Alcatraz Island Full Tour - Inside The Prison Summer 2021 / Boat Ride Onto The Rock & Thru The Cells
Alcatraz Island Tour Summer 2021
Transcript
0:02
today's adventure begins on a very
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overcast
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somewhat dreary cool crisp foggy
0:07
san francisco morning as a recording of
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this
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august 5th 2021
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and there is some steam
0:31
pulling into the station the f market
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transportation device one zero seven
0:35
two i'm gonna take this down to pier 33.
0:38
i love it look how retro this is
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so cool is it stopping
0:45
okay yeah it's stopping
1:13
behind us is the sign for pier 33 south
1:13
and what is above the pier 33 sign south
1:16
alcatraz we are going to alcatraz island
1:21
a place you've never been to
1:24
all the years you lived here you were
1:26
telling me you never did the cable cars
1:27
which we did the other day
1:29
you've never been to you've never been
1:30
to the island no the only things i was
1:32
like oh yeah one day
1:33
and then i guess today's the day this is
1:36
the day
1:37
it is very windy
1:40
it's about 10 45. we have a
1:44
boat ride over there slated for 11 30.
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believe the two of us together came to
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about 98 dollars about 50
1:50
per person walk through self-guided tour
1:54
of alcatraz
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i'm excited for you inviting you to join
1:59
me and natalie
2:01
shall you and out here in the elements
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is a scale model of the island
2:15
before heading over i almost tripped
2:15
there for a minute
2:41
yeah they just had one here in the water
2:43
trying to go across oh look
2:44
see this is this is fake water but
2:47
there's real water
2:49
over there i wonder how many tried and
2:52
failed trying to swim across
2:53
we'll probably be able to learn when we
2:54
go over there there's going to be
2:56
a lot of information on that stuff so
2:58
they'll probably let us know or we can
3:00
ask
3:00
it's so much bigger than i thought like
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looking from doesn't look like it's like
3:04
this many buildings oh yeah
3:06
we're getting our steps in across this
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island
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now boarding our time slot even though
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it's 11 can get in line for the 11
3:25
30 departure we just got to get in this
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queue
3:28
there are a couple boats that go across
3:30
the bay taking over to the island
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this one is pulling in now
3:40
right on schedule and once it docks
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and i walk down that little platform and
3:42
look at that little one going by
3:44
that little boat over there heading
3:47
across the back
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we're moving about the vessel watchers
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contracts
4:07
it's so much more than just the prison
4:51
so our native american brothers and
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sisters said hey
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remember this treaty to return that
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landscape
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unfortunately as many of you know that
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didn't happen
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so that's what started them coming out
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here to alcatraz island in 1969
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and during that period of time more than
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15 000 people
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came through alcatraz island to show
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their support here's a list of all the
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different birds that are on the island
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and how many nests there are all of them
5:19
a lot of bird life
5:39
all right starting our self-guided tour
5:39
with the guard tower here well no this
5:43
isn't a
5:43
well i guess it would be a guard tower
5:45
it looks kind of like a lighthouse
5:48
maybe it's maybe it's both this truck
5:51
was restored
5:52
recently used to be used here on the
5:54
island was reading a
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newspaper article on the side of the
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window there
5:59
talking about how it was restored
6:02
this was used back in the day there are
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some areas that are closed off
6:06
to anyone walking around this would have
6:10
been the
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social hall here
6:15
off the distance that little tower over
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there
6:18
as well this is right here on the
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waterfront
6:22
here's a photograph of it before it
6:25
burned in 1970 built in 1910
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and this is kind of the inner the
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intersections of it now with lots of
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seagulls
6:35
down in there no parties happening for
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the officers at this moment
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just the gulls
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the quartermaster warehouse and power
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plant is the building that has the name
6:56
across the top we get to a different
6:58
area be able to see it but it's written
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right up on top of this very roof right
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up here
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i'm noticing there's a lot of there's a
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lot of flies
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and insects up here
7:16
one was just crawling on my hand
7:24
i wonder if we could peek in this window
7:24
over here yeah i can get a little look
7:27
down in here a little peek
7:51
a little layout of the land where the
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ferry
7:54
unloaded was right here walked up
7:58
and went up this platform saw the truck
8:01
inside this building past the officers
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club
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and where the name is written on the
8:07
roof is right there
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and now up here in the new industries
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building
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after that gonna traverse the rest of
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all the cells eagle plaza the lighthouse
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the west road
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wendy gulch trail and other areas
8:25
some of the well-known and famous names
8:27
here of course robert stroud the birdman
8:31
mickey cohen and these three escaped
8:35
back in
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1962 a couple other names of course
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capone
8:41
george kelly
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and this was their daily routine
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starting at 6 30 with a morning wake up
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val
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and then lights out was at 9 30 p.m
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lunch was at 11 40. supper
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also known as dinner 4 25.
