Alcatraz Island Lighthouse Shines a Beam of Gold
The prison Lighthouse was inspired by the California Gold Rush of 1848! In five years, the bay was jammed packed and jelly tight with vessels loaded with fortune seekers hoping to land a good fortune! The Lighthouse of the Rock was the first working Lighthouse on the Pacific coast and beamed a Light through the Golden Gate passage for mariners entering the port of San Francisco.
To accommodate the safety of the sailing Gold Diggers, a Lighthouse was built and completed by July 1853 yet, the Light was First Lit almost a year later on June 1, 1854 exhibiting a Fixed White Light. There was confusion about which lighting system should be used - the old Argand lamps and parabolic reflectors or the new Fresnel lens. Eventually, the new Lighthouse Board approved the superior performance of a Third-order Fresnel lens.
The first Tower rose above the center a two-story Cape Cod style Keeper’s house. The 50-foot high Lighthouse was painted white with a black trim and was similar to the design of old Point Loma Lighthouse.
By the time the first Lighthouse was built, the first guns were mounted in the South Battery of Alcatraz Island in 1853 as part of the plans for the Alcatraz Citadel, a fortified military barrack completed in 1859 just north of the Lighthouse. Although the guns of Alcatraz never fired a shot to defend the city during the Civil War, 39 people were imprisoned in the Alcatraz Citadel for celebrating the news of President Lincoln’s assassination. This event marks the humble beginnings for the renown notoriety of the Rock!
In 1902, the Lighthouse was refitted with a revolving Fourth-order Fresnel lens exhibiting a Flashing White Light every 5-seconds. On April 18, 1906, a San Francisco earthquake cracked the Lighthouse and Light-keeper B.F. Leeds wrote in his Keeper’s Log, “is this the end of the world?”
In 1909, the Lighthouse and Citadel was demolished and replaced by the present prison cell house and a 84-foot high octagonal concrete Lighthouse. The new Lighthouse was First Lit on Dec 1st, 1909 exhibiting a Flashing White Light every 5-seconds illuminated by a Fourth-order Fresnel lens 214-feet above sea level visible to a range of 22 nautical miles.
The new Keeper’s house was next to the quarters of the prison doctor and the warden. At times, Lighthouse Keepers faced the dangerous task of crossing the prison compound to activate the two Fog signals at the other end of the Rock. The Lookout Tower guards would notify the Light-Keepers when they saw a fog bank rolling in and the Keepers passed through each gate on the hand signals of the guards.
The Rock was a military prison until 1933 when the prison became a federal penitentiary. In 1946, the Battle of Alcatraz was recorded by a Lighthouse Keeper
when Bernard Coy attempted his bloody escape. Marines dropped grenades into the cell block to quiet the explosive riot! Of the 6 escapees, three were killed during the “44 hours of hell” as one Light-keeper described the battle of May 2nd. Two men were later executed for killing two guards and the third survivor was given an additional life sentence.
Due to maintainence costs, the Rock was closed in 1963 and the Lighthouse was automated on November 22, 1963. From Nov 9th, 1969 to June 11, 1971, Native Americans occupied the island by claiming the Rock was part of the 1868 Sioux Treaty.
After a mysterious fire destroyed the Keeper’s and Warden’s houses on June 1, 1970, the Indian population began to dwindle due to the lack of water. A pre-dawn raid finally ended the voluntary Indian incarceration!
After surviving burning, prison breakouts, and riots, Alcatraz Lighthouse stands tall as an Active Aid to navigation managed by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. To close this Lighthouse Christmas story, we need to find the two Lighthouses inspired by Frankincense and Myrrh! Maybe, Linda has these Lights hidden in her blogging manger?
For a Map Location of the Lighthouse, please visit the Google Map of Alcatraz Island Lighthouse
Interesting coincidence?
Did you notice the connection of two events hidden in the post?
The first major event at the Citadel on the Rock was the incarceration of confederates in 1865 for celebrating the news of President Lincoln’s assassination. Later, Alcatraz Island Lighthouse was automated on the day JFK was assassinated. Perhaps, Ed the Editor can calculate the odds?
Technorati Tags: lighthouse, Alcatraz Island Lighthouse Shines a Beam of Gold, Alcatraz Island Lighthouse, San Francisco, California
Explore posts in the same categories: History, Holidays, Humor
December 22nd, 2007 at 3:28 am
what an amazing history Debbie….
wouldn’t it make a great movie !!!
so many different stories to tell…
those odds are certainly eerie…..
December 22nd, 2007 at 6:11 am
Loved this post and the story of the lighthouses at Alcatraz! Having been there, as I was reading this I was trying to figure out exactly how far it was from Alcatraz Island to the Golden Gate Bridge and if memory serves me correctly, it was a pretty good distance. That would mean that the light at this lighthouse had to be pretty powerful - especially to cut through the nasty fog that can roll into San Francisco Bay.
