sweeping views the prisoners would have been taunted by on a daily basis. You could even hear the sounds of the city from across the bay, which is just 1.25 miles away. Apparently on New Year’s Eve, prisoners could hear the laughter and music from a nearby yacht club party each year.
When prisoners arrived here, they were given a rule book. There were 53 rules, and they were basically told that they would have access to food, medicine, shelter and clothing. They could be searched at any time and they needed to do what they were told. They were allowed two showers a week, and we saw the shower area.
We entered the cell block and saw the cells. They were approximately 1.5m by 2.7m by 2.1m high. It was very cold inside. We were lucky that today was a gorgeous sunny day, but in the shade it was bitter cold. It’s hopefully meant to remain sunny while we are here. We are lucky - it’s supposed to rain a lot this time of year!!
Then we saw the yard where prisoners had set up a baseball field and were allowed to roam around for 2.5 hours every Saturday and Sunday. We also saw the dining hall, where tear gas canisters were kept in the ceiling in case of a riot. The menu looked alright as far as prison food went, and prisoners could take as much food as they liked as long as they ate it.
Next we entered D block, which contained 42 cells for solitary confinement. They were kept in their cell 24/7, and some of them even put in “the hole” - in pitch black darkness. The longest anyone was kept in there was 19 days straight.
Then we saw the library, where prisoners could have books ordered in for them. We then learned of the Battle of Alcatraz which occurred from the 2nd to the 4th or May 1946 and began because inmate Bernie Coy that worked in the library created a bar spreader and starved himself to sneak into the gun gallery. He and some other inmates held some prison guards hostage. Marines were sent in and a battle followed, with grenades being dropped into the cell block. As he died, one of the officers inscribed the prisoner names of those involved into the wall. By the end of it, two officers and three inmates were dead. Two other conspirators were later executed.
Our tour then led us outside, where we could see the administration and the burned down warden’s house. It and a few other buildings burned down in 1970 during the Indian occupation (more on that later). From here we had a wonderful view of the Golden Gate Bridge and a ginormous cargo ship. The bridge must be very high to fit boats like that underneath!
Towards the end of our tour, we learned of an escape plot by Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers that occurred on June 12th 1962. The three of them placed dummy heads in their beds for the morning inmate count. They had tunnelled their way through the air vents in their cells, crawled out of them and climbed up to the roof via the narrow utility corridor between the cells. Once on the roof, they slid down the stove pipe and were never seen or heard of again. Some say they died, others say they fled to South America. All in all, 36 inmates tried to escape Alcatraz in 14 different attempts.
Finally, we saw the kitchens where we learned that knives often went missing and were used as weapons. Our tour ended here by telling us that the prison closed on 21st March 1963 due to crippling costs and a view of rehabilitation instead of punishment becoming more popular.
Once the audio tour concluded, we passed the water tower which stores 950,000L of water at one time. This water was used to launder the prison uniforms and also the uniforms of nearby army bases. Then we headed down to the parade ground. While the island served as a prison, prison workers and their families lived on the island. Children used this area to play, and would catch a boat to and from school each day departing the island. What a peculiar place to grow up! In total, seventy employees and their families lived here over the course of the prison's years in operation.
Then we headed down the Agave Trail. When last I was here in 2005, this would have been closed as it was spring and therefore bird nesting season. But today we took the trail, enjoying the views of San Francisco’s hilly streets and appreciating the plants and animals along the way. We saw the agave plant (looks like a big succulent), a hummingbird and some colourful flowers. We sat for a while and took it all in.
We had a picnic lunch near the dock area under the watchful eye of some hungry seagulls. We had bought some food at the supermarket yesterday. Then we set off to explore the remaining part of the island. We saw the oldest structure on the island, the guardhouse built in 1859. Then we saw the quartermaster building, the social hall, an old dilapidated warehouse and the model industries building.
In the industries building, we learned that prisoners created jackets and cargo nets during the Second World War for the war effort. They could even earn money by doing this. We also enjoyed a photographic exhibition about the 19 month Indian occupation of the island in 1969-1971. In 1894 and 1895, 19 Hopi Indians were imprisoned here for refusing to follow government orders regarding leaving their land and sending their children to suppressive government run boarding schools. After the closure of the prison on the island, local native Indian people occupied the island, demanding it be given back to the Indian people. They wrote their messages on the water tank and various other buildings which in 2012 were restored by their relatives. They weren't successful for their particular cause, but they did set in motion other changes for the rights of Indian people in California.
All in all, between 1934 and 1963, 1576 prisoners were processed on the island. Ninety officers worked here, and there were four different wardens. Since 1972, the island has been part of the national park, and now over a million visitors come every year to see it. After the exhibition we boarded the boat back to pier 33. When we got back, the availability had ticked over another day - no tickets until January 6 now!!
Our next stop was the Coit Tower. The weather was stunning today so we decided to take advantage. We climbed to the top of the hill, and waited in queue for 30-40 minutes for the lift (no stair option). The Coit Tower was completed in 1933, and it was built from funds bequeathed to the city by heiress Lillie Hitchcock Coit. When she died in 1929, she left 1/3 of her estate to the city "for the purpose of adding to the beauty of the city which I have always loved”. In her childhood, she saw two of her friends die in a fire and she was saved that day by a particular brigade, so she asked that the tower be built in their honour. While we waited in the queue, we got to look at the beautiful murals inside the building detailing various scenes from the 1930s including city life, farm life, industry etc. At the time they were completed, they were pretty controversial as they included scenes related to prohibition.
The view up the top was well worth it. Sunny and beautiful, with clear views in every direction. We really enjoyed it and then headed back down. Lots of parrots were flying over noisily as we descended the hill.
Our final stop for the day was the Ferry Building. This beautiful building was finished in 1898, but fell into disrepair after the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge meant use of it declined heavily in the 1940s. The Embarcadero Freeway was then constructed next to it in 1957, but once it collapsed due to an earthquake in 1989, this paved the way for the building's rehabilitation. Nowadays, it is beautifully restored and is used as a food hall. We had some delicious empanadas from one of the stalls.
Then we headed back to the hotel and now we are in for the night. Poor Rob has a pretty bad cold but with the help of some cold and flu tablets, he still managed to have a good day as did I. He is hoping that with another long sleep tonight he will be on the mend.
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
No comments:
Post a Comment