Welcome To Alcatraz!
This legendary shot of a prison guard at Alcatraz is haunting – a solitary guard watching over some of America’s worst criminals, housed on a “rock” in San Francisco Bay – and guess what – you can see it up close!
Welcome to “The Rock!”
Yes, America’s most notorious prison is open to the public – and is located in one of the most unique place imaginable – on a rock in the middle of San Francisco bay!
Alcatraz is fascinating to me – and the subject of many great films like “Escape From Alcatraz” with Clint Eastwood and “Birdman Of Alcatraz” with Burt Lancaster!
One of the great action films of the 90’s is “The Rock” with Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery, shot on the rock itself!
Now, you can tour the island where the prison is located – and wander through the cellblocks as well!
Once you board, it’s a windy crossing, but you get the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance, the city and the island as well – so much to see! Take a look:
As we board a ferry to the island, here are some facts to share:
Alcatraz Island is just a mile offshore from the heart of downtown San Francisco, since it is located in the middle of San Francisco Bay. The island was a military prison in 1868, then it was turned into a federal prison in 1934. After almost thirty years housing some of America’s worst criminals, it was finally closed permanently in 1963.
In 1972, Alcatraz became a national recreation area and was made a National Historic Landmark in 1986.
So, it’s time to head to the island! As you will see from this video, it’s a windy ride across the bay, with the Golden Gate bridge easily visible in the distance!
You will hear that it is VERY WINDY on the ride over, so bundle up!
Here what it’s like to travel across the bay to the island:
It’s a truly spectacular trip on a sunny day – if you want to go, you MUST get your tickets online well in advance as it’s always sold out!
Welcome to “The Rock!”
You arrive through an abandoned corridor, but this actually helps with the mystique of the place – and there are a ton of great signs that tell you all about the prison:
The tour is well-organized, and you end up exactly where you want to be: on cellblock row, where the inmates lived!
Here’s some video to show you just how cramped these cells are:
The best part is they have several still “dressed” as if lived in, and they let you inside a few as well!
Imagine living for 20-30 years in this space! Of course, my wife Alex and I got the obligatory “let me out of here Warden!” shot!
They have other areas open as well, and lots of vintage pictures of life in the prison – and if you feel “locked up”, you can just go outside and look back at San Francisco!
Imagine being housed there for years – and always seeing the city so close, yet so far away! A recent story suggested that the only inmates who escaped from the island might not have drowned, but actually made it to shore!
Heading away from the island, you can see the San Francisco skyline, Golden Gate bridge and sailboats in the bay.
It takes 15 minutes by ferry from San Francisco’s Pier 33 – and as I said, you MUST get advance tickets.
Of course, since you are right there, head a few blocks away to pier 39 and see some seals – lots and lots of seals!
You are literally just a few feet away from hundreds of seals – and yes, it smells like it too!
Here’s how they sound:
You can see more of my story about the seals here:
If you are in San Francisco, you must go to a few of their legendary restaurants, including the “House Of Prime Rib!”
The food is great, and wait until you see it sliced up table side!
Clips and the entire menu at my “all food all the time” blog “Bite! Eat! Repeat!”
And if you are up for a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge, head north to see the edge of the world!
This is Pt. Reyes, and it is indeed the edge of the world – on California’s “wild coast!”
See more pictures and videos here:
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Categories: Exotic Travel, Memoirs, nature, Pop Culture, Real Estate, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir
johnrieber 
wow, fascinating! with my love of true crime, I really love this
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It really is cool and left in many ways exactly as it was when filled with bad people!
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Great post, John. Cramped cell space is an understatement. Did you see how many times there was an inmate check on the daily schedule?
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Fascinating. When my husband was in San Francisco on business he tried to go on one of these tours but it was full up. There was a letter sent to the authorities by one of the Anglin brothers in 2018 saying that he was the last survivor of the trio, and how they all managed to escape in 1962.
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A terrific self-guided tour. I’ve enjoyed it twice.
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The tour was fascinating, and the place is a perfect setting for movies. We thought that there should’ve been more movies filmed there.
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Our one and only trip to San Francisco was amazing. I just loved it. We didn’t tour Alcatraz but we did circle it by boat. Even then it felt creepy.
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Alcatraz is such an iconic place for a film fan. I saw Burt Lancaster in ‘Birdman of Alcatraz’ at the cinema when I was 10 years old, and I think I have seen every film set on the island ever since .
Best wishes, Pete.
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Great pictures and videos! We love visiting San Francisco and loved our tour of Alcatraz! A nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there. The accommodations are a bit rough! 😉 🙂
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