Very interesting on the coincidences of the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy. Hopefully Ed can figure those odds as I bet they’re pretty darned high! Oh - and good luck on the Frankincense and Myrrh lighthouses, I’m afraid neither are in my manger though that would be pretty darned cool if they were!
December 22nd, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Hi Kim,
I Love the Movie Idea! Can we name the movie and the sequels, The Rock Trilogy?
We need to find two Bloggers to play the leading roles of Lighthouse Keepers.
My Lighthouse Keepers nominees are Kim for shining a Beacon of truth on Technorati Troubles and Jos for shining a Beacon of truth on the whole scope of senseless Blogging rating systems!
Hopefully, the odds of filming the Rock Trilogy movie are better than the odds of coincidence between the two Presidential assassinations
December 22nd, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Hi Linda,
I was in the spirit of the season writing this Holiday Lighthouse post and couldn’t resist ending the story on a comical note linking back to you! We would be shocked to find Frankincense and Myrrh Lighthouses
Sorry about missing the range ~ added the missing visible range of 22 nautical miles (25.3 miles) for the Lighthouse of the Rock. Golden Gate Bridge is 3-miles from the Lighthouse and the beam of Light extends another 22.3-miles past the Golden Gate Bridge!
A very bizarre coincidence that a Prison Lighthouse of the Rock was connected to the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy. With Ed’s editorial skills, calculating these odds should be a blogging breeze after freeing himself from the chains and leather straps of Mrs. Ed’s Blogging Bed!
December 22nd, 2007 at 11:17 pm
ooooh yes Debbie…
count me in…..
now I have to think whether I want to be the Star or the Director…
we could do a meme on it…
The Rock Trilogy sounds brilliant…..
so no 1 movie …could be called Lord of the Rock….??
could we move the lighthouse over to Austraalia as I don’t fly
(gosh I sound so self centred sometimes)
I know Kangaroo Island is free …but they have giant Koalas running wild there …
oooh this is exciting….
I imagine you will be wanting to be the producer ….
hmmmm now what do you think Jos could be …besides a lighthouse keeper (supporting actor of course :))….hmmm what about casting director???
I think he’s still working on the last job over at my technorati post…
I’m not sure what it was though :0
but I’m sure he’ll take time off to get this launched
this is soooo much more exciting than SEO…
December 23rd, 2007 at 11:43 am
Hi Kim,
Start the Rock Trilogy Movie Même before or after we write the movie?
We can use digital FX to “fly” you to the Lighthouse or “fly” the Lighthouse to you!
Kangaroos kicking the Rock prisoners could be the special FX for this comedy!
You, Jos, and Debbie Dolphin could be the Movie Producers and the Legal Eagles at Boston Legal could be the Lighthouse Keepers since Allan Shore and Denny Crane are used to sleeping together in tight quarters!
December 23rd, 2007 at 4:05 pm
hmmmmm do we want to keep this a secret Debbie …because the meme could be good promotion……
I think we could go for a New Year launch….with a combined audition for actors…and the legal eagles sound like a sure thing !!!
You Tube could be our platform
ROFL… Kangaroos kicking the Rock Prisoners could work….and what about Sylvester Stallone making a guest appearance……
he might even write the screenplay for us…
December 23rd, 2007 at 7:40 pm
Hi Kim,
A New Year Launch of the Rock Movie Meme in the year 2008???
We have not written movie yet!
Jos and his cast of comical characters are curious about the Movie that we have not written and produced yet!
December 23rd, 2007 at 8:53 pm
Hehaheh, I am glad I have found it…
Guys, I really was assuming Debbie had already actually started shooting this movie, lol! So I been scanning this blog for video clips.. Sjeeess…
It’s a relief to see that Debbie realizes that it needs to be WRITTEN first.
For most of todays movies, that has probably been considered unnecessary, but a potential cult classic such as this intended “The Rock Trilogy”, a script seems somewhat important. Especially if we ever want to arrive at doing sequels, like The Rock Trilogy IV-VII and VIII-XI.
First, I would like having lots of cliffhangers with lots of gloomy looking desolated lighthouses. In a rock movie, also the choice of a score seems important. I am proposing this one.
I totally like the idea of koala’s running wild kicking Stallone in (and into
the Dark Hole.
As for my own role: a little cameo as a severely visually handicapped lighthouse lighter will suffice.
December 23rd, 2007 at 9:32 pm
hehehe that’s good …we’ll just keep them in the dark
ummm the meme launch?….I’m brain fatigued….how about we put Jos in charge of that …..
