Alcatraz!

One of the creepiest places I ever set foot in, other than Alcatraz, was an abandoned animal research facility on the Peninsula. Besides the stainless steel surfaces and sinks, the scarred tiles and dissection room drains, it was the smell which made some guys’ hair stand on their neck. Nowadays, the place is loaned to Bay Area police departments to practice room clearing with blank ammunition. As to Alcatraz itself, much of its creepiness has to do with the location I think, sitting as it does between San Francisco’s touristic waterfront and Angel Island State Park. The notion of keeping people in tiny concrete cages in the midst of paradise.

On a lighter note, one of the first things we discovered upon arrival was jellybeans.

001 jellybeans b

Understandably, the parts of Alcatraz we were most interested in were closed off to the public, such as the old military parade grounds, taken over by migratory birds. From where we stood, however, we could only see and hear the ubiquitous Seagulls, permanent squatters in more and more places around the bay. Starting at the dock where visitors get dropped off, the ascent towards the main prison building is relatively steep, but worth walking, rather than riding up in the wagons shuttling people to and from.

Building 64 is the oldest building on the Alcatraz. It was housing that was built over the top of the army barracks which had been there since the 1860s.
Building 64 is the oldest building on the Alcatraz. It was housing that was built over the top of the army barracks which had been there since the 1860s.

Provided you come on the earliest tour, before 9 am, walking enables you to take in sights more fully and take the occasional picture without getting photo bombed as the island gets pretty crowded with tourists before noon. Most buildings on Alcatraz share much of their visual appeal with other local examples of 19th century institutional architecture found at the Presidio, on Angel Island and Fort Point, to name a few.

The old Post Exchange burned during the Native American occupation of Alcatraz in the 70s.
The old Post Exchange burned during the Native American occupation of Alcatraz in the 70s.
Broken window in the New Industries building
Broken window in the New Industries building
The morgue
The morgue

The prison’s buildings also appear more dilapidated, enhancing the haunted feeling many visitors feel. The warden’s house only retains four walls and the fireplace, for instance, but is positively cheerful, compared to the cell blocks, and especially the few cells dedicated to solitary confinement. The only time these cells were lit was when they were unoccupied.

The prison as seen from the recreation yard
The prison as seen from the exercise yard
Prison window
Prison window
Bill Baker, a former inmate was there selling his book. If you click on his name above, it will take you to an interesting article about him.
Bill Baker, a former inmate was there selling his book. If you click on his name, it will take you to an interesting article about him.

There is currently an art exhibit offered for free on Alcatraz, by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. Part of the exhibit is on display in the prison’s hospital which is usually closed to the public.

With Wind by Ai Weiwei
With Wind by Ai Weiwei

This means we got to see more on this trip than most visitors usually get to take in.
An audio tour is available once you enter the main prison building: a recorder is handed to you free of charge, with headphones. Sadly, this means people walk about following the recording’s directions, sometimes stopping abruptly in groups, by this cell, or that, blocking doors and hallways.

Solitary, in cell block D
Solitary, in cell block D
The hospital, normally closed to visitors
The hospital, normally closed to visitors
The hospital
The hospital
Wheelchair in the hospital
Wheelchair in the hospital

At some point in the near future, we will return to the Island, this time for a night tour of Alcatraz, in hopes to experience and capture something different.
Meanwhile we hope you enjoy these images…

The Prison. We didn’t take as many pics inside the prison as it was so awfully crowded.

@Large, is the name of the Weiwei exhibition. The link will take you the website with great descriptions and meanings of the various exhibits.

@Large turns Alcatraz into a space for dialogue about how we define liberty and justice, individual rights and personal responsibility. In artworks that balance political impact with aesthetic grace, the exhibition directly and imaginatively addresses the situation of people around the world who have been deprived of their freedom for speaking out about their beliefs — people like Ai himself.

These are the photos taken everywhere else on the island. The gardens have been lovingly restored by scores of volunteers. The bulk of the garden photos are from the prisoner’s garden adjacent to the exercise yard.

 

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Caturday: Out of town

This week, our trail of jellybeans stretched over the water to Alcatraz, and beyond, to Mars and the Moon. Well, as close as we could get that is, the Nasa Ames research center in Mountain View.

The old parade ground on Alcatraz. There are no people permitted there as it's seabird nesting season
The old parade ground on Alcatraz. There are no people permitted there as it’s seabird nesting season
Model of the milky way at the Nasa Ames visitor center.
Model of the milky way at the Nasa Ames visitor center.

More on these adventures later, as we’ll be spending this Caturday out of town again, this time to look at travel trailers, alternate, mobile ways of reducing our footprint while increasing our reach.

Meanwhile, here are the furry heroes once more…

Titanescu using Tito as a pillow. Tito didn't mind.
Titanescu using Tito as a pillow. Tito didn’t mind.
Titanescu using Miss Jenny as a pillow. She didn't mind either
Titanescu using Miss Jenny as a pillow. She didn’t mind either

And here’s a good vid from Simon’s Cat that I should have posted last week.


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