Alcatraz: San Francisco, CA
On our final full day in San Francisco, Matt and I made our way up the Embarcadero to Pier 33 for a morning trip to one of America’s most infamous prisons: Alcatraz. Also known as "the Rock", this was the only attraction we actually planned ahead for on our trip - primarily because tickets tend to sell out. Out of everywhere we mentioned visiting, this was the site that brought out the most comments of "have you booked your tickets?!" so, safe to say, book ahead!
Perched on a tiny island in the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz has had a fascinating history: once a civil war military barracks and defensive holding, the island became a prison in 1935. It remained an active prison until 1963 and was later taken over by the National Parks Service who currently run the tours of the island.
In between the prison closing and the site becoming part of the National Parks Service, the island was briefly occupied by a group of Native Americans, who demanded the US government give them ownership of the island as part of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, which had promised to return "all retired, abandoned or out of use federal lands to the native peoples from whom it was acquired". Alcatraz was therefore claimed via the "right of discovery" since the group insisted native people in the area had known about the island for thousands of years before Europeans arrived.
The demands were unsurprisingly refused and, despite public support for the movement, the occupation ended in 1971. In my opinion, this period in Alcatraz’s history is just as fascinating as it’s prison history but the tour is firmly focused on the later.
However, the evidence of the Native American occupation can still be seen all over the island and it’s a credit to the parks service that they’ve left the messages where they are. I thought it was interesting that the first signs you see on the island point to this occupation rather than the prison itself - you have to walk up a winding road that takes you past the water tower and other areas where messages regarding this occupation can be seen before you even get to the main prison building.
Moving inside the prison building, it all comes back to the prison years and the islands most infamous residents - Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, and a whole host of other hardened criminals. Alcatraz was considered to be one of the harshest prisons at the time and therefore was reserved for the prisoners who needed that level of confinement. Some were there because their crimes meant they were extremely dangerous inmates while others were confined here due to their notoriety.
Inside, the tour takes you on a winding journey throughout the prison. To be honest, this was slightly frustrating as we were in the middle of several large groups (some students, some overseas visitors) so the meandering path meant we had to keep navigating our way through them. In retrospect, I think we might have been better off hanging back slightly so that they could get further ahead.
However, the tour itself is extremely thorough - it takes you through daily life, the escape attempts and prisoner uprisings, and even the lives of the guards. In particular, a few cells had been decorated as they would have been while prisoners were living there - which really gave you a sense of how individuals were able to create a sense of place in such a bleak environment.
The section about the lives of the guards was more circumspect - primarily focused on their work within the prison. However, there was a little bit of information about the families who lived there with them and how the children had to get a boat across the 1.25 miles of water to San Francisco everyday in order to go to school. Apparently, the kids loved it but surely the winter journeys were less exciting...
We were really fortunate in our timing and the weather was spectacular. We had been warned before hand that the boat ride and our time on the island can get chilly due to the wind so we dutifully packed our fleeces and windbreakers. However, we ended up shoving them in our backpack since it was such a beautiful day! If you're visiting in the autumn or spring though, I think this is probably sound advice since the seating on the ferry is mostly open to the elements.
The views from the island were pretty incredible - you can see the whole city and just imagine how depressing it must have been for prisoners to know that a vibrant, exciting place was so close, yet so totally out of reach. Apparently there were eleven escape attempts during the island's time as a prison but only three men ever managed to get past the walls and into the water. In 1962, Frank Morris and two brothers, John and Clarence Anglin, carried out a pretty intricate escape involving wax models of their heads which they tucked into bed to fool the guards. Apparently it worked like a charm as, in the audio tour, the guards describe their absolute terror when they went to wake them and their heads fell off!
Having made their way to the water, the information on the three men ends there. The official stance is that it would have been impossible for anyone to swim from Alcatraz since the water temperature (absolutely freezing) and the swirling currents would had been impossible to navigate. However, since their bodies were never found, no one knows for sure. Matt and I had listened to an episode of the podcast Criminal prior to our visit where the host interviews the Anglin's sister. She claims they never made contact but isn't sure if that's because they knew federal agents would expect them to or if its because they didn't survive the swim. She maintains the belief that they made their way to Brazil and lived out their days happily... which sounds like a pretty nice way to go if you ask me!
After checking out the views, the tour leads you back inside for a final look at the cells before signing off. We wandered down to the gift shop, bought an adorable christmas ornament of the island, and then made our way back to the ferry. Heading out, your last view of the island is of the docking area, with the prison just poking out above it.
Overall, we highly recommend taking the time to visit this unique piece of history! All in all, it took us about two hours. We booked the 10:30 tour so that we could grab some lunch on Fisherman's Wharf but you could have easily spent more time on the island if you chose to. There is no set time that you have to return with your ticket so its entirely up to you how much time you want to spend there.
Full Details:
Ticket Price: $38 per adult, $35.75 per senior citizen (62+), and $23.25 for children 5-11 (under 4s are free)
Website: www.alcatrazcruises.com
