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Where It's At
Fishermans Wharf is the jumping off point to Alcatraz
Island, the fabled island prison and one time home to
legendary gangster Al Capone. Located in the middle
of San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz is considered to be
one of the world's most perfect high security prisons: inmates
were kept there through a combination of freezing cold water,
strong ocean currents, great white sharks and 24 hour armed
guards.
History
Situated just one mile offshore, some inmates did manage to
escape, but no one has ever been able to verify that they
survived. Prison life was tough what with the constant wind,
and its said prisoners could hear laughter and conversations
from the yachts that cruised by, making the isolation even
harder to bear.
Closed in 1964, Alcatraz has been used since as a Military
installation before being turned over to the National Park
Service. More recently, the island was occupied by Native
American groups that aimed to reclaim the land for their peoples;
by 1971 three occupations had taken place, the longest almost
20 months long.
Visiting Alcatraz
Ironically, in its day inmates were desperate to escape, but
nowadays you can hardly get onto the island for all the tourists.
As the most popular park attraction in the entire United States,
Alcatraz is always busy so buying tickets early is absolutely
essential if you plan on visiting in August and other heavy
traffic summer months. The Blue and Gold Fleet operate
the boats to Alcatraz and sells tickets on their website.
If you turn up without a ticket in peak times you may find
the only seats available more than a week later.
You can visit the island on your own though large parts are
off limits because of dangerous construction and condemned
buildings. A taped commentary (that must be rented once on
the island) gives visitors an idea of the cold solitary life
lead here that housed some of the 20th century's most hardened
criminals. |
