Most of the prisoners were notorious bank robbers and murderers.
The
Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary or United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island
(often just referred to as Alcatraz or The Rock) was a maximum high-security
federal prison on Alcatraz Island, 1.25 miles (2.01 km) off the coast of San
Francisco, California, which operated from August 11, 1934, until March 21,
1963.
The main
prison building was built in 1910–1912 during its time as a United States Army
military prison; Alcatraz had been the site of a citadel since the 1860s. The
United States Disciplinary Barracks, Pacific Branch on Alcatraz was acquired by
the United States Department of Justice on October 12, 1933, and the island
became a prison of the Federal Bureau of Prisons in August 1934 after the
buildings were modernized to meet the requirements of a top-notch security
prison. Given this high security and the location of Alcatraz in the cold
waters and strong currents of San Francisco Bay, the prison operators believed
Alcatraz to be escape-proof and America's strongest prison.
Alcatraz
was designed to hold prisoners who continuously caused trouble at other federal
prisons. One of the world's most notorious and best known prisons over the
years, Alcatraz housed some 1,576 of America's most ruthless criminals
including Al Capone, Robert Franklin Stroud (the "Birdman of
Alcatraz"), George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Bumpy Johnson, Rafael
Cancel Miranda, Mickey Cohen, Arthur R. "Doc" Barker, Whitey
Bulger, and Alvin "Creepy" Karpis (who served more time at Alcatraz
than any other inmate). It also provided housing for the Bureau of Prisons'
staff and their families. A total of 36 prisoners made 14 escape attempts
during the 29 years of the prison's existence, the most notable of which were
the violent escape attempt of May 1946 known as the "Battle of
Alcatraz", and the arguably successful "Escape from Alcatraz" by
Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin in June 1962 in one of the most
intricate escapes ever devised. Faced with high maintenance costs and a poor
reputation, Alcatraz closed on March 21, 1963.
The
three-story cellhouse included the main four blocks of the jail, A-block,
B-block, C-block, and D-block, the warden's office, visitation room, the
library, and the barber shop. The prison cells typically measured 9 feet (2.7
m) by 5 feet (1.5 m) and 7 feet (2.1 m) high. The cells were primitive and
lacked privacy, with a bed, a desk and a washbasin and toilet on the back wall,
with few furnishings except a blanket. African-Americans were segregated from
the rest in cell designation due to racial abuse being prevalent. D-Block
housed the worst inmates and five cells at the end of it were designated as
"The Hole", where badly behaving prisoners would be sent for periods
of punishment, often brutally so. The dining hall and kitchen lay off the main
building in an extended part where both prisoners and staff would eat three
meals a day together. The Alcatraz Hospital was above the dining hall.
Corridors
of the prison were named after major American streets such as Broadway and Michigan
Avenue. Working at the prison was considered a privilege for inmates and many
of the better inmates were employed in the Model Industries Building and New
Industries Building during the day, actively involved in providing for the
military in jobs such as sewing and woodwork and performing various maintenance
and laundry chores.
Today
the penitentiary is a public museum and one of San Francisco's major tourist
attractions, attracting some 1.5 million visitors annually. The former prison
is now operated by the National Park Service's Golden Gate National Recreation
Area, and the badly eroded buildings of the former prison have been subject to
restoration works in recent times and maintained.
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