Today was a tourist day.

I’m in San Francisco, and I ended up going to Alcatraz, the infamous prison, where I was told I could enjoy their audio guide.

I hate audio guides. They’re normally one bloke, talking in a very boring fashion, about whatever it is you can see in front of you. They’re deeply dull: walking slowly round an old crumbling building, looking for ‘press 14 to continue your tour’, and willing yourself to listen to the entire boring, boring, presentation… it’s not my cup of tea.

The audio tour at Alcatraz is included in the ticket price, and I fully expected it to be utter rubbish. I picked up the player with trepidation.

And was blown away.

The audio tour, presented by a company called Antenna Audio, completely brings the place to life. Soundbites from many different people; sound effects to heighten the experience, and – thank heavens – no ‘press 14 to continue’. It was a 45-minute tour that, for me, seemingly took ten minutes. It was exquisitely put together.

One thing they talk about in the audio tour is, predictably, the radio. Convicts had little access to anything from the outside world, excepting – if they earned the privilege – a radio. Headphones were given to them, which they plugged into a headphone socket on the wall. The rules, given to every new prisoner, discussed how radio would work – and I’ve snapped those rules and display them above.

Radio, the audio tour says, was welcomed and prized by the prisoners. And, of course, why not – it was something that was a connection to the outside world, after all.

I full expected Alcatraz to be rubbish; touristy, shallow, and – dare I say it – a bit too American for my taste. The perfectly-produced audio guide, and the clear dependence prisoners had on their radio, made it rather more interesting to me than I’d expected. I’d recommend it, if you’re ever in San Francisco.

If you’d like to see my photographs, I’ve uploaded them to Flickr.

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