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they returned to the cells 20 minutes
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later only 20 minutes
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for dinner final lock up at 450.
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wow so they have to be back in the cells
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at four at 450.
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and they do the the counts and then
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lights out at 9 30.
9:32
these are some photos of the building
9:32
standing inside of
9:34
what it looked like back in the day it's
9:37
kind of like a
9:38
wood shop type of
9:41
type of place here see what it looks
9:45
like now
9:50
it was also used for laundry it says
9:54
here that someone tried to escape
9:57
from this section as well
10:04
you see some of the laundry facilities
10:06
there against
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these windows right over here
10:15
and after exiting that facility walking
10:15
up and you can see
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what i was referring to with the
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lettering across the roof there
10:26
this tower which is pictured right up
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i believe looking at that building
10:30
is the building that is right up there
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would have been on that very corner
10:35
in the tower
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and it just sits here perched along the
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ground speaking of perched
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there's a seagull right on the top of it
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just relaxing sound personal
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little guard tower
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and looking at the little placard over
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on the side of this
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for a short while it was a gymnasium
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some of the guards and their families
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their entire families not just them per
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se
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their whole family's lived right over in
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there's a green house here oh a little
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look like your solar power here
11:52
as well underneath the water tower
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this was their hospital building here
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and that stood right here against this
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wall right behind
12:00
all right and then but and they also the
12:04
army built the prison building
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1919-1910 and what they did is they
12:09
included a hospital room
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inside the building so this was no
12:13
longer relevant they really didn't need
12:15
it anymore
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so it stayed here as storage late 1920s
12:19
they decided
12:20
to make this the garden center in here
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they tore this down
12:24
and built a gigantic greenhouse you can
12:26
see the concrete strip out there
12:28
yeah that's how big they're going
12:31
by the time we got here though it was a
12:33
dilapidated falling down
12:35
so as a national park we have to stay
12:37
within historic guidelines
12:39
so we build a replica greenhouse sitting
12:41
inside the foundation structure
12:54
not a bad view from over here looking at
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the bay bridge that way
13:00
very slight incline downward this
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this was the warden's house the
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executive mansion
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pictured here during christmas in 48
13:27
between 48 and 55 this also was
13:30
destroyed
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by fire right here
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really good view
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this is circa 1952 it is a 132
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scale model
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and all this down here is all abandoned
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now and all the bull does this is where
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all those birds are like
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kind of have taken over and the little
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spot was standing at the top it's right
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up here next to the
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white house with a view of the city from
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in here as well
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see the flag up there is how windy it is
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out there
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it's very gusty and very windy
14:45
nice cool breeze a few items in here
14:59
kind of throwbacks if you will
15:06
telephones over there on the wall very
15:06
retro
15:07
dating back to the time period
15:13
now stepping into cell house
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to where the cells are all right
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first level through here
15:37
not allowed to go down this staircase
15:38
but take a look at that
15:40
they're telling what lies down in the
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basement though
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ah this shows with at the bottom of the
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stairs the enclosures were known as the
15:48
dungeons they were placed in a damp
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dark room on a bread and water diet for
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up to 14 days
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the space contained no bed or toilet
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there is an audio tour
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i have opted to have the audio tour
16:06
here so i'll put my ear up to it try to
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get a little bit of information
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i did notice i also looked this up
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beforehand
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but 181 right up there was capone's
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cell his second cell the one he spent
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the most time in and it's the only one
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it's kind of stanchioned off you can't
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get over to it
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yeah al capone
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maybe probably the most famous inmate
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ever here maybe the most
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famous inmate anywhere would be capone
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chicago's capone
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181.
