Chef D: Alcatraz

Yesterday we took a trip to Alcatraz since it's a "must do" in San Francisco and we just never got to it the past couple of times we came here.

You take a 12 minute ferry ride over to the island from San Francisco. I can only imagine how it must have felt if you were a prisoner and seeing this as your new "home!"

Sign when you step off of the boat. I never knew it was a national park!

This was the guard tower that overlooked the dock. New arrivals would be watched closely from here when they stepped off of the boat.

Andi in front of one of the old storage buildings.

Gardening was a huge part of Alcatraz. Both prisoners and guards would work in the garden and today it's still kept going by a small society of gardeners.

This isn't the best photo because I had to take it through some dirty glass but it's what they would use as the morgue. It was placed on the way up the walkway to the main prison. I'm sure many a bodies were cut open on that table!

While waiting in line to get into the prison, you slowly go through the shower area. Kinda Auschwitz like if you ask me.

Alcatraz gives you a 45 minute guided tour through a set of headphones. The tour is narrated by former guards and inmates.

This was a regular cell. Very small and cramped. I would say about

5 feet by 8 feet.

If you had a history of causing problems, you would be put in D cell which was a little bigger then the regular cells but you were only allowed out for an hour a day.

If you were really bad, you went to the hole. No lights, very small, and you would stay there for up to 19 days.

Old bookcase in what used to be the library.

In May of 1946, 6 prisoners attempted a breakout which ended up lasting for 2 days.By the end, five out of the six prisoners where killed in the attempt.

The six guards above were involved in the 2 day siege. The breakout went wrong because one of the guards put the yard key in his pocket instead of putting it on a key chain like normal.

While one of the prisoners distracted the guard on the ground and then subdued him the other climbed onto the area above, used the bar spreader to get through(he starved himself for weeks to be able to fit through), knocked out the guard and grabbed the keys hanging in the photo.

Since the key didn't work for the yard door, they were stuck. More guards kept coming in and they were taken hostage. Eventually the national guard was called in to try and bring peace. They dropped grenades down from the ceiling windows. The picture above is the damage caused by the grenades.

Only 3 prisoners ever escaped from Alcatraz. They took spoons and ladles and tunneled through the small vents in there cells.

Once they broke through the wall, they were in a small shaft room behind there cells. They then climbed up to the roof, got down the prison wall outside and made it to the water. They fashioned a small boat out of raincoats and made there escape. No one knows to this day if they made it or not as they

were never found.

If you look back at the pictures of the cells where they tunneled out, you'll see paintings, guitars, etc. Many prisoners would find different ways to escape the time. Some did oil paintings like the ones above.

Some played dominoes, checkers, or bridge or focused on music.

This was for when prisoners had visitors.

Rules for visiting.

Pictures of the guards "on the job."

Some of the "tools of the trade." I like the leg manacles at the bottom.

Alcatraz had 4 different wardens while it was open. They all look like hard asses to me! :P

This was the mess hall. Prisoners would come here 3 times a day for their meals. Tear gas canisters where kept on the ceiling in case of any riots

but were never used.

The knife rack in the kitchen had black outlines of the knifes so the guards would know at all times which ones were in use and could tell if any were missing.