The Big House

I live right across the Richmond Bridge from San Quentin, and pass by it every day on my way to school and work. It occupies some prime real estate in Marin County, and is not hidden away from sight like many penitentiaries. There aren't any large fields surrounding it, it's just right there, off the road, in your face. There is a mixture of new prisoners there for processing, minimum security workcrew inmate units, parole violator units, general population units and, of course, California's male death row inmates. There is another thing that San Quentin is famous for, and that's when Johnny Cash performed there in 1969. Check out this footage. Song lyrics by Shel Silverstein, who also was well known for childrens favorites "Where the Sidewalk Ends" and "The Giving Tree". (Silverstein was also a Marin resident)

"A Boy Named Sue"