Model Industries Building, Prison workshop building on Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, US

The Model Industries Building is a three to four-story structure on the northwest corner of Alcatraz Island with large windows and industrial design. In 1936, it was modified with a guard tower, catwalk, and reinforced windows fitted with bars salvaged from old prison cells.

Originally built by the U.S. military as a laundry facility, the building was later converted into workshop space for prisoners. A severe storm in January 1935 threatened the structure when it shifted dangerously close to a cliff edge.

Inmates learned trades and produced goods like gloves, furniture, and military uniforms in these workshops. The space shows how the prison attempted to give prisoners structure and purpose through practical work.

The building stands on the northwest corner of Alcatraz Island, where wind and salt air have rusted it for decades. After the January 1935 landslide left it about 2.5 feet from the cliff edge, a riprap was finished by the end of 1935. The guard tower once on its roof is now displayed across from the Power Plant.

The guard tower that once stood on the roof was removed and now sits across from the Power Plant, where visitors can see it on display. The Hill Tower, which supplied its catwalk, no longer exists. Decades of salt air and wind have left the building heavily rusted.