matthew d. wittmer
contact me
sustainingtraces "at" gmail.com

Recreating B-Block in Alcatraz over the years
by matthew wittmer
alcatraz from the golden gate bridge

Since grade school, I have been fascinated with cell house on Alcatraz Island. I have made many drawings, sculptures, prints and images about the cell house over the years, mostly inspired from my visits to the island as well as the 1962 escape attempt, later made famous by the Clint Eastwood movie.

My largest project that is still in progress (well, progress has ceased for a while, so it remains in limbo) is a full scale miniature of B-Block, which is a double faced, three-tiered run of over 170 individual isolation cells in the heart of the prison. The scale is 1 inch equals 1 foot. The entire miniature is being built from my direct measurements, observation sketches and personal photographs of the structure there. I also accessed and examined the original escape artifacts from the Maritime Museum's collection (on the bay there), to ensure that the paint color of the cells is precisely what it was in 1962 at the time of the famous escape. The three escapees that fled the island had replicated the wall color to paint the fake portions of the wall they used to conceal the holes they had created in the back of their cells. These artifacts have been in storage since 1962 and have not been faded by the sun, painted over for filming or simply deteriorated from exposure to the weather the way the actual prison colors have over the years...




In the cellhouse of alcatraz, summer of 2005.





two cells on b block
Typical cells in b-block.




Below are some in progress shots of my miniature recreation of B-block. 

tier walk ways
This is the central part of the assembled, wood structure...





one half of the model in progress
Here is one half of the model ...





one quarter of the model in progress
The centrum bottle kinda gives some idea of the 1inch to 1 foot scale




Replicating the poured concrete texture has taken the bulk of the time.
It is important to me that the model replicates the same poured concrete textures
found in the actual cells. Different sized planks of wood were used in different walls of
the cells to frame where the concrete would set up, leaving a physical impression in the
concrete that the wood planks were there. The cell house in Alcatraz was regarded
as the most re-enforced concrete structure in the world at the time
it was constructed.





detail of removing the excess flashing from the spackle
Like the cells on the island, each cell has a different and unique board texture
configuration and the vent locations alternate slightly...





back of cells concrete texture
I made sure to replicate the same sized board impressions left from the wooden
planks used to hold the poured concrete. The widest planks were always used on
the back walls of the cells..






beginning paint stages (detail)
I began to paint the cells with colors in 2007 (bottom boarder is lacking
here--dark green). Painting has ceased since that time.





My proposed final model - the scale and general idea.
This is the final idea of what I had intended the model to be presented.  I am reconsidering how and
if I want to finish this as originally designed.  So much of it just takes tedious time and I've been
pursuing different interests for awhile.  3/4 of it needs painting, which is over 150 cells.  Four
colors  are needed in each cell, with straight lines dividing each of those colors on four of the five walls.

© All images on this site copyright by Matthew D. Wittmer