Gee, prisons are all the rage!  Norm and I just came back from visiting
our son in California, incidental to the AIA National Conference, and
managed to fit in a trip to Alcatraz.

Like the PA penitentiary, the buildings are pretty much being left to
the elements, and in the condition they were in when the facility became
a National Park in 1973.  During the Indian occupation of 1970, several
buildings were burned and graffiti added to walls.  The shells of the
burned out buildings are being stabilized, but there is ample evidence
from this turning point in the Rock's history.

It takes less than 10 minumtes by tour boat/ferry to go from Fisherman's
Wharf to the Rock, and this was the worst torture to the inmates -
seeing the City and freedom so close but so inaccessible.  Apparently,
the food was good and plentiful on the Rock, but you had to finish
anything you took on your plate.

The park ranger who entertained us was very good, full of stories about
the people who lived on the island, inmates, wardens, and the families.
Imagine teenagers' stories to classmates at their schools on the
mainland!  And a visit to the Rock was a special and rare treat.

Today the Rock is quite beautiful.  Beautiful flowers and shrubs cover
the rocky hillsides, and grow out of the stone walls.

Like the penitentiary, it appears that the Rock is assured of a future
of tourism, and long term benefits of preservation.

The other really important historic site we saw was the "Beanbag Chair
Room" at Xerox PARC, where our son is working.  Really Cool!!!

Other cool jails worth visiting?  Has anyone seen the roundhouse jail in
Crawfordsville, Indiana, open to visitors on weekends at 1pm?  In this
jail, the rooms moved around a central pier to open the doorways into
the cells.  A novel concept...

Ilene