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basically what is being said through the
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narration they do have some inmates and
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they have some of the guards
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narrating first thing they're stating is
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that you didn't really
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go by your name here you went by your
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number so whatever your number was
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is what you were referred to and that
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became pretty much
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who you were not your cell number but
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your
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inmate number it was a nine
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feet long five feet wide
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seven feet tall
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that was the accommodations and when
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they arrived they would have a little
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booklet here
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that have the instructions on what they
17:30
were to do and what everything in their
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cell
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was it was located right here next to
17:36
the side of it
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you can see there are two displays here
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of what their setup was so
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all their rules were listed right there
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in that book
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yeah times square so you go down
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broadway
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you end at times square
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take a look at that broadway to times
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square
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down here is going to be a photograph of
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the recreation yard
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looks like a baseball field down here
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sure is look it's a baseball diamond ah
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there it is out there that's the
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recreation yard
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right there all on the the back side of
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this wall this is the d
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those that stayed in here stay pretty
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much in their cells all the time
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just learned that they were only allowed
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out about once a week
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so this was they spent a lot of time
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behind those bars
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a lot of notable men were here
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wow all here in this area
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right along look at this mickey cohen
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robert stroud the famous birdman of
19:17
alcatraz
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creepy carpus
19:24
arthur barker george kelly was in here
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and for a short while even capone was
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over in this area
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as well
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robert stroud was up in here and he
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wasn't allowed to bring
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his birds with him which made him very
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unpleasant
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to those that were watching over him
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many years he was in here
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the famous birdman of alcatraz there's a
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movie
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starring bert lancaster made about him i
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believe it was bird lancaster
19:59
that played him this was also the area
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where
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the isolation was the d-block treatment
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unit
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they did receive enough food and health
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care but they were confined to their
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cells
