|
Voyage to Alcatraz Ah yes, pack your sea rations, it's gonna be a long journey. Twenty minutes at least. Fifteen on a good day. And along the way, you may be challenged by happy competitive sail boats on maneouvers:
On we plowed through the wide open Bay.
The captain of our vessel slid the boat into the dock, sending us temporary inmates to our brief incarceration.
The old sign is still here, along with graffitti left by the Indian occupation. For a period of 19 months in the 1970's, Native American activists took over the then-abandoned Rock as a way of protesting the treatment of native people. They offered the US government some beads and trinkets in exchange for the land, a reference to the paltry sum settlers paid Indians in New York for Manhattan Island.
Ultimately the Indian occupation ended due to difficulty in getting food and water to the island. But the story of their time here is a prominent part of the Park Service presentation.
The Alcatraz guards had beautiful gardens, all now overgrown. From one of the old gardens is a spot-on view of the Golden Gate Bridge. When my mother was young, her brother had a school friend who lived on the island, and he once went to visit. He would probably have passed by here when these gardens were in full bloom.
Also near the gardens, a view from an old terrace.
Inside the penetentery itself, the cell blocks attrack many willing captives. The Park's audio tour is a must-do, as it is very well produced. Wearing headphones and walking through the cell blocks, the sound effects make you feel like the prisoners are calling to you from the balconies above.
And for those who desire a more solitary experience, there's always the confinement wing...
The cells of the five escapees who were never found (presumed drowned) are dressed up exactly like the day they left, including fake heads in the beds to fool the guards.
And the shower room...if these walls could talk...
Back outside, the guard tower stands ominously against the sky, making sure no tourists escape.
And the city of San Francisco sparkles teasingly close. The ruins of the old guard and other buildings lie in piles, the work of the General Services Administration before the conversion to a park.
More pics later this week from the Sausalito Art Festival (97 degrees!)
8:37:47 AM
|