December 23rd, 2007 at 9:57 pm
Hi Jos,
What a relief, you almost had me searching my archives for The Rock Movie script!
With the shenanigans of the prisoners on the Rock, a severely visually handicapped lighthouse keeper might be the safest job on the island!
_____________________
Hi Kim,
Great idea!
Keeping the secret of a Meme Launch also works
December 23rd, 2007 at 10:23 pm
haha
you two better get your glasses fixed…
you looking for the video Jos….
and you Debbie looking for an unwritten script… ROFL
I don’t know I can’t leave you two alone for a minute and you get yourselves in a fluster !!!!
checked out the Pink Floyd Jos ..perfect
and what about U 2 as back up?
hey Debbie …just spotted your avatar….very pretty…is that new?…or do I need stronger glasses too !
secret meme….done ….we don’t want this leaking out …
so I’ll just go and get the electrical tape out….
I think visually handicapped will work Jos…as long as all of the prisoners are blind
December 23rd, 2007 at 10:41 pm
Hi Kim,
Should we let Kim know my secret, Jos?
Looks like your 20/20 is perfect and Debbie Dolphin received a new facelift to pose for a new avatar on my revised Blog!
If we have not penned the blind movie than the secret Meme is a well hidden secret from me, too
December 23rd, 2007 at 10:56 pm
oooh how lucky are you …Debbie
I’ve wanted a face lift for Christmas for years….actually decades…to be truthful …
ok I’m mum on both
I’d say Jos might be one step ahead and putting those sequels…Rock Trilogy IV-VII and VIII-XI together….or alternately …that crumble upon character who left a very suspicious comment at my blog might be onto him….
December 24th, 2007 at 12:34 am
Hi Kim,
Avatar facelift only! — Considered Botox but my husband convinced me that injecting food poisoning near my eyes might not be a wise idea - talk about being blinded for this movie
My reply to the CrumbleUpon Character is also reprinted here:
Holy Mackerel, Jos!
Slippery Sly fighting to hang on to a Mackerel and blinded by the Rock Lighthouse while trying to save a dolphin could top the Titanic movie in Box Office sales!
Kim, we have found our executive Producer!
Off-topic? We can easily get back on-topic by creating movie characters to be CrumpleUpon and OpenIDiot Stars. So far, they have been a box office hit all over the Blogosphere!
HM works for H. Mackerel or His Majesty or Her Majesty as well as a R-rated encryption that sealed my Lady Dolphin lips!
December 24th, 2007 at 1:43 am
ooo yes the pain….not good….food poisoning …eek !!!
yes I agree with hubby….you really don’t have to be a method actor for your role
hey deja vu…. Debbie
I just read that ….and I still haven’t worked out the R rated one ….but I’m sure I’ll get it before Cristmas ….
I’ve snaffled the title Her Majesty …..and I had a laugh…looking back at the titles in use at my CMU FUTechnorati post……we all sound like we are not only totally cracked….but on it !!!
December 24th, 2007 at 8:57 am
Talkin about face lifts already, Ladies, huh? Not to get crumbled over issues like that, may I suggest that we do the Book first and later turn it into a Movie?
On paper, or as an e-Book, our entire cast will look smashing (even a dead fish like Sly), and the e-Book in particular will allow lots of special FX and a stunning sound track. (Kim, I second including some U2, like this one for the scene with Sly hanging off his own cliff with his eyes wide open [which would be a first, btw]).
As for PR, I think the “secretly hidden Meme” approach might just be it!
Just imagine the level of success miss Rawling might have seen, had she promoted Potters adventures by using that method.
Now, with Kim being a.o. an artist, Debbie and myself being a.o. photographers, all three of us being a.o. members of a Poets Society (”No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world”), why not give it a go?
December 24th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Hi Kim,
Botox or Botulinum toxin type A is “sterile (never heard of sterile poison before Botux - does that mean the poison works better and faster???)” Botulism, the life-threatening type of food poisoning. Are the potential dangerous side effects worth the risk?
Have you discovered the R-rated version of HM, yet? Hint: I bet H. Mackerel, Sr. knows!
Many Great cracked titles to select from for our super secret movie!
December 24th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Hi Jos,
With three book authors, sounds like a few books could be written about our Blogging Adventures!
Is it true, a Sly Dead Fish has finally lost his last fight???
Love to see the PR for a secret hidden Meme ~ A Google PR of 10 would make our day! No doubt, the Present Ration will be zero in virtual reality until the Colin’s Public Relations Blogging Firm launches our secret hidden Meme campaign!
I hope your A.O. means Artist Online not Anarchy Online? (ROFL)
How do we select who writes the opening, the climax, and ending Chapters of our secret Movie Book?
