Alcatraz
known also as “The Rock” or as the prisoners used to called it “Hellcatraz” has been on
my bucket list for a while. As you
already know I like to visit
cementaries, old ruins and so a visit in the former maximum
high-security prison was something I just couldn’t
resist. People say this place is haunted
but for me it is just a scary, creepy
place with an eerie atmosphere and dampness that is destroying the old walls.
And those walls have seen a lot…
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| On the way to Alcatraz, 2016 |
Alcatraz is
an island located about 2 km offshore from San Francisco and from 1934 until
1963 it hosted a federal prison described as the toughest prison in America. At the entrance to the main
prison there is a huge board that says: Break the rules and you go
to prison. Break the prison rules and you go to Alcatraz. As you can imagine the prisoners were not the nicest guys so do not be fooled by their innocent faces. This prison was dedicated to the worst of the worst among criminals. Just to name a few lucky fellows: Al Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Robert Franklin Stroud (the Birdman of Alcatraz), Alvin “Creepy” Karpis. Great company, isn't it?
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| Break the rules and you go to prison, break the prison rules and you go to Alcatraz. |
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| Welcome to Alcatraz |
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| Alcatraz watch tower. |
Alcatraz was a top-notch security prison with extremely strict rules (for exmaple the code of silence) and only in the 1950s the conditions changed. From that time prisoners were allowed to talk silently, paint or use the radio. What was particularly interesting for me is that the food in Alcatraz was pretty good (they even had their own ice-cream machine!) and some inmates from other prisons were asking to be transferred to Alcatraz.
As befits the toughest prison in USA Alcatraz was not a picnic. There is an especially creepy place in the whole complex and memory of it give me goosebumps. This place is called "The Hole" and it was a small, dark and dump cell where the badly behaving prisoners were sent for an extra punishement. As you can imagine they had to spend there many days, they were starved, beaten and had to sleep naked on the concrete floor. I know, they all get there for a reason but still this place felt like the depths of hell. I felt so bad when I entered it for a moment I almost got a panic attack. Damn, that was the most disturbing sensation I've ever experienced.
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| Alcatraz cells |
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| Alcatraz cells were pretty simple. |
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| Visitation room, Alcatraz |
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"The Hole" - damn it creepy out there
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| Welcome to Alcatraz wardrobe. |
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| Alcatraz, 2016 |
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| As you can see the typical menu was quite decent. Seriously, apple pie in prison???? |
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Fun facts about the prisoner's diet.
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Yes. They did have it.
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"Take all that you wish, eat all that you take" - this wisdom should be taught at school.
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In 1969 when the prison was already abandoned, a group of Native Americans occupied the premises in order to protest the way they were treated by the government. They occupation lasted only 19 months mainly because the conditions on the island were pretty harsh. Luckily this example of Indian activism had an influence on the federal policy.
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| Occupation of Alcatraz by Indians of ALL Tribes (IOAT) |
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| Mural in Alcatraz. |
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