Guardhouse and Sally Port
The following photos and text is from a display board at
the entrance to the Sally Port, the first building encountered
when walking from the dock.
Alcatraz - US Army Post (1857 - 1933)
Long before Alcatraz became the nation's most notorious
penitentiary in 1934, it was the first and largest military
fortification on the Pacific coast of the United States
Between 1859 and 1934, the island evolved from a defensive fort
to a military prison, and eventually to a federal penitentiary.
Its role as a prison started in the fort's guardhouse,
beneath the floor, through a trap door.
Between 1859 and 1907 Alcatraz's military command focused
on building state-of-the-art fortifications to guard the
Golden Gate and San Francisco.
The oldest structure on Alcatraz, the guardhouse and sally port,
was built between 1857 and 1859. This covered passage was added
to the front of the guardhouse some time after the Civil War,
most likely in 1869. This photo from 1902.
First prison cell on Alcatraz, 1859. Eleven Alcatraz soldiers
were locked in the prison room on the first day troops
garrisoned the fort!