Alcatraz During the sports holiday my family, excluding myself, made a journey to San Francisco, U.S.A. With them they brought leaflets and brochures from places they had visited during their 10-day holiday. One leaflet that caught my interest more than another was one about the legendary prison Alcatraz, probably one of the most notorious prisons world-wide. I read it thoroughly and decided to get more information about this really interesting topic. I went to the state-library and borrowed some books concerning Alcatraz. This work you got in front of you is what I thought most interesting among what I have read, even some true-life experiences from my family are included."You are entitled to food, clothing, shelter, and medical attention. Anything else you get is a privilege"This prison rule from 1934 was one of the realities of life inside the walls of the U.S. Federal Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island. The Island in the heart of San Francisco Bay, just 2 km from the sight and sounds from the bustling beautiful World City, has been used for a
fort, a lighthouse and a prison. Today, it's one of the national parks in San Francisco; open for visitors to admire the wildlife and to make sure history is not forgotten. The prison has been subject of many movies and books; Alcatraz has become a symbol of America's dark side. From fiction rather than fact, we have stories of the prison and of some of the men who spend part of their lives in its cells, Al "Scarface" Capone and Robert Stroud, the "Birdman of Alcatraz," for example. The truth of Alcatraz has often been overlooked, but then been lost ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
fort, a lighthouse and a prison. Today, it's one of the national parks in San Francisco; open for visitors to admire the wildlife and to make sure history is not forgotten. The prison has been subject of many movies and books; Alcatraz has become a symbol of America's dark side. From fiction rather than fact, we have stories of the prison and of some of the men who spend part of their lives in its cells, Al "Scarface" Capone and Robert Stroud, the "Birdman of Alcatraz," for example. The truth of Alcatraz has often been overlooked, but then been lost in the fogs of its myths. Reading this most reliable work, you will discover some of Alcatraz´s true facts and stories.ALCATRAZ, THE PRISONAlcatraz was a prison almost from the very beginning. During the civil War era, soldiers convicted of desertion, theft, rape and murder, citizens' accused of treason, were imprisoned here. The army also used the Alcatraz as a place of imprisonment for Hopi, Apache and Modoc Indians captured during the various Indian wars of the mid- to late nineteenth century, and for military convicts during the Spanish-American War 1898.In 1907 the War Department decided that Alcatraz would no longer serve as a defensive fort but would instead serve as a prison. Soldiers from the U.S. Military Guard replaced regular army troops and plans were drawn for a cellhouse that could keep up to 600 prisoners.When finished in 1912, the cellhouse was the largest steel-reinforced concrete building in the world. Central steam heat, skylights and electric lights gave it a reputation as a model, modern facility. Almost all work, excluding some engineering, was taken care of by convicts from other prisons in San Francisco, and in 1912 when the cellhouse was complete, many of them became the first prisoners to live in it.Before it assumed its role as a maximum-security prison, the cellhouse was provided with the newest technology for prison safety. Tool-proof bars were installed in all windows; gun galleries were built at either end of the two main cellblocks. Outside, six guard towers were constructed; barbed wire was installed around the island, chainlink fences raised and metal-detectors installed. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the newly created Department of Justice became interested in the island as a place for a high-profile, maximum-security facility. So in 1934 the prison changed from a military-, to a federal prison. Of the 1 545 men who spend time on Alcatraz only a handful were notorious, among them were: Al "Scarface" Capone (who alson died there), "Doc" Barker, Alvin "Creepy" Karpis, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Floyd Hamilton and Robert Stroud. Most of the inmates were men who had proved to be problems in other prisons -escape risks and troublemakers.Of the 14 attempted escapes from the island, the best known occurred in june 1962, when Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin managed to reach the water. They used raincoates as floatation devices and presumably tried to reach the shores of San Francisco. Although their bodies were never found, they are assumed to have drowned.As part of its security, the Bureau of Prisons restricted visitors to "The Rock." It may have been this isolation, this apparent secrecy that caused stories of the prisons miserable living conditions. Although few of these stories were true- the prison was clean and the food was good. In 1963 increasing maintenance and operation costs led U.S. Attorney General Robert R. Kennedy to close Alcatraz. Prisoners were transferred to other prisons, and Alcatraz was left to the care of a lone warden until 1974 when it opened for visitors.A FEW "DID YOU KNOW" FACTS ABOUT ALCATRAZThe Cellhouse was never filled to capacity. The average number of prisoners was 260, and the maximum was 302. There were 336 full-standard cells available.There were no executions on Alcatraz, although there were five suicides and eight murders.Prisoners remained on Alcatraz until they were no longer considered to be disruptive or rough- an average of 8 to 10 years.The sharks that swim in San Francisco Bay and around the island are not "man-eaters"; sand sharks are among the most common.The Alcatraz lighthouse was the first on the Pacific Coast and has been in operation since 1854. The only service interruption happened in 1970, when fire destroyed the lighthouse keepers quarters and disrupted power to the light.Golden Gate National Recreation Area Park GuideAriel RubissowAlcatraz, Island of ChangeJames P. DelgadoEyewitness on AlcatrazJolene BabyakDiscover AlcatrazEileen Campell, Tacy Dunham
