traveldk.com

Alcatraz Island was the site of the very first lighthouse built on the West Coast in 1854. The original lighthouse was replaced in 1909 with an automated one, to tower above the new cell block.

The cell house contains four free-standing cell blocks. The complex was built by military prisoners in 1911 and was once the largest reinforced concrete building in the world. In all, there were 390 cells, but the population averaged only about 260 at any one time.

With a strict “no-talking” rule and the monotonous gloom of being cut off from life, prisoners whose good behavior qualified them for a turn around the walled-in Exercise Yard must have felt very relieved. Here they could walk, rather than pace in their cells, where they spent 16 to 23 hours every day.

From this bunker-like facility, reinforced to withstand siege, the guards controlled the 24-hour electric security system. Next to the Control Room was the visiting area, where thick glass separated prisoners and visitors, and conversations were held over monitored telephones.

Any prisoner who transgressed the strict rules and regulations would be sent to D Block, the 42 solitary confinement cells kept entirely without light.

Meals were one of the few things prisoners had to look forward to, and they were generally well-fed, to quell rebellion. Note the sample menu on display at the kitchen entrance.

On top of the guardhouse, a Mission-style military chapel was built during the 1920s. It was used as living quarters and a school, as well as a chapel. During the post-1930s prison phase, the building was used to house prison staff.

The corridor that separates C and B blocks was jokingly nicknamed by prisoners after New York City’s glittering thoroughfare, famous for its nightlife. The intersection at the end was named “Times Square.”

The Visitor Center is located in the old barracks building behind the ferry jetty. It houses a bookstore, exhibits, and a multimedia show providing a historical overview of Alcatraz, and an information counter.

Until the house burned down in 1970, the warden’s home looked out to freedom. Designed in Mission Revival style, the home had 17 large rooms, and sweeping views of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco lights.