Warden's House, Prison staff residence on Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, US

The Warden's House is a burnt ruin of pale grey concrete at the southeastern end of Alcatraz's Main Cellblock, beside the lighthouse. Its facade rises to a stepped, arched gable, with a smaller arched gable to the right; empty rectangular window openings pierce the walls, and a brick chimney stack stands at the roofline. A concrete parapet with arched openings runs along the walkway at the base, where an open fireplace with a brick surround remains in the wall.

Built in 1921 as a 15-room, three-floor mansion, the house lodged the four wardens of the federal penitentiary from 1934 to 1963, starting with James A. Johnston. It burned on June 1, 1970, during the American Indian Movement occupation, when a bucket brigade could not stop the flames.

The house held lavish cocktail parties, a stark contrast to the prison beside it. Inmates granted trust worked in its terraced garden and greenhouse, and the signpost at the site shows a photograph of one such trusted inmate doing chores for the warden. The Danish source adds that the house has a reputation for being haunted.

The partially preserved building can be visited during regular Alcatraz Island tours that depart multiple times daily from Pier 33 in San Francisco. Since the structure is damaged, visitors should move carefully and stay within accessible areas marked during the tour.

The house had a greenhouse, and working there was a mark of trust and approval for an inmate; a signpost at the site shows a photograph of a trusted inmate doing chores for the warden. The slope below the house has been the subject of structural remediation because it was deteriorating.