Alcatraz - the history

In 1775, the Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala was the first to map the bay that is known as San Francisco Bay today. He gave one of the three islands¹ its name: Island of the "alcatraces", which means "pelicans"².

In 1850, when the California Gold Rush was starting to change the former fishermans' village San Francisco into a booming city, Alcatraz was made a U.S. military reservation by a presidential order. Plans were made to build a "triangle of defense" for the bay, with Fort Point and Fort Lime³ as two corners and Alcatraz as the third one. He who might have succeeded to pass the two forts would have faced more than 100 cannons on the island.

There were not only plans to keep ships out, but also installations to help ships in. The first operational lighthouse on the west coast was built in Alcatraz.

Later in the 1850's, the first military prisoners⁴ came to the Island. That started a role change of Alcatraz which lasted until 1909, when the U.S. Army destroyed the citadel, leaving only the basement as a foundation for a new military prison. The cannons on Alcatraz had never been fired in battle. It was the military prisoners on Alcatraz who had to build their own prison. It took them from 1909 to 1911 to build the "Pacific Branch, U.S. Disciplinary Barracks" for the U.S. Army.

In 1933, after more than 80 years of military use, Alcatraz was transferred to the U.S. Department of Justice. The Federal Government wanted to make clear that it was serious about stopping the crime boom of the 1920's and 1930's. So a maximum-security and minimum-privilege penitentiary was installed in Alcatraz, which was now famous as "The Rock". The most dangerous an most incorrigible inmates in Federal prisons were sent to the Rock.

Despite the intentions of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, living conditions on Alcatraz were better than in many other Federal Prisons. All the inmates had single cells, and the food wasn't too bad as well. The average population was about 270 inmates, with a capacity of 336, which was never reached.

On March 21, 1963, the U.S. Prison Alcatraz was closed due to the enormous costs of operating a prison on an island. As there were absolutely no natural ressources, everything from water (1 million gallons a week) to food, fuel, supplies had to be shipped there by boat.

For 6 years, the island was abandoned. In 1969, a group of Native American Indians claimed Alcatraz as Indian land. They had plans to create a Native American cultural center. This act of civil disobedience was very popular among the Vietnam war protesting scene in the late 1960's, so various celebrities, hippies, Hells Angels, and lots of other "professional protesters" came to the island over the next 18 months. The situation could no longer be controlled by the Indians, and the Island had to be cleared by the Federal Marshals in 1971 to prevent further vandalism.

In 1972 the Golden Gate Recreational Area was created, and Alcatraz was made part of it. It was opened to the public in 1973 and has been one of the most popular Park Service sites since then, with more than 1 million of visitors each year.

Alcatraz - prison and prisoners

Some of the best-known criminals of all time, such as Al Capone, George "Machine-Gun" Kelly, Alvin Karpis⁵ did their time on Alcatraz. Most of the 1,545⁶ prisoners, however, were just plain gangsters who had refused to obey the rules of other Federal institutions. When a inmate was considered to be dangerous, violent or an escape risk, he could be sent to Alcatraz. Here in the "prison system's prison" a monotonous daily routine was held up to break in the inmates and to teach them to follow regulations. Prisoners had four rights: food, clothing, shelter and medical care. Anything beyond that, like access to the library, work, sports, ..., were privileges one had to earn. When the officials thought that an inmate was able to follow the rules and that he no longer posed a threat he could be sent back to another prison.

The most famous inmate probably was Robert Strout, who was portrayed as the "Birdman of Alvatraz" by Burt Lancaster. In 1909 he had been convicted for manslaughter. While doing his time in USP McNeil Island, Washington, he attacked another prisoner and was sent to USP Leavenworth, Kansas. There he killed a guard and was convicted of first-degree murder, receiving a death sentence. President Woodrow Wilson commuted it to life imprisonment, as Strout's mother had pleaded for her son's life.

Due to his violent behaviour he had spent most of his Leavenworth time in segregation, where he developped an interest in birds. He wrote two books about canaries and their diseases. When the prison guards discovered contraband items in his bird cages, and when they found out that some of the "scientific" items he had ordered were in fact made to construct a "home-brew still", he was sent to Alcatraz. He spent another 6 years in segregation, 11 years in the prison hospital and was transfered to the Medical Center for prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, where he died on November 21, 1963. It is a strange fact that the "Birdman of Alcatraz" never had any birds while on the Rock.

Alcatraz - escape attempts

There was a total of 1,545 inmates in Alcatraz from 1934 to 1963. 36 of them tried to escape (two of them⁷ even twice) in 14 separate escape attempts.

