Page 693 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - USA

SAN FR ANCISC O  691

0 Alcatraz Island VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Alcatraz means “pelican” in Spanish and refers to the first Practical Information
inhabitants of this rocky, steep-sided island. In 1859, the US Tel (415) 981­7625 or online for
Army established a fort here that guarded San Francisco Bay tickets & schedules. Open daily:
first ferry 9am; last ferry 2:15pm
until 1907, when it became a military prison. From 1934 to (4:15pm in summer).
1963 it served as a maximum-security federal penitentiary. Closed Jan 1, Dec 25. n Night
Dubbed “The Rock” by prisoners, it housed an average of tours: (415) 981­7625. 7
264 of the country’s most infamous criminals, who were accessible in places. 8 = 9
Film presentation: free with ticket.
transferred here for disobedience while serving time in ∑ alcatrazcruises.com
prisons elsewhere in the US. Today, Alcatraz is part of the Transport
Golden Gate National Recreation Area. g from Pier 33.
The Cell Block Prisoners spent between
16 and 23 hours every day alone in stark
cells, equipped with only a toilet and Water tower Prison workshops
bunk. Many cells measured 5 ft by 9 ft
(1.5 m by 2.7 m).
Military morgue

Military parade ground

The Post Exchange
Electric maintenance shop
The Military Dorm
The Pier

The Visitor Center is
in the barracks building
behind the jetty. It
houses an information Exercise Yard
Alcatraz from the ferry center, bookstore, Meals and a walk around the
Looming ominously out of the exhibits, and a multi­ exercise yard were the highlights
ocean, “The Rock” promised its media show providing of a prisoner’s day. This walled
inmates strict discipline and a historical overview yard appeared in films that
constant vigilance. of Alcatraz. were shot here.
Famous Inmates of Alcatraz Island
Al Capone Anglin Brothers
Al Capone was convicted in 1934 for John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris
income tax evasion and spent much chipped through the walls of their cells, hiding
of his five­year sentence at Alcatraz in the holes with cardboard grates. They made a
an isolation cell. He left the prison raft to escape and were never caught. Their
mentally unstable. story was dramatized in the film Escape from
Alcatraz (1979).
Robert Stroud
Stroud spent most of his 17 years here in solitary George Kelly
confinement. Despite assertions to the contrary George “Machine Gun” Kelly was the prison’s most
in the film The Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), he was dangerous inmate and has the singular distinction
forbidden from keeping birds in his cell. of serving 17 years for kidnapping and extortion.

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