You may be able to go to prison, even if you haven?t done anything wrong. Just as Alcatraz is a major tourist attraction in San Francisco, the West End Development Company is hoping visitors and locals will flock for tours of Casemates.

Wedco?s Business Development Manager Ed Williams said that guided tours of the cold old Bermuda stone prison could still be a long time coming, as the property was not in Wedco?s hands.

Abandoned ten years ago on completion of the West End Correctional Facility, the building has lain vacant but is still owned by Government.

He said the company was working with the Maritime Museum to ensure there was an accurate record of the physical building.

Built in the late 1840s as part of the Royal Naval Dockyard it has vaulted ceilings and extraordinarily thick walls.

It was not built to be a prison ? a fact Mr. Williams feels Bermudians need to know.

He explained that Wedco hopes to open the site to the public both as an attraction and so that those interested in having businesses there can see first hand, the lay of the land.

?We will open it up for tours, so potential developers can see the dynamics and idiosyncrasies of the structures,? he said. ?There are lots of buildings behind those walls.?

Demolition is not an option for anyone looking to develop the site, and the views are stunning, he said.

?It looks from Daniel?s Head all the way down the North Shore.?

While Wedco have been negotiating to have the property since 1997, Mr. Williams could not estimate a date when it will actually be handed over.

?Hopefully some development will take place soon,? he said.