One of the legends about Alcatraz is that you could not survive a swim from the island because of the sharks in the Bay. Maybe this rumor was even kept up by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, but in fact there have never been any "man-eating" sharks in San Francisco Bay. The real obstacles were the cold water (50 degrees Fahrenheit), the long distance (more than 1 mile) and the strong currents which made the distance even longer. Despite the fact that some people have proved that it's possibe to swim to or from the island⁸, no inmate has ever officially made it, but until today there are five prisoners⁹ listed as "missing and presumed drowned". If you have developped your swimming skills to a high level, are well nourished and in good physical condition, it's possible to survive the swim. Inmates of Alcatraz, however, were not encouraged to train swimming¹⁰. Some of them tried it anyway:

• April 27, 1936 - Joe Bowers was shot while climbing over the chain link fence.
  He fell 100 feet to the shore below and died from his injuries
  


• December 16, 1937 - Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe escaped. They are still missing and presumed dead.
  Currents in the Bay were very strong that night.


• May 23, 1938 - James Limerick, Jimmy Lucas and Rufus Franklin killed officer Cline with a hammer and climbed to the roof to disarm officer Stites. He shot Limerick (who died from his injuries) and Franklin. Lucas and Franklin received life sentences for Cline's murder.


• January 13, 1939 - Arthur "Doc" Barker, Dale Stamphill, William Martin, Henry Young and Rufus McCain were found on the west side shore of the island by officers. Martin, Young and McCain surrendered, Stamphill and Barker were shot. Barker died.


• May 21, 1941 - Joe Cretzer, Sam Shockley, Arnold Kyle and Lloyd Barkdoll were convinced to surrender after taking several officers hostage.


• September 15, 1941 - John Bayless gave up shortly after noticing how cold the water of the Bay was.


• April 14, 1943 - James Boarman, Harold Brest, Floyd Hamilton and Fred Hunter tried to escape. Hunter and Brest were both apprehended, Boarman was shot and drowned, his body was never recovered. Hamilton was discovered alive two days later after initially presumed drowned.


• August 7, 1943 - Huron "Ted" Walters was caught at the shoreline.


• July 31, 1945 - John Giles, who had managed to steal a uniform, calmly he boarded an Army launch to San Franciso (he thought).As the launch reached Angel Island, he was immediately caught and returned.


• May 2-4, 1946 - Bernard Croy, Joe Cretzer, Marvin Hubbard, Sam Shockley, Miran Thompson and Clarence Carnes started the "Battle of Alctraz" or "Alcatraz Blastout". 20 Officers were injured, two of them killed, when the six prisoners had taken control of the cellhouse. As things got out of control, the U.S. Marines were called. The "Alcatraz Blastout" ended with Coy, Cretzer and Hubbard found dead, Shockley and Thompson sent to the St. Quentin gas chamber and Carnes receiving a second life sentence.


• July 23, 1956 - Floyd Wilson was discovered at the shoreline after several hours of hiding.


• September 29, 1958 - Aaron Burgett and Clyde Johnson overpowered a correctional officer and tried to swim from the Island. Johnson was caught swimming, Burgett's body was found floatin in the bay two weeks later.


• June 11, 1962 - Frank Morris, John and Clarence Anglin disappeared from their cells and were never seen again. They are officially listed as missing and presumably drowned. That was the most famous escape attempt, as the story was filmed with Clint Eastwood portraying Frank Morris.


• December 16, 1962 - John Paul Scott and Darl Parker were the last prisoners to try it.Parker was discovered on a small rock near the island and returned. Scott, who had tried to swim towards San Franciso, was pulled out to the sea by the strong currents. He was found suffering from shock and hypothermia near Fort Point and was taken to the Presidio Army hospital before he was returned to the Rock.

Alcatraz - a movie legend

Due to the myths about the Island, Alcatraz has been one of the favorite movie themes. A list of movies about Alcatraz can be found at the Internet Movie Database. Alcatraz has also been an favorite location for all kinds of movies, a list of which can also be found at the Internet Movie Database IMDB.

If you come to San Franciso, it's one of the most rewarding places to see. Keep in mind that the tours to the island¹¹ tend to be sold out some time in advance, so it's good to make an early reservation. It's not only the history that makes a visit worthwhile. The view to the City of San Francisco or to the Golden Gate Bridge is absolutely marvelous¹². Even flower lovers will like the island: The correctional officers and their families had gardens and flowers. Since these gardens have been abandoned in the mid 1960s, the flowers have taken their share of the island and make it not only an intimidating, but also a really lovely place to see.