A visit to San Francisco is not complete without a quick stop to the most infamous prison in the world; Alcatraz. Home to some of the most notorious criminals of all time such as Al Capone, the prison has an instant eerie feel, making you feel totally isolated and alone. This feeling is further boosted by stunning views to San Francisco Bay, which I can only imagine taunted the prisoners beyond belief; so close to their lives, yet so far away. My visit to Alcatraz Island was without doubt one of the most interesting things I’ve ever done, and definitely gave me a feel for how horrible it must have been living in such a hostile place.
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Alcatraz Island sits just over a mile away from the shore of San Francisco Bay, and has had a varied history in the last 200 years. Although being home to the oldest lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States, it is obviously most famous for the federal prison that operated from 1934 – 1963. This prison has long lost its operational function, but is now one of the main landmarks in the city of San Francisco, attracting thousands of visitors each year. When we booked our trip to San Francisco, we both really wanted to explore this impressive place having heard so much about it from family and friends. We booked our tickets for this well in advanced (trust me, you really need to!), and on our second day in the city made our way to Pier 33.
When we arrived at the Pier and collected our tickets, we were greeted with an impressive sight; Alcatraz Island. We boarded the boat, and set sail to our destination. Along the way, we saw sea-lions swimming alongside the boat, and the Golden Gate Bridge peering out from the mist that shrouded it in the distance. The weather however was beautiful, making the boat journey particularly lovely as we moved ever closer towards the abandoned prison. As we got closer to the island, the shrieks of seabirds greeted us from afar, and we finally got our first proper view of the overall prison. The best word I can use to describe it has to be intimidating, even as a visitor. If I was a prisoner, and I saw this giant structure of a prison right in front of me, knowing that I was surrounded by shark-infested (yes, really) waters, and a mile away from the mainland, I would be absolutely terrified. We took our first steps off the boat, and eventually reached the island itself.
The outside of the prison was surprisingly beautiful, with a vast array of different flowers blooming in the spring sun. There were different shades of purple, pink and orange, and with this was the impressive cerulean water that reflected the bright sun. The large main prison building imposed over the island that it indeed ruled, and when looking around, little snippets of history came out to us. Perhaps the most obvious was found on the water tower, showing a graffiti sign from the Native American occupation of the island in the year 1969. Overall though, the island really was a place where nature and civilisation lived side by side in harmony, and in perfect balance.
We began to walk up the slope that took us up to the main prison. Throughout the climb, all I could think of was how I would feel if I was a prisoner here, walking up to a highly intimidating building, knowing that you were powerless to try and stop yourself. If anything, the wide-array of nature would have further taunted me, and would have made me think of nothing more than leaving the beauty of the outside world. It seemed like a cruel, yet effective, place to build one of the country’s most impressive prisons. As we stepped into the building of the main prison, we instantly went back in time the 60’s, and it really hit home that we had not just come to a random island, no, we were at a prison. We received our headsets, and wondered off into the tour.
The tour itself was excellent, and I would highly recommend it. It guided you through all of the different parts of the prison, and told you tales of riots and escapees. One particular tale that haunted me a bit was one of a riot where prison guards were shot, and the tour pointed out the bullet-holes of where this awful incident occurred. The tour was told by people who had lived on the island during its time as a federal prison, and it was really interesting hearing their point of views on different tales. It was weird to think of what had happened in the walls that we were now enclosed in, and it wasn’t until we saw the scars of the past, such as the bullet-holes, that it really resonated with us as to what had actually happened here. It was safe to say that so far, my visit to Alcatraz Island had left a strong impression.
As we neared the end of the tour, we saw the guard’s quarters. This turned out to be one of the most surprising parts of the entire visit, as we were greeted with arguably one of the most beautiful views of the holiday. Before us was the city of San Francisco, and in the Spring sunshine, it looked absolutely breath-taking. Again, that feeling of being so close yet so far came into light, and really made me think about where I was. It also made me realise that unless you were an incredible swimmer or happened to be rather lucky, you really could not escape from this prison. That was certainly a recurring theme of the visit, the fact that the place really was impregnable along with the constant feeling of peace, yes, but also continual isolation.
As the sun fell a bit lower in the sky, we made our way off the island. Often historical places, such as castles that we have in the United Kingdom, fail to leave an impression of what it must have been like during the time when it was active. Indeed, it is hard to get emotionally involved with many of them as the majority are ruins from a bygone age. Alcatraz however still leaves an impression, and when I sit here writing this, that spooky, eerie feeling that it left still lingers, but so does the memory of the beauty that was found on the island and its surroundings.
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I really hope you enjoyed reading about my visit to Alcatraz island – it definitely is a must-see for anyone visiting San Francisco and is a fascinating place. Have you visited before? If so, what was your impression of the prison? I’d love to hear from you as always. Love V x
1 comment
This looks like such a cool adventure! Looking forward to your new post x