The Rock

[low_delta]

On Thursday (that's over a week ago, now), after seeing the Academy of Science, Ranunculus drove Cyn and I to Embarcadero, where we caught the boat to Alcatraz. It was an interesting place. I liked hearing about the history, and get a bit of a feel for how a prison like that was run, and what went on there. They had a 45 minute audio tour of the cell house that was narrated by some former guards and former prisoners. They talked about not only some of the day-to-day events, but the attempted breakouts. There was a former inmate there that day, but we didn't go to hear him. (There are four former inmates left alive. The ranger giving us our orientation when we got off the boat said, "this one can still walk!")

Aside from the history, it was a great photo-op.




Looking across the bay at the town of Tiburon.








This was solitary confinement.


This and the next four were taken from or of the rec yard. A barren expanse of concrete and weeds, surrounded by walls. There's one door leading into the cellhouse, and one door leading out of the western wall, overlooking the Golden Gate.


Much of the concrete outdoors was disintegrating. There is very little left of the walkway and railings around the rec yard.








When you walk out the front of the administration building at the top of the island, you are in an open area behind the tower, with the shell of the warden's house on your left (destroyed by fire). From there you can look down on the parade ground, where there are some piles of rubble, where there used to be buildings. If you're standing at the far end of the parade ground, there's a walkway that leads down to the shore, and it's lined with huge agave plants. They call it the Agave Walk. You walk down steps, and then along the shore back to the dock.


More dilapidated concrete. I think this stairway actually looked worse in person than it did in this picture.



We had about three hours from when the boat left the city to when the boat left the island. That was more than enough to explore the whole island. If we had moved just a little faster, we could have caught the earlier boat. But then we didn't see the movie they were showing, or hear the former prisoner talk, or see much of the historical stuff posted in the area of the theater. But I'd say we saw just about everything there was too see, and some of it more than once. We lingered a while in the rec yard, where there wasn't a whole lot to see. We took the Agave Walk, and I doubt if many people see that.

So I recommend the experience to anyone who thinks they might be interested. Having seen it, though, I don't think I'd go back. Plan on 2-1/2 or 3 hours on the island, and take the audio tour.

Comments

[barefoot-dyke.livejournal.com]

i didn't get a chance to visit it when i was there. the waiting list was something like 4 days long and i wasn't in town long enough.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Fortunately, we were warned to buy our tickets ahead of time.

[ranunculus.livejournal.com]

There has been quite a lot said about the gardens there. Some enthusiasts are re-constructing the old terrace gardens, using the surviving plants. They say it is amazing how -many- plants did survive.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

We got a couple of pictures. I think we paused by a railing, and I saw some irises. The gardens aren't in a place where they're noticeable by passersby. I had to hold the camera at arm's length to get this shot:
http://pics.livejournal.com/cynnerth/pic/003kz0q2/g72

[ranunculus.livejournal.com]

Check this link out:
http://www.parksconservancy.org/about/press/release.asp?release=1060

[vocalista001.livejournal.com]

“The main thing was to assure some success by trying many things and holding on to those plants which had learned that life is worth holding on to even at its bitterest.”

Now, there's a positive outlook for you :-)

This was an interesting article.

[ranunculus.livejournal.com]

I think a positive attitude must have been essential out there!

[ranunculus.livejournal.com]

This is a much better, and more recent article:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/02/BAEM12L4IG.DTL

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, there were flowered areas alongside many of the roads. But the big gardens were hard to see from anywhere accessible.


One of those people was Elliott Michener, an inmate on Alcatraz from 1941-50 who was responsible for creating a beautiful series of planting beds and a toolshed on the island's west side, below the inmate recreation yard. That area, which is now overgrown with fig trees and blackberry bushes, is the Garden Conservancy's next challenge.

We did see a little dilapidated shed below the rec yard wall, and wondered what it had been for.

[vocalista001.livejournal.com]

I do thank you for your pictorial, as V & I missed being able to take this tour when we were in SF.

You had a beautiful day for it!

We lingered a while in the rec yard, where there wasn't a whole lot to see. I bet many have said this before you, years ago....

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. And yes, it was beautiful. There were tourists getting on the boat who were way underdressed for an afternoon on San Francisco Bay. It turned out they were just fine. I never even got too cold until after sundown.

:-D According to the audio tour, there were some serious games going on out there. Specifically, I recall hearing about the ongoing bridge games.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

The place kinda creeps me out but I would love visiting it anyway.
The one of Cyn looking out the door at the bridge is great. Another one for the back collection.
:D