John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints
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Alcatraz, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco Bay, California
Location
Alcatraz Island, the site of the famous former prison, is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco Bay.
What to See and Do
Alcatraz is open to the public (subject to a National Park Service entrance fee), via a ferry from San Francisco.
Although I haven't visited Alcatraz, I have heard several good reports indicating that a visit would be well worthwhile. I have read reports that tours often become fully booked.
There is more to Alcatraz than just its history as a prison:
- In 1854 Alcatraz Island was the site of the first lighthouse on the west coast, in 1854. The current lighthouse, built in 1909, is still in use.
- In 1859 Alcatraz became the first fully functional fortress on the west coast and had over 120 cannons by the outbreak of the American Civil War.
- In 1861 Alcatraz became the first military prison west of Kansas. Many southern troops and sympathisers were imprisoned there during the Civil War.
- In 1895 nineteen Hopi Indians were imprisoned in Alcatraz for refusing to allow their children to be removed from the Hopi Reservation to be send to boarding schools in order to eliminate their native language and culture.
- Alcatraz was a prison from 1934 to 1963. Inmates included Al Capone and "Machine Gun" Kelley.
- From 1969 to 1971 Alcatraz was occupied by Native Americans, who succeeded in improving the US Government's policies towards the Indians.
Gene Johannsen kindly sent me this recommendation:
I can also recommend a trip to Alcatraz. One of the features that really stood out for me was the self guided tape tour. Each visitor is
handed a walkman with a tape of the tour in an appropriate language and allowed to follow it at their own speed. It has sound effects and narration by actual inmates. It brings the place alive.
In the Area
Trivia
The island of Alcatraz was originally named Isla de los Alcatraces (Spanish for Isle of the Pelicans) after the large pelican population there.
California
Historical Places
National Monuments and Other National Park Service Areas
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Most recently modified 28-Nov-02