United States - Golden Gate Bridge

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A true display of modern engineering – The Golden Gate Bridge. This suspension bridge spans 4.8 kilometres, connecting San Francisco and Marin County. The Golden Gate is easily San Francisco’s most recognisable attraction and has been named a wonder of the modern world. The colour of the bridge is orange and is supposed to ‘compliment the surroundings’, and also enhances the visibility of the bridge under conditions of fog, which the Bay Area is accustomed to.

Image I took in 2012.

The bridge is another of America’s prime tourist attractions, and is especially popular with pedestrians and bikes, where walkways on both sides of the bridge accommodate such tourists. Bicycles are especially popular in tourists who visit the bridge, where hire venues lease out bikes for a one-way ride across the bridge to the other side, where a ferry awaits pick-up to return you back to the other side. When I visited San Francisco I was lucky enough to attempt the bike-ride and I would certainly recommend it to anybody visiting the area, as it is definitely one of San Francisco’s strongest points in terms of tourism. 

Image taken from (link)

Information sourced from (link)

United States - Alcatraz Island

Picture I took at Alcatraz Island in 2012.

Alcatraz Island is an abandoned military prison just offshore from San Francisco, California, in the San Francisco Bay. Due to its isolation, and surrounding of intense currents, it was the perfect location to hold prisoners from the Civil War. After the war, the fortifications and firepower were being deemed obsolete technology by the military, and such, underground tunnels begun construction but were never fully completed. Inmates were previously held in a basement, but upon the realization that the island held great detention qualities, a proper facility was built for these military prisoners of war. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake the prisoners were relocated to the island and not long after in 1909 construction on the main block began.

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The prison was financially unable to continue functioning due to its ridiculous run-cost, which was around $10 a day per prisoner, as opposed to $3 in most prisons. This combined with 50 years of salt water corrosion of the buildings, the prison was ultimately closed in 1963. Today, the island allows tours, which take visitors on a boat to the island, where a guide displays a majority of the cell blocks and features. I was lucky enough to experience this when I visited in 2012, the island feels as though it’s been untouched since the prisoners left. I highly recommend visiting Alcatraz, as it is something you need to personally experience to fully know its depth.

Image taken from (link)

Image taken from (link)

Information sourced from (link)