Lewis the Lion waves goodbye to San Francisco as he heads for “The Rock”
“Break the rules and you go to prison.
Break the prison rules and you go to Alcatraz.”
Anonymous
Luckily for Lewis the Lion, he had friends who had visited San Francisco before. One of his friends, Warren, reminded him that if he wanted to visit the top tourist attraction in San Francisco, the former island prison, Alcatraz, it was important that he booked it in advance. Wise words, Lewis the Lion realised as many people who he met arriving in San Francisco didn’t manage to go to see it, as there was a three-week waiting list to go there. Fortunately, Helen had booked their tickets on-line whilst she was still in Mexico, thanks to Warren reminding her!
Helen and Mandy on a blustery Alcatraz
So after, a fabulous drive around San Francisco in Brent’s car, Lewis the Lion and Helen were dropped off at Pier 33 for their Alcatraz Tour. They also bumped into another guest staying at the same hostel as them – Mandy – so they enjoyed the visit to the prison island with her.
A ferry to Alcatraz
Even before the crowds started off on their short ferry crossing to the island of Alcatraz in the middle of San Francisco Bay, they had their photos taken against an Alcatraz background, should they wish to purchase it on their return. Even though the photo was good, Helen thought that it was a bit expensive and besides they had other photos with the real thing anyway after their island visit! As a traveller, you have to be careful on how you spend your money. What Helen did allow though was a dollar booklet giving her some more information about the island of Alcatraz as they toured around. The learning started though even before they boarded the boat, as in the queue that snaked around, were question boards about “The Rock” – “The Alcatraz Prison,” with the answers hidden beneath as you can see in these photos.
Questions on Alcatraz entertain the queuing passengers: Is Alcatraz a prison?
Lewis the Lion discovers some cool facts on Alcatraz
In less than 30 minutes, the friends had drawn close to the island that Lewis the Lion soon discovered was not just a former prison, but a fortress, a lighthouse and today a national park.
Lewis the Lion gets ready to disembark on the Island of Alcatraz
When Lewis the Lion disembarked from the ferry, he was reminded about the rapidly changing San Franciscan weather, as you can see in this video footage. You can see the clouds sweeping quickly overhead of the prison block. Lewis the Lion thinks it almost looks as if he’s sped up the video but that is really how quickly the clouds were moving!
The visit started with an enlightening tour of how Alcatraz came to be the notorious island prison that people know it for today. It was in fact a former fortress for the Bay of San Francisco but when it fell into disrepair, the government of the 1930s decided that it would be the ideal site for a federal penitentiary for the most dangerous of America’s criminals. It stayed open as a prison for 29 years until March 1963.
Lewis the Lion then learnt a lot of things about the prison itself thanks to an audio guide which had the voice of a correctional officer telling him about life on Alcatraz.
Lewis the Lion sees the prison cells on either side of him
He discovered that there was an average number of 260 prisoners and they were housed in small cells which ran on either side along a set of four corridors called cellblocks. Most of the prisoners were kept in Cells B and C (336 cells) and were considered the “general population.” Unruly inmates were “segregated” in to D block (42 cells) which was also known as Isolation. This was even more basic again compared to the other cells. There were even 6 closed-front cells in Block D called “The Hole” where discipline was even more severe. This could include total darkness and a restricted diet and usually lasted for several days but never more than 19.
Lewis peers inside a basic prisoner’s cell
Lewis the Lion thought that the prisoners’ rooms were very basic and small. There was a sink and toilet, with a bed and a desk, a booklet on the prison rules and that was all. He would have hated it, that’s for sure as Lewis the Lion loves nothing more than his freedom being the adventurous, independant cat that he is! Just the thought of a prisoner in an opposite cell being able to see you going to the toilet must have been so humilating and embarrassing!
Lewis the Lion learns that prison life was very harsh on Alcatraz
However, he discovered that the prisoners were encouraged to exercise daily in the Recreational Yard, outside the back of the building. This gave the prisoners a rare freedom of movement from their poky cells. Some inmates chose to play baseball or run laps or others simply would have walked up to the stands (or bleachers as they are called in American English) to look on what they were missing back on the mainland.
Lewis sees the Alcatraz recreation area
The part of the tour that interested Lewis the Lion the most the section on some of the most notorious of Alcatraz’s inmates. Their mugshots gave details of how long they served in Alcatraz and what crime they had commited before entering the prison. Famous prisoners included the Mafia boss, Al Capone who served in Alcatraz for 5 years for tax evasion, Robert “The Birdman” Stroud, held on Alcatraz for 17 years for murder and George “Machine Gun” Kelly, detained on Alcatraz for 17 years for kidnapping.
Lewis the Lion and some of the notorious Alcatraz prisoners
Due to the fact that the prisoners were physically confined, many of them sought mental escape through books and would withdraw books from the prison library. The genres available to the prisoners were on education, philosophy and fiction. A literate convict read between 75 – 100 books a year.
Lewis the Lion in the Alcatraz library
Lewis the Lion learnt that these high security inmates were only allowed one visit each month from members of their immediate family or other approved visitors. On these visitations, the prisoner and visitor would be separated by a glass panel and would have to speak to each other with a telephone. “How awful!” Lewis the Lion thought. “Crime is definitely never worth it!”
It’s funny but when Lewis the Lion thought of Alcatraz he only really thought of the prisoners but of course there were the prison officers too or “correctional officers” as they call them in America. It required 90 officers to cover three 8-hour shifts. Some of them lived in San Francisco but some of them lived on the island with their families in a separate houses from the prison. In the time that Alcatraz was open as a prison, there were 4 prison wardens who lived in a large house near the prison building.
Lewis the Lion and the Alcatraz Correctional Officer
Lewis wondered if any of the prisoners ever managed to escape from this island prison? He learnt that there was a failed attempt of a prison break in 1946 where two correctional officers and three inmates were killed. However in its 29 years, only 36 prisoners tried to escape the Rock; all but five were recaptured or accounted for. Three that were unaccounted for participated in the same breakout in June 1962. Lewis the Lion was intrigued to know if they ever escaped to freedom and managed to get off the island? The famous film Escape from Alcatraz starring Clint Eastwood imagines what might have happened if they had!
Lewis the Lion can see the Golden Gate Bridge in the shimmering distance
Outside the prison building behind the prison warden’s office, Lewis the Lion had fantastic views over San Francisco Bay, including a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Stood there, Lewis the Lion realised how blustery it was and got very windswept as you can see and hear in this video clip. He had to hold onto Helen’s hand very tightly!
Lewis the Lion and Helen looking on a blustery San Francisco
As he looked back onto the San Franciscan skyline, he imagined how the prisoners must have longed to escape back to the mainland within sight.
How the prisoners must have longed for San Francisco!
There was one last place that Lewis the Lion visited in the prison before rushing to catch the ferry back to the mainland: the prison dining room. He learnt that inmates were served 3 meals a day and the rules were simple:
“Take all that you wish – eat all that you take.”
The kitchen itself was kept behind bars as you can see in this picture. After all, they didn’t want the prisoners getting ahold of some of those sharp kitchen knives! Tear gas canisters were mounted into the dining hall ceiling in case of trouble but they were never used.
Lewis the Lion near the Alcatraz kitchens
Finally, Lewis the Lion read a quote by the last prisoner to leave, Alcatraz in March 1963, Frank Weatherman:
“Alcatraz was never no good for nobody.”
Lewis the Lion agreed that life on Alcatraz for a prisoner was not an option that he would ever choose!
How do you imagine you would feel if you were a prisoner on the island of Alcatraz?
Discuss your ideas with a friend or teacher.
