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See what is on Alcatraz Island, and also see what the inside of Alcatraz Prison looks like, plus learn some of the history of both. |
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Below the clock is the entrance to the dining hall and a metal detector which would let the guards know if anyone had any metal utensils on them when leaving the dining hall. It used to be very costly to keep inmates here because all food and water had to be brought in by boat.
The board in the kitchen area was the only place to keep knives. The guards could tell at a glance if any were missing by looking at the board.
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This is the dining hall where everyone ate. The prisoners could look out the windows to see the world they had left behind. The only ladies they could see lived on the island beyond the prison walls. Look up at the top of the column and off to the left is one of several tear gas canisters they could set off if there was a riot. |
This is a good place to sit down for a little break. One prisoner said he was here for over five years before he saw a woman walking up the path to the administration building. Can you imagine the prisoners were so confined and unable to do anything they felt like doing.
At one point in the prisons history several escapees tried to get out and they had guns. The marines were on the roof and they knocked holes in the ceiling of the cell block then they dropped explosives thru them. This drove the escapees into a utility corridor. (The space between cell blocks where the plumbing is.)
The next day when all was quiet the guards re-entered the cell block. In the utility corridor they found all the escapees laying on the floor with guns drawn. The escapees were all dead. You can still see some of the damages from the explosives.
After the prison closed in 1963, American Indians, representing twenty tribes, seized Alcatraz on November 20th, 1969 until 1971. At first a lot of damage was done, then it settled down to a peaceful but very evident protest, this is the remains of the wardens house.
We are now at the end of the Alcatraz Tour and we have more to see of San Francisco. Now walk down the steps and follow the walkways back to the ferry boat.
This is one photo I thought should not be left out. Before you leave Alcatraz go into one of the cell's and scream "Let Me Out of Here!", it will make you feel a lot better.
We are now leaving Alcatraz Island and as we look back we must remember that people have swam from Alcatraz since the prison closed, and that the bodies of the escapees were never found.
| The next stop on my Photo Tour is the "Coit Tower", to go there Click Continue Tour below. |
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Photographed and created by David T. Smith