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24 hours a day
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this was not solitary this was the
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regular cell
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wish i knew which one was robert
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stroud's that'd be neat to see
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wow looks like there was a toilet over
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there though so they did have
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a place to use the bathroom they're very
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dark in here though when they close the
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door
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this door here would have been closed
20:59
right there
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if you think about it if you had one of
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the second or third floor cells
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the only view you would have for years
21:10
and years would be out these
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other barred windows looking across
21:50
really about the only thing you could do
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in here would be to visit the library
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and get a book
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i feel like that's what you would do
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that would be if you read
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if you read a lot i could definitely see
22:01
you you would be frequenting the library
22:03
quite a bit
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yeah it's only read like 75 to 100 books
22:07
a year
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that sounds about right they would read
22:09
75 books a year
22:11
how many do you read a year on on
22:13
average
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about like 30 30 30 to 40. you're about
22:18
halfway there oh by the way show your
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shirt you have
22:20
you're wearing kind of an appropriate
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shirt yeah as well
22:25
she might be going to prison for 20
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years let's hope not
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okay so you're you're wearing an
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appropriate t-shirt
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even though she can't go to alcatraz if
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so
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some of the ones that stayed here were
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they went on record to say this area
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was one of the most comfortable places
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to stay
22:44
you can even see check it out they have
22:46
a little checkerboard down in there
22:50
there's a little checkers box up top
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some would even do a little painting
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have the i got some
23:05
some little paints up top there we got
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the horse
23:10
little mountain range up top a cabin
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really have you have a lot of time
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though to work on your hobbies
23:20
oh yeah kind of yeah
23:23
of course i'm getting like a shawshank
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vibe as well
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obviously you know one of my favorite
23:29
movies regarding
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you know a prison if you will
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do you ever see shawshank of course yeah
23:37
red was here yeah right whatever reds
23:40
would have signed in there
23:42
of course red was not here bed was
23:45
somewhere else but
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just just that movie kind of reminds me
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a lot i have never
23:50
never been in jail or prison but i have
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visited quite a few
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would be something else in case you were
23:59
wondering what the view would be like
24:00
let's say you were in one of the cells
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right up here what do you think is out
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that window
24:06
that you would have to be tempted by
24:10
on a daily basis
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a view of the city right over there
24:18
look at that across the way very dirty
24:22
windows there's a
24:23
seagull down there
24:26
but i'm listening to the commentary on
24:28
the guided tour sometimes on new year's
24:30
they can see the fireworks
24:31
and they could even hear the cheers and
24:34
excitement from across the bay
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faintly while they were in this house
24:39
wow that would be that would be tough
24:42
they have their own little new year's
24:47
