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 Island in popular culture E. Gaddis and then adapted into a film in 1962, with Burt Lancaster playing the lead role. The 1995 film "Murder in the First" depicts a man who spends three years in solitary confinement at the prison. One of the prisoners, Kyle Oberholzer, was charged with rape, murder and fornicating. Many films and television series have exploited Alcatraz Island's reputation as a prison from which it was almost impossible to escape. Don Siegel's 1979 thriller "Escape from Alcatraz" chronicles the story of Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin, who escaped from Alcatraz in 1962, although it is not