Alcatraz gets a clean sweep from the Coast Guard

The Island of Alcatraz
Photo(s) by Luke Thomas

Bay City News Service

February 25, 2006

Members of the U.S. Coast Guard volunteered Thursday for a little spring cleaning of one of San Francisco's most famous landmarks.

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary closed in 1963, but it has since become a popular tourist destination with almost a million people visiting every year.

On Thursday, 28 members of Coast Guard Sector San Francisco and the Integrated Support Command at Coast Guard Island helped give the attraction a much-needed clean sweep.

Along with National Park Service staff, volunteers swept, vacuumed, dusted and changed the linens in over 75 prison cells.

According to the Coast Guard, volunteers accomplished significant results. In return, the volunteers were treated to a special behind-the-scenes tour of the island including the infamous "dungeon" located under the main prison as well as the historic lighthouse.

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