Alcatraz heritage attraction revamped
by Helen Patenall | 20 Aug 2007
A US$3.5m (£1.7m, 2.5m euro) overhaul of the former US Federal penitentiary heritage attraction, Alcatraz, in San Francisco Bay has reached completion.
The National Park Service teamed up with non-profit partner Golden Gate Parks Conservancy to carry out the most extensive restoration and renovation programme of The Rock since it opened to the public more than 30 years ago.
Visitors can will now benefit from an updated Alcatraz ‘Doing Time’ audio tour in eight languages, which has added first-person dialogue and sound effects to the original version.
New archival museum collections are being exhibited for the first time and include restored cell furnishings, prisoner artefacts, historic artwork and photographs of daily life in the infamous high-security prison.
The Cellhouse Museum shop displays implements used by the inmates during the 1962 breakout televised in the movie Escape from Alcatraz and a new film includes historic footage and accounts.
The revamped park and gardens now feature wildlife and landscape exhibits.
A US$3.5m (£1.7m, 2.5m euro) overhaul of the former US Federal penitentiary heritage attraction, Alcatraz, in San Francisco Bay has reached completion. The National Park Service teamed up with non-profit partner Golden Gate Parks Conservancy to carry out the most extensive restoration and renovation programme of The Rock since it opened to the public more than 30 years ago. Visitors can will now benefit from an updated Alcatraz ‘Doing Time’
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