Excellent story about how the national park service and its nonprofit partners are changing the function of this treasured tourist destination, and benefiting the environment at the same time.
Having a nonprofit partner with local government to preserve, protect, and enhance the Parkway is one of our goals and the promise can be seen in this partnership’s effectiveness, one of many around the country saving public park resources.
A green future for Alcatraz
TOURIST SITE IDEAL FOR ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES
By Mary Anne Ostrom
Mercury News
Article Launched: 05/12/2007 01:33:22 AM PDT
Alcatraz may not have been a model for prison reform, but it's an ideal 21st century laboratory for the green revolution.
For the very same reasons it made a nearly escape-proof penitentiary for more than five decades, housing the likes of Al Capone and "Machine Gun" Kelly, and Robert " The Birdman" Stroud, its caretakers are now looking at it as a place to pursue alternative energy projects. Consider its location in the middle of a turbulent bay and the potential for solar, wind and tidal power.
As Alcatraz celebrates its centennial as a prison (it began as a military one in 1907), the park service and its Alcatraz concessions partner have several initiatives in mind.
Next year, a state-of-the-art, hybrid-powered boat will transport tourists to the island. And desalination, water reuse and solar projects are being considered. Now, drinking water is shipped over in 5-gallon jugs, sewage is hauled off and power comes from diesel-powered generators, though they are being converted to use biofuel.
The park service and its new concessionaire, a subsidiary of tour boat operator Hornblower Cruises & Events, also want to draw more people to the island, advertising it as a spot for corporate get-togethers. In 1987, investment banking firm Hambrecht & Quist hosted a technology conference on Alcatraz, featuring actors dressed as convicts and guards and a band playing "Jailhouse Rock.'" Among the more controversial ideas is to turn the old laundry facility into a conference center.
After all, even though it is the site of infamous tales of inmate violence, the laundry also features sweeping views of the Golden Gate.
Finding new uses
It won't be "Spend the Night in the Cellblock," says Golden Gate National Recreation Area superintendent Brian O'Neill. But he believes that finding new uses for the buildings should be part of the preservation of Alcatraz, among the park service's most popular attractions in the country.
Overnight accommodations, for example, have been suggested as a possibility for the former barracks near the current ferry pier.
"The best way to preserve a historical building is to reuse it and have day-to-day activities to preserve it," O'Neill said.
"We don't want dramatic change overnight but Alcatraz has been in evolution" since a fort was built in the Gold Rush era.
He said the environmental focus is part of a Park Service-wide effort to "walk the talk" in promoting green energy: "We know we have such a visible set of park assets here that millions of people visit and we want to set the right example."
First up, Alcatraz this spring is unveiling a $3.5 million face lift, including the first new audio tour in 20 years, expanding access to previously closed areas and replanting long-dormant island gardens. The changes, funded by the non-profit Golden Gate Parks Conservancy, are the biggest since Alcatraz joined the Park Service in 1972.