i party if they like bang on themselves
24:47
when it's like midnight
24:48
they could have yeah the visitation area
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is what the the prisoners called peak
24:55
in place as they would peek through here
24:58
to the other place when their family or
25:00
friends
25:02
would go to visit
25:21
there are four different little like
25:21
little holes that you would look through
25:27
oh yeah that is it is like oh yeah
25:28
that's
25:29
it's almost like you'd see like a like a
25:31
shark tank glass almost where it keeps
25:32
the water on the other that's how thick
25:34
it is
25:35
someone's tried to chip it away come
25:42
visit me if i was in here yeah
25:44
so you'd be on the other side so i'd be
25:45
here if i ended up
25:48
in alcatraz you'd be on the other side
25:50
right behind there
25:52
would you try to like would you try to
25:53
give me one of the little blades they
25:55
give you to try to like what do they
25:56
call those
25:57
i think you okay oh a file
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yeah via a file inside
26:05
it's a good idea okay when i end up in
26:39
here at cell 138 very interesting story
26:39
there was a fake head created
26:43
to fool the guards and a
26:46
escape was attempted right here they did
26:49
not realize until they realize the head
26:53
detached from the rest of the fake torso
26:56
they have recreated it here
26:59
just to kind of document that it
27:01
happened in 138
27:05
that's one way to do it
27:12
kind of fool everyone with a with a fake
27:12
noggin down there
27:13
kind of looks like sat eye gel a little
27:15
bit i'm nuts
27:19
you can bring in the head and help them
27:20
escape that's what i should i should let
27:23
satish i'm going to pass i'm going to go
27:25
back to knots i'm going to pass the word
27:27
onto sati joe
27:28
i have a new idea for him to escape tell
27:30
him i learned something at alcatraz
27:33
he'll love it and you appreciate it
27:37
ah here we go a little more info was on
27:40
june 11
27:41
1962
27:46
frank morris and brothers john and
27:46
clarence
27:47
anglin made a creative escape attempt
27:51
the most creative in the history of this
27:52
place here they are
27:56
the three men had reached the bay as
27:57
they slipped into the water using a raft
28:00
fashioned out of a raincoat they met an
28:02
icy current rapidly
28:04
ebbing out to sea they were never seen
28:06
again
28:08
no one knows what happened to them this
28:10
was their escape route
28:12
climbing up the pole up the utility pole
28:16
up onto the roof and then drop down to
28:19
the ground
28:21
they then climbed the fence past under
28:23
the guard tower tumbled down a rocky
28:25
cliff
28:26
and scrambled to shore there's the
28:29
there's the fake head
28:35
no one knows if they if they perished
28:35
survived
28:36
also represented are the two others
28:38
there's another
28:40
fake fake head down in there reading
28:43
this it says
28:44
these props were used on the tv show
28:46
america's most wanted
28:48
the escape the story of the 62
28:51
breakout so you can see all those in
28:53
that episode
28:55
this is looking in a piece of plexiglas
28:57
into the utility corridors
29:00
which is uh which is the area that they
29:02
used
29:04
together and now heading back down
29:14
was here a moment ago and went inside
29:14
the cell
29:16
over here you want to get inside the
29:17
south kids
29:25
how does it feel
29:29
thankfully you only have to be in there
29:30
for a few moments
29:32
but that would be your accommodations
29:34
right there this doesn't even have a bed
29:44
making my way back down to times square
29:52
broadway to times square going into the
29:52
dining hall now
29:59
almost at the end of the tour you see
29:59
they're cleaning up the
30:01
the headsets still listening to this as
30:05
i'm
30:05
as i'm walking very informative
30:16
okay they were saying that this is the
30:18
most danger one of the most potentially
30:20
dangerous rooms
30:21
anywhere in the cell house simply
30:24
because of the
30:25
eating utensils and you can see the
30:27
recreation outdoor area where they were
30:29
allotted three hours a day
30:31
they were saying as cold as it would get
30:33
out there across the bay
30:35
they would always stay out there as long
30:36
as they could because they did not want
30:38
to go back
30:39
to their cells and there is the golden
30:41
gate golden gate bridge
30:43
across the way there very dirty windows
30:45
from all the birds that are flying
30:47
around out there these are your menu
30:49
options you want to flip through the
30:50
book there and take a look at
30:51
what you would have if you were
30:53
incarcerated here
30:55
you have a choice of peanut soup
30:58
anything on there strike your fancy
31:02
um cranberry jelly
31:05
cranberry jelly sounds good that's the
31:08
main course what about for a starter and
31:10
what about for dessert
31:12
grape avocado salad and pumpkin pie
31:16
nice does it say on the front what time
31:18
and for oh it doesn't say
31:20
over here
31:25
oh look at the food menus listed on the
31:25
next two pages
31:27
both menus are from thanksgiving day
31:29
from 44 to 46.
31:31
only one is a food served here at
31:34
but is that open at all
31:43
what is this oh maybe it was this one
31:43
okay you know what this is suppose this
31:45
is supposed to be a test you got menu
31:47
one and menu two which one
31:49
do you think is from alcatraz that one i
31:52
don't think they have cheese sticks
31:53
okay no cheese stick let's look and see
31:56
if you chose menu one
