15 - Officers' Row

WAYSIDE LAYOUT: Cream colored, horizontally oriented panel with a dark banner running across the top. The banner reads “Golden Gate National Recreation Area” on the left and the National Park Service logo on the right. There are two rows of information. The first row has text, image, and a quote. The second row has 3 images with captions. 

FIRST ROW:  

TEXT: Officers’ Row: Home to the military elite. Look over the wall to see the remains of three charming homes built in the 1880. Alcatraz’s commanding officers and their families lived in these cottages and were counted among the Bay Area’s most important citizens. They hosted parties, concerts and other events on the island and attended fashionable affairs in San Francisco. After the homes were demolished in 1941, residents and inmates created gardens in the building foundations.  

DESCRIPTION: Black and white photograph of 5 children. 4 of them are standing next to one another, with the fifth sitting in a toy wagon in front of them. They are all wearing hats with brims, blocking the bright sun.  

QUOTE: “Life continued for the children as much as it would have on any army post...There were hide-and-seek games among the abandoned fortifications. Alcatraz’s steep sidewalks made for excellent roller skating, and after the convicts paved the roads with concrete, the children attained blood-chilling speeds going down the switchback roadway.” - John Martini, Alcatraz historian, Fortress Alcatraz 

SECOND ROW:  

DESCRIPTION #1: Black and white photograph looking up a road along the houses of Officers’ Row. An American flag flies on a flagpole on the right side.  

CAPTION: The road was unpaved and a wooden walk stretched along the wall when this was Officers’ Row. 

DESCRIPTION #2: Black and white photograph of a group of soldiers and their wives. They are positioned in a row, seated and standing along a wall. The men are in uniform, wearing dark jackets and flat topped, military hats. The women are wearing long dresses and matching hats.  

CAPTION: Making a comfortable and efficient home on the island was not easy for the wives of men posted at the fort. Grocery shopping, for example, had to be planned around the boat schedule. Once back from the mainland, the women had to carry all purchases from the dock, which discouraged them from buying household necessities in large quantities.  

DESCRIPTION #3: Background image on the bottom right corner features a view looking from above, of Officers’ Row.