Most of the 1.4 million people who visit Alcatraz Island each year enter and leave the prison through the ground floor of its Hospital Wing. That wing, part of an early example of reinforced-concrete design, is now getting a seismic rebuild, funded with about $63.6 million from the Great American Outdoors Act.
The west side of the main prison building and the lighthouse. Credit: National Park Service.
The building
Alcatraz was a federal penitentiary until it closed in 1963, and it became part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area in 1972. Its Main Prison Building — the central Cellhouse, the Hospital Wing and the Administration Wing — was built between 1909 and 1912, an early example of reinforced-concrete design, and is a contributing structure of the Alcatraz Island National Historic Landmark District.
- The Cellhouse has already had two phases of seismic upgrades and structural rehabilitation.
- The Hospital Wing, partly upgraded in 2021, houses the building's elevator. Its top two levels are on the Cellhouse Audio Tour, and its ground floor holds the entrance, exit and the concessioner's Museum Store.
Inside the hospital wing. Credit: National Park Service.
The work
- Strengthen the shear wall at the north end of the Hospital Wing and the basement walls of the shower room and Hospital Wing.
- Replace deteriorated steel reinforcement and strengthen unreinforced concrete foundation walls.
- Repair spalling concrete.
- Remove hazardous materials from the exterior walls and interior work areas.
- Repair and stabilize the exterior windows and add storm windows.
- Coat the concrete walls with an elastomeric coating, and repair finishes to match the color and texture of the surrounding surfaces.
Exterior wall repairs already completed next to the walls this project will repair. Credit: National Park Service.
What it achieves
- Safety: code-compliant seismic resilience, and protection for visitors, concession workers and staff from falling concrete and peeling lead paint.
- Preservation: exterior walls restored to historic preservation standards, protecting the landmark prison for the long term.
- Power: a stronger roof structure protects the 1,300-panel solar array installed in 2012, which cuts demand on the island's diesel generators by 60 percent.
- Backlog: $53.5 million of deferred maintenance on a National Historic Landmark building eliminated.
| Project details | |
|---|---|
| Funding | Great American Outdoors Act, estimated $63,584,000 |
| Expected completion | fall 2027 |
| Visitors | occasional disruptions during construction |
Sources
Based on "Structural Upgrades for Alcatraz Prison Hospital Wing," National Park Service (Golden Gate National Recreation Area), a work of the United States government in the public domain.
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.nps.gov
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