San Quentin Prison Museum
San Quentin Museum Association
Building #106, Dolores Way
PO Box 205, San Quentin CA 94964
415/454-8808
R.A. Nelson, President
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San Quentin Prison MuseumSan Quentin Museum Association |
California established a State Prison system in 1851 in response to increased criminal activity brought on by the sudden influx of men seeking their fortune in the gold fields. Originally a private enterprise, a temporary prison was set up on the Waban, a 268 ton bark (ship). As it quickly became overcrowded and escapes common, building began for a permanent facility on Pt. San Quentin in 1852.
You pass San Quentin Prison overlooking San Francisco Bay if you take the Larkspur Ferry from San Francisco to Marin County. Out-of-towners often mistake it from a distance for a resort complex.
Pass within the perimeter of San Quentin, one of the most famous, active prisons in the world without being an inmate or visitor by going to the prison museum just inside the main gate.
The museum, founded in 1985, is a pleasant surprise. A grant and the expert work of Shirley Schaufel, a museum design consultant who actually spent the summers of her childhood staying with relatives in the house next door to the building which is now the museum, have fulfilled the museum's intent of guiding the visitor in exploring the relationship of the prison and the history of California.
Inmates did the physical remodelling of the building. Its library is supplied by book collectors from around the United States. Former staff contributed their personal collections for many of the exhibits.
In 1932 prison employees, at the time earning $50 a month and working six days a week, presented Warden Holohan with a solid gold badge with 7 diamonds. Considered a prize in the collection, the badge is exhibited across from the museum guest sign-in book which rests on the podium used to log the details of executions. Early prisoners wore chains and balls constructed from surplus Civil War canon balls.
Many visitors are unaware that San Quentin housed women prisoners until 1934. Prison labor was used in building roads and they supported the war effort by building metal submarine nets and weaving cargo netting. There is a model of a prison cell, a miniature of the gas chamber, and artifacts from the original gallows and The Dungeon, known as The Hole.
Before you leave stop in at the museum store which offers T-shirts, mugs, and books. In particular, Cooking with Conviction is a cookbook compiled by the Kairos religious group in support of their ministry. At the gate stop in at the store which sells art objects made by inmates.
The prison cemetery was used until 1952. Unaccessible now, it rests on the hill above the prison marked by a grove of Eucalyptus trees. You cannot see it from below where law enforcement officers now have a rifle range.
Details: Visit takes about an hour. Wheelchair accessible. The museum is on prison property through the main gate on the right. Check with the guard before walking through. Cameras are not allowed inside the gate.
Hours: Call ahead to check. M-F 10-4, Sat 11:45-3:15, Sun closed at this time.
Getting There by Public Transportation: Golden Gate Transit Route 40 runs everyday. Every 30 minutes M-F during commute hours. Once an hour during the midday. Every 90 minutes on weekends. From downtown San Rafael Transportation Center (Heatherton between 2nd and 3rd) get off at Main Street San Quentin. From East Bay coming from the El Cerrito Del Norte BART Station get off at Marin Rod & Gun Club and walk under freeway to Main Street San Quentin. Call GGT San Francisco: 415/923-2000, Main: 415/455-2000, Sonoma: 707/541-2000.
Getting There by Car: From the South take 101, Sir Francis Drake Bl exit to San Quentin, pass the back gate, get on Hwy 17 heading East, take next exit which is the last exit before the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. From the North take 101 to Hwy 17, get off at Main Street exit. From the East Bay take 580 to Hwy 17 West over Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, take first exit (San Quentin, turn left under freeway. Then follow Main Street to the main gate of San Quentin (Post Office is on the right), turn left into the parking lot for visitors.
Admission: Ages 12-55 $2.00, Seniors, students with ID, State employees $1.00.