Alcatraz Recreation Yard

The camera stands on the concrete apron of the recreation yard, inside the wall that curves overhead at the western end. Ahead are the tiered steps inmates sat on, the grass bank, and the island water tower on its steel legs. Behind and to the left, a heavy steel door stands open onto a walkway, and through the gap you can see San Francisco Bay - which was, for most of the men who used this yard, the point of the place. The building along the eastern edge is part of the prison complex; the yard itself is a plain rectangle of concrete open to the sky, which is exactly what it was designed to be.

Shown in virtually every film that featured Alcatraz Prison, the Recreation Yard provided a much-coveted opportunity for outdoor activity as well as opportunities to discuss past crimes and plot possible escapes.

The Recreation Yard was dirt-packed until it was paved over in 1936. On weekends and holidays, prisoners were allowed a maximum of five hours a day in the yard. Some prisoners worked seven days a week in the kitchen, and they were allowed breaks in the yard on all days. In its last years as a prison, the time allowed in the Recreation Yard was increased, and other equipment was allowed - including shuffleboard, tetherball, and even weight-lifting

A privelege granted to well-behaved prisoners was the right to have a few hours on weekends and holidays in the Recreation Yard. There was a baseball diamond in the yard, and balls (softballs), gloves, and bats were provided. This was by far the most popular activity in the yard, although chess, checkers, and card games were also played. And it appears there was also a basketball court. There were amateur and league softball teams, with the league teams playing more competively. Baseball was very popular with the inmates, and in 1955, radiojacks were put in cells so that the men could hear the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in the World Series. Ocassionally, Major League stars