Warden's House (Alcatraz Island) Warden's House (Alcatraz Island) The Hoe House was the home of the wardens of the federal penitentiary on Alcatraz Island, off San Francisco. It is located at the northeastern 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. 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
Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary Prisons. The purpose of this transfer was to punish those involved in the rampant crime which prevailed in the country in the 1920s and 1930s. The United States Disciplinary Barracks on Alcatraz was acquired by the United States Department of Justice on October 12, 1933, and the island became a Federal Bureau of Prisons federal prison in August 1934. The $260,000 conversion to the federal prison took place from January 1934. George Hess of the United States Public Health Service was appointed the chief medical officer of the prison and Edward W. Twitchell became a consultant in psychiatry for Alcatraz