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Alcatraz
Island
While staying in
San Francisco take a boat trip to "The Rock", out in the middle of the
San Francisco Bay, and take pictures of Alcatraz Prison Island. The island
of Alcatraz is a world unto itself. San Francisco proximity to "The
Rock", one of Golden Gate National Recreation Area's most popular
destinations, offers a close-up look at a historic and infamous federal
prison long off-limits to the public.
San Francisco
visitors to the island can not only explore the remnants of the prison,
but learn about the Native American occupation of 1969 - 1971, early
military fortifications and the West Coast's first (and oldest operating)
lighthouse. The famous 12 acre precipitous rocky island, facing the Golden
Gate, was declared a military reservation by all executive order on
November 6, 1850. A part of the area's defensive system, intended to guard
the entrance to the bay, its first fortifications consisted in the main of
a brick 200 by 100 foot citadel, batteries, two barrack structures for
troops, and three cell blocks. These structures and the island's many
natural features - gardens, tide pools, bird colonies, and bay views are
beyond compare.
The National Park
Service which is working to make it accessible to visitors, preserve its
buildings, protect its birds and other wildlife, and interpret its
history. The notorious former federal prison home to the likes of Al
Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelley, and Robert "The Birdman" Stroud.
These guys probably never got to stay at San Francisco before. Anyone
who has seen Clint Eastwood's 1977 movie, Escape from Alcatraz, know that
at least three men disappeared from the prison in 1962. Whether they lived
to tell the tale is a mystery. But, it wasn't the first nor the last
escape attempt from The Rock. The myth that "The Rock" was "escape-proof"
was wrong. Military and Federal prisoners have attempted escapes by using
forged papers, hiding in concealed boxes, using rafts, and by swimming,
After staying the night at San Francisco you might have enough energy
to try and escape your self. Although the majority of them were
recaptured, some military prisoners were successful and some federal
prisoners may have beaten the system.
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