December 26th, 2007 at 9:43 am
Hi Debbie,
Confirming Sly the Fish was DOA - the ‘other’ Sly will be, if I have to play him.
A.O. does not (not!) have an R-rated meaning.
I think we should write the opening, cliffhangers, climaxes and ending in a joint effort? And let’s not forget the plot. There must be a plot.
Maybe we can do this by using the Secret Meme approach as a new “compose-a-script”-technique, tagging each other in turns, and - without telling anyone - create a bunch of individual blog posts, that ultimately can be put together thus revealing that it all was “a plan” to co-create a BlogBuster novel?
December 26th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Hi Jos,
After ROFL and with great difficulty in composing myself, a secret tagging Meme in secret posts (via eMail???) might work to co-create our secret BlockBuster Novel.
For the moment,
A comical plot will be Nice,
Yet, my brain is on Ice,
Due to Happy Holiday Spice,
The New England Deep Freeze fuel Price,
And especially our Christmas comedy Advice!
Hopefully, your role of Rocky Balbo using LOL, ROFL, and LMAO will put us out of our Rocky miseries! (and our Sly miseries, too?)
P.S. I am happy to hear A.O. does not (not!) have a R-rated decryption.
December 26th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
ohhh I agree with all of your new developments Debbie and Jos…
I am a little out of action atm due to a pulled muscle in my left shoulder (turning a rather large painting just before Christmas)..
I thought it would get better or simply go away …
but it hasn’t so I’m off to the hospital to get it checked out today
you may have to forge onwards without me…..
signing out via my kind daughter who’s typing this for me
the one armed online artist
December 26th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
Hi Kim,
A pulled muscle, Ouch - hopefully, it isn’t serious?
I wish we had a young typer for me when I broke my wrist at a rocky coastline photographing a Lighthouse last year!
A free secretary is needed for every Blogging CEO!
December 27th, 2007 at 8:07 am
Hi Kim,
Oooff.. that sounds bad and painful. Take Care, will ya? Rest, rest, & rest!
and then give it some more rest.. Don’t start forcing your arm!
I just learned that my son Ward (14) broke his wrist on the 2nd day of his first skiing (read: snowboarding) trip ever.. So sad, and so disappointed he is.. (and there’s nothing I can do, he’s somewhere out there in Austria with my ex).
Debbie, I meant normal, regular (non-secret) posts on each of our blogs, that nobody knows will be put together as a novel later on. Each individual post would have to be able to “stand on its own”, but these posts could each be a scene of this “compose-a-script”(TM) secret moviememe…
December 27th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
Hi Two-armed Typo Tycoon,
Something like we have the Typo Tycoon Star to play the lead role in Technorati Tunagate per ~ Scene 90, Take 91 ~ ?
December 27th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
hi dd and tatt
have had the diagnosis on the arm and have rotator cuff tendonitis…
arm in a sling and future posts will be via the co’s new typist my daughter charlotte …with massive bribery…..
as you see she is not working for me atm…hence the one armed lower case comment ……
December 27th, 2007 at 11:29 pm
Hi Kim,
I am surprised the Doctor didn’t give you a cortisone injection. My husband had that treatment for rotator cuff tendonitis years ago and his shoulder was back to normal in two days. I hear they use Celebrex to treat the inflammation now.
hmm… massive bribery for Charlotte or one arm typing must be a difficult decision?
December 28th, 2007 at 4:20 am
thanks for the info dd as that’s the most positive news i’ve heard so far…
i had x rays yesterday at the hospital where the doctor there diagnosed rct…….they didn’t give me anything …just told me to take panadol and neurofen
i’ve just been to my doctor today and he has given me celebrex……..so i’ve taken 1 x200mg…..
i hope mine clears up like your husbands did…as i’m starting to feel a strain on my other shoulder and arm…
yes the option may be for me to have some time off if it doesn’t improve …eek…..
December 28th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Your welcome, Kim!
I hope your shoulder gets well, soon!
December 28th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
Thanks Debbie
the celebrex is making a difference (touch wood)….:)
December 28th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Hi Kim,
You are most welcome!
Surprises me, your Doctor didn’t begin your treatment using Celebrex first.
January 27th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
I just wanted to say “thanks” … I really enjoyed my visit to your blog!! Very interesting, I wish I had a topical blog. I do not know what to catagorize mine as - RANDOM maybe?
As a kid, we would stop at Split Rock Lighthouse on the way up North. (Minnesota)
January 28th, 2008 at 12:07 am
Hi Eric “Speedcat Hollydale,”
You are most welcome!
May I recommend using this category, “The Serendipitous Studies of Speedcat Hollydale” ?
Did you sing the “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” with Gordon Lightfoot at Split Rock Lighthouse?