31:57
you are correct that was what was served
32:00
here
32:00
on thanksgiving day of 46. so no cheese
32:04
sticks
32:05
this is the one you were picking from
32:06
yeah so you would be disappointed
32:08
because you would only get
32:10
something on here i would probably get
32:12
butter peas or maybe a hot biscuit
32:14
roast turkey with celery dressing and
32:17
pumpkin pie
32:19
all created right back in here all
32:20
cooked
32:22
back in this area
32:29
what were you saying about up here
32:29
oh that's the minion
32:36
so if you were here on march 21st of 63
32:36
you
32:37
get assorted dried cereals steamed wheat
32:40
scrambled eggs fresh
32:42
milk some stewed fruit hope they have
32:45
coffee
32:46
you know i would be fine i could i could
32:48
laugh here coffee and some good
32:50
that's all that's all you need that's
32:51
all you need
32:52
says here the food was some of the best
32:54
in the system
32:56
they ate the same meals okay since the
32:59
inmates had access to metal knives forks
33:02
and spoons
33:03
as i said this is this was the most
33:04
dangerous patrolling guards
33:07
had canisters mounted to the ceiling
33:11
okay thank you
33:23
and it officially closed on march 21st
33:24
of 1963
33:26
frank weatherman was the last to leave
33:37
walk on broadway look at that
33:37
63. that has been 58 years ago
33:43
wow this is a good souvenir and very
33:47
realistic to the area it's a
33:49
it's a fog glow
33:52
because it's very foggy here and the fog
33:55
has a name
33:56
does it yeah the fox name is carl
33:59
no really the fog why is it carl
34:03
i'm not sure why i'm sure there's a
34:04
reason
34:06
so this morning this is kind of how the
34:08
city looked
34:09
and now that a little bit later in the
34:11
day it looks kind of like that
34:13
but later on this evening it will look
34:15
like this again so it's pretty much like
34:16
fog in the morning
34:18
fog at night some sun in the middle a
34:21
little bit of sun in the middle
34:23
that's kind of neat that's a neat little
34:24
souvenir oh look you can
34:27
you can save the rock you can buy part
34:29
of the rock
34:31
got a key here that's neat how much is
34:34
that
34:36
1195 it's really heavy
34:40
nice little nice little souvenir they
34:42
could have
34:43
you know back in the day they could have
34:45
probably used that
34:46
to escape emma would have been priceless
34:50
the yard privileges are as follows no
34:53
gambling but you may play chess
34:55
checkers or bad gameth games of hearts
34:59
cribbage
34:59
and dominoes oh do you think i need that
35:04
turn it back around so i can see the
35:06
there you go
35:07
how much are those
35:13
i might get those they're very much your
35:13
style yeah
35:14
i get them unless they're like ninety
35:16
dollars
35:23
they are oh six seven dollars
35:23
oh is there a trolley car or cable car
35:26
yeah the powell and hyde street one
35:28
i ended up getting a few items here a
35:30
couple of small bags full of stuff i'll
35:32
show you the haul
35:34
momentarily going out through
35:37
the gift shop you go through
35:41
one of the cells just like this
35:58
and i did end up getting that 10 cup
35:58
there so i got that
35:59
and they also have a date stamp postcard
36:02
that they'll sell you for
36:04
a dollar and they will put the
36:06
lighthouse on there and the date as
36:08
recording of this
36:13
spent time on alcatraz it's upside down
36:15
after sunglasses
36:16
i went with three magnets i got the
36:19
cable car
36:20
got the regulation number 23. i went
36:22
with the classic
36:23
and i went with the pin as well
36:27
pretty neat the postcard though a little
36:29
something for posterity what'd you get
36:31
i got a badge for a friend
36:35
and then i got the same cable car magnet
36:37
so we're magnet buddies again oh nice
36:40
and
36:41
so i got that one so we're cable car
36:43
buddies cable car buddies but also
36:46
you got something i did not get which is
36:47
the golden gate bridge
36:49
pretty cool it's pretty cool too right
36:51
did you get one of these
36:53
no damn you opted out of this yeah and
36:55
looks like we might time it out perfect
36:57
there is a boat dropping off
36:59
some guests over here if we get down
37:01
there we could hit that one on the way
37:03
back
37:04
over to the mainland perfect timing
37:35
made it the loading back onto this boat
37:35
has begun i believe it is a different
37:38
seafaring vessel than the one that we
37:40
took over this is only
37:42
two floors two stories the one on the
37:44
way over was three
37:45
different boats it all comes together
38:20
all right got an entire rooftop view
38:20
from this angle
38:21
ladies and gentlemen pulling away i have
38:24
your attention please yes
38:26
alcatraz cruises vessels sail under
38:28
rules and regulations
38:30
heading back over to the city san
38:32
francisco
38:33
right across the way there very very
38:36
beautiful we're moving about the vessel
38:38
watch your step and hold on to a
38:40
handrail
38:42
this thing is a bouncing isn't it
38:51
you can look at it i got kind of
38:51
stabilized
38:53
over there on the at the golden gate you
38:57
can see the
38:58
the winds blowing across here
39:01
oh whoa it's hard to
39:07
get my sea legs watch your step and use
39:07
those railings as you make your way up
39:09
that ramp
39:11
please keep those masks on for us while
39:13
on board we appreciate you doing that
39:15
we hope you enjoyed your time when i'll
39:16
be trash island have a great day here in
39:18
san francisco
39:19
and that's going to do it for today from
39:22
alcatraz island