“You never had to worry about someone knocking on your door and trying to sell you a vacuum cleaner, and the parents never worried about their children when they were outside playing. We knew exactly where all of the criminals were. It was a special place to raise a family. I consider my sixteen years at Alcatraz the best years of my life.”

The recreational activities available at Alcatraz were plentiful. There were ballet classes for the officers’ daughters, an indoor handball court, a two-lane bowling alley in the Officers’ Club, a soda fountain often manned by off-duty guards, a pool hall, a gymnasium and a dance hall for island parties. There was a women’s club, a club for the young adult girls called Just Us Girls(J.U.G.s), and a kids’ club for the youngest residents. The most popular activities for the island families were the holiday events. There were Christmas musicals, a special Santa Claus visit, and even shows for Halloween. Special dances were held frequently for both the officers and the teenagers, and talent shows were always a town favorite. During the 1950’s the Women’s Club printed cookbooks that were advertised in Sunset Magazine. Profits from the book sales help fund the special events. As one resident would remember: “People would buy the cookbooks as gifts just so they could collect the Alcatraz Postmark.”

The unique location of Alcatraz also provided residents with a special perk that most men would envy. As former resident Chuck Stucker would recall: “Alcatraz was the best fishing site in San Francisco. ”  Stucker had many fond childhood memories of fishing with his father, who retired as a Lieutenant, and with an uncle who served as both a Captain and Associate Warden, as well as with a cousin who worked as an officer. But most unique were his memories of fishing with Warden Madigan’s wife, who also enjoyed the sport.

Several family members would also have a very rare opportunity to see behind the secret curtain that veiled the workings of the prison. Before the prison staff returned the motion pictures that were shown to the inmates every two weeks, the families would be taken in a large group into the upstairs theatre to have their turn to watch the films. While waiting in the visiting area before being led upstairs, the residents could peek through the thick bulletproof glass and get a rare glimpse into the cellhouse.

The Warden’s fourteen-room mansion, built during the military period in 1922. It was decorated with beautiful wooden furniture made from black oak by inmates at Fort Leavenworth. James V. Bennett wrote: “Warden Johnston’s home on the peak of the rock was like the pilothouse of a ship at anchor in the bay, beneath the cottony clouds. At night I would stand at the guest-room window and listen to the steel doors of the cellblocks clanging open and shut while the guards said to one another, as if they were at sea, ‘All’s well.’”

A view of the Warden’s Spanish-Mission-style mansion from the parade ground.

Island electrician Frank Brunner is pictured here walking from the Warden’s residence in an extremely rare San Francisco snowfall.

A photograph showing the prison bus and jeep bearing the Department of Justice seals. The bus was the primary mode of transportation between the cellhouse and the dock for staff and inmates.

The Chief Medical Officer’s residence, located next door to the Warden’s mansion.

The Warden also lived on the island with his family, occupying a majestic fourteen-room Spanish-Mission style mansion that was located only a few steps from the prison entrance. The mansion had been constructed by military prisoners in 1922 and it featured a spectacular panoramic view of San Francisco as well as its own lush garden. The furnishings were made from beautiful black walnut, which had been constructed by inmates at Leavenworth. The wardens all employed exemplary prisoners known as “passmen” to cook and clean at the residence, and every thirty minutes these inmates would emerge onto the front porch, where they would stand until they had been counted by an officer who could see them through a prison administration window. James V. Bennett, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, would later write in his 1970 memoir:

Warden Johnston’s home on the peak of the rock was like the pilothouse of a ship at anchor in the bay, beneath the cottony clouds. At night I would stand at the guest-room window and listen to the steel doors of the cellblocks clanging open and shut while the guards said to one another, as if they were at sea, “All’s well.”  I spent the evening in Warden Johnston’s living room before a cheerful fire in the grate. Whenever a gust of wind blew down the chimney, scattering ashes in the hearth, a white-jacketed houseman entered the room noiselessly, swept the ashes back into the fireplace, and withdrew. He must have been watching all the time.

But there were a few occasions when the cracking sound of gunfire broke the calming rustle of the ocean waves – a stark reminder that the surrounding barbwire and chain-linked fencing could not fully isolate residents from the dangers of living inside the gates of the nation’s most notorious prison. The sound of the wailing escape siren was a signal much feared by residents, because it could indicate that a loved one was in harm’s way. At these times, families were instructed to remain inside their homes until they were notified that the island was secured and safe.

Another favored pastime at Alcatraz was gardening. When the families of the first military inhabitants of Alcatraz put down roots, they planted Victorian-style gardens that would flourish in the seaside climate. Gardening became a popular activity for many of the residents, and some of the plant life introduced by the military families in the 1800’s still thrives even today. During the military years, the families held small parties in their lush, Victorian-style gardens. Gardening continued to be a popular pastime through the successive generations of Alcatraz residents. These ranged from Civil War soldier families to gangster era criminals assigned to the various work details, such as inmate Elliott Michener, who reportedly introduced many rare and unique botanical varieties to the Alcatraz landscape. Ultimately, Alcatraz would be home to nearly 145 non-native garden species and flowers such as red-hot pokers and snapdragons carpeted the once barren rock with splendid colors. There were also beautiful rose varieties, as well as poppies and blackberries. There was even a children’s rock garden which Phil Bergen established adjacent to the parade ground. Many of the trees planted during the military period still prosper today in the salt-misted air.

Island Transit

The Warden Johnston served as the island’s passenger launch from 1945 to 1961.

Transit by boat was the only means of access to Alcatraz and was always manned by uniformed officers.

The children of Alcatraz traveled to and from school everyday via the island launch.