Alcatraz is an island in San Francisco Bay. It was used as a federal prison until 1963. 
It was closed due to deteriorating buildings and high costs. It is now a national park. We decided to take a day and check it out. Joni's son, Ken, joined us for our day in prison.
Since it is an island, the only way to get there is by ferry, so we boarded our boat and took off for the very short (1 1/2 mile) ride to the island. (See Joni on ferry with Alcatraz in background). The bay around the island is very cold and very rough. It's where the bay meets the ocean.
After we got there, we saw an introductory movie about the prison, then we were each given a headset to listen to a self guided tour of the facility.
The cell blocks were very cold and very small. 
See the photo of a typical cell. It wasn't like our modern prisons these days. It was cold, damp and dingy. 
Prisoners could see and hear San Francisco from "the Rock" (see photo of SF from Alcatraz) which made it very enticing to try a prison break. In all, 36 prisoners tried to escape. All were recaptured except 5. It is assumed they didn't make it to the shore.
See the photo of a typical cell. It wasn't like our modern prisons these days. It was cold, damp and dingy. 
Prisoners could see and hear San Francisco from "the Rock" (see photo of SF from Alcatraz) which made it very enticing to try a prison break. In all, 36 prisoners tried to escape. All were recaptured except 5. It is assumed they didn't make it to the shore.
If you look real carefully at the prison cell that looks like it has a prisoner sleeping on the cot, you will see a hole chipped out of the wall in the back. It's at the bottom in the back of the cell. The prisoners made phony heads (see in picture) and used them to make believe they were asleep and escaped out of the holes they had chiseled out of the wall. The movie, Escape From Alcatraz, with Clint Eastwood, dramatizes this escape.
Alcatraz housed some famous prisoners. Al Capone and Robert Stroud (the Birdman of Alcatraz). See Delton looking at photos of famous inmates.
There weren't many recreational activities at Alcatraz. Outside activities were confined to the recreation area pictured.
Visitation wasn't very comfortable either. See the visitation area in the picture.
There were 90 correctional officers which covered 3 hour shifts and some lived on the island with their families. Can you imagine raising a family on Alcatraz. We were told the families felt very safe. I don't know about that!!!!! The children would take a boat to get to school in San Francisco every day.
Alcatraz had no death row and no facility for executions, but the inmates were dangerous men and some were put into isolation cells (see Ken in isolation) which were more secure and "dark" with a set of bars and then a solid door (see photo from inside the isolation cell looking out) in front of the bars to block out any view of the hall. Eight inmates were murdered by other inmates and five committed suicide.
Even though it was a beautiful day in San Francisco , the island was cold and windy. Even in the summer it is chilly and windy. I wonder if the living conditions on "the Rock" would be allowed today?????
