the mommy avenger

When you think of San Francisco, one of the first images that probably appear in your mind is that of Alcatraz, the rocky island that is infamous for its intense prison system. Known as “the Rock” to its inmates and locals alike, this maximum security prison housed inmates from 1934 to 1963. It gained notoriety for its intense living conditions, isolated location, and most of all for its dangerous prisoners (think Al Capone, the Birdman, and Machine Gun Kelly). Although its time as a prison was relatively short, this facility maintained a reputation of being unescapable because of its distance from the shore of San Francisco and with this reputation, it quickly gained attention in popular culture.

I’m sure many of us have heard of Alcatraz because of its references in movies alone. As for me, I can’t think of Alcatraz without thinking of movies like So I Married an Axe Murderer, The Rock, or Escape from Alcatraz. So naturally, when I decided I was going to visit San Francisco for the first time, Alcatraz was at the top of my list. 

Luckily for us, we were given the opportunity to visit Alcatraz with Alcatraz City Cruises, the only authorized commercial ferry service to the island. After a quick 15 minute ferry ride from Pier 33, we neared the looming hulk of an island. With the ever consistent fog from the San Francisco bay drawing in, the sky seemed to match the sentiment that the island expressed: that there was a slightly dark atmosphere to the prison. Upon arrival, we were immediately herded into a group and given the basic rules for the island and directions on where to pick up the complimentary audio tour headphones, before heading up the hill to the cellhouse perched on top.

As we walked through the cellhouse, the barren walls with peeling paint helped to illuminate the history of the jail as we listened intently to previous staff and inmates explain what occurred in daily life at Alcatraz. We learned the rigidness of the schedule, the lack of privacy, the invasive inspections each prisoner endured at their arrival, and even about the few escape attempts that happened (although one was successful!). We got an inside look at the cells  of famous inmates like Al Capone and the Birdman, and one particularly memorable event for me was the ability to go inside a solitary confinement cell. I couldn’t stand being in the dark, claustrophobia inducing cell for a few minutes, let alone months at a time.

We also had the opportunity to see other infamous areas like Times Square where morning inspections would take place, and the dining hall where there were gasheads in the ceiling to spray tear-gas in case a fight were to break out. 

To say I was in awe of the history of this place would be an understatement. However, what really hit home for me was the final exhibit, The Big Lockup,  in which the museum encouraged a second look at our modern prison system today. For those looking for a thought provoking self-evaluation, this exhibit is the one for you, and I left questioning my own opinions surrounding our prison systems and what reforms might be possible to better rehabilitate our nations’ prisoners. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this visit and I know that anyone who visits will leave with a brand new perspective of what life in prison truly is like. 

^{*we were invited to facilitate a feature, all opinions are our own*}