| What is it? |
The Gardens of Alcatraz organization maintains the lovely gardens surrounding the ruins on Alcatraz Island! |
| What makes it wonderful? |
Apart from adding beauty to the dilapidated buildings, the gardens were, from the start, an important feature in the lives of inmates and officers alike! They brought hope and exuberance into the most isolated prison in the country, even reforming several of the inmates, like noted counterfeiter, Elliot Michener, whose time in the garden inspired him to leave crime behind and pursue an honest living. Apparently he did quite well and wrote to the warden asking for a cutting of his favorite “Gardener” rose! To this day, gardening on this island is a noble task, since many of the plants are also historical. And, I might add, the compost here is award-winning! |
| How can I Help the Helpers? |
HERE’S HOW:
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| Does this organization have an office? |
Not that I know of, but I will say this: the boats that go to Alcatraz leave from Pier 33:
1398 The Embarcadero
San Francisco, CA 94133
From Los Angeles: ~381mi (614km) — 6.4hrs
From Sacramento: ~87mi (141km) — 1.5hrs
From San Diego: ~502mi (808km) — 8.4hrs
From San Francisco: ~3mi (5km) — 0.1hrs |
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