Alcatraz · The Claim That No Escape Ever Succeeded

Alcatraz sits in the middle of San Francisco Bay, where the water is cold and the currents are strong. The federal prison opened in 1934 and held Al Capone and a group of the hardest prisoners to manage.

The official record has no successful escape: men were shot dead, or carried off by the currents. The prison closed in 1963, and the cells, the dining hall and the guards’ quarters were left where they stood.

Today visitors take the ferry out to the island. On the audio tour you can hear the gunfire and the iron doors of that time. The wind on the island is strong, and there are more gulls than people.

Haunted Ruins / San Francisco · USA / 1934