The Warden's House was the home of the wardens of the federal penitentiary on

Alcatraz Island Alcatraz Island () is a small island about 1.25 miles offshore from San Francisco in San Francisco Bay, California, near the Golden Gate, Golden Gate Strait. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a Alcatraz Isla ...

, off

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. It is located at the southeastern end of the Main Cellblock, next to Alcatraz Lighthouse. The 3-floor 15-room mansion was built in 1921 according to the Golden Gate National Recreational Area signpost, although some sources say it was built in 1926 or 1929 and had 17 or 18 rooms. After Alcatraz was converted into a federal penitentiary, between 1934 and 1963 the four wardens of Alcatraz resided here including the first warden, James A. Johnston. A house of luxury in stark contrast to the jail next to it, the wardens often held lavish cocktail parties here. The signpost at the spot shows a photograph of a trusted inmate doing chores at the house for the warden and that the house had a terraced garden and greenhouse. The mansion had tall windows, providing fine views of

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

. Today the house is a ruin, burnt during the AIM (

American Indian Movement The American Indian Movement (AIM) is an Native Americans in the United States, American Indian grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues ...

) Occupation of Alcatraz on June 1, 1970. AIM tried to put out the flames, but a

bucket brigade A bucket brigade or human chain is a method for transporting items where items are passed from one (relatively stationary) person to the next. The method was important in firefighting before the advent of hand-pumped fire engines, whereby fire ...

was inadequate. The Warden's house had a

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

. Working there and getting access was a high mark of trust and approval for an inmate. The slope below the Warden's House has been the subject of structural remediation as it was deteriorating. File:Wardens House.jpg File:Wardens House2.jpg File:Warden's house - Alcatraz.jpg Map of Alcatraz

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* * {{Alcatraz Island Alcatraz Island Houses completed in 1921 Houses in San Francisco 1921 establishments in California