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Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz Origins: Alcatraz has many layered histories. The Civil War fortress. The island was many different things, the things that they were mostly presenting as is: 1) Military Prison 2) Federal Prison 3) Bird Sanctuary 4) The first lighthouse on the West Coast 5) Finally, the birthplace of the American Indian Red Power movement.

These interesting facts are just one of many fascinating stories of the “Rock.”

Alcatraz is a small island, located about 1.25 miles (2.01 km) offshore from San Francisco, California! It was developed in the mid 19th Century. In 1934, the island was converted into a Federal Prison Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. The very strong currents surrounding the prison almost made it impossible for inmates to escape. Then the prison became one of the most notorious in American history.

Essential Question: Why was Alcatraz sold to the United States Government?

Alcatraz Island, home of one of the most popular Federal Institutions to this very day. But the main reasoning behind the property being sold is, back in 1933, the United States War Department determined for a while that the Alcatraz Military Prison was no longer needed for their protection, and/or “defense purposes!” Then later on, the facility was transferred to the Federal Bureau of Prisons the following year.

When was Alcatraz established?

Alcatraz was established in 1934. The prison closed in 1963, and is a major tourist attraction! There were many different types of buildings, for different purposes! In 1850, a presidential order was set aside, meaning they were going to “set aside” the island, possibly used as an United States military reservation. The United States Army, also had made plans to install over 100 cannons on the island. Making Alcatraz the most modified Military/Federal Prison site on the West Coast. Fun Fact: Soldiers with artillery cannons, atop Alcatraz Island!

Essential Question: What was Alcatraz famously known as?

From the time 1909, through 1911, the military prisoners on the island built the newly built prison. Which was designated the Pacific Branch, U.S. Disciplinary Barracks for the United States Army.. The United States Army used Alcatraz Island for more than 80 years--from 1850, unit 1933. When the island was transferred to the U.S. Department of Justice, for use by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.. The U.S. Federal Government had decided to open Alcatraz to a maximum-security prison. Minimum-privilege penitentiary to deal with the most incorrigible, and/or the most dangerous prisoners on Earth!

“The Life at Prison:”

While several well-known bad-guys, such as A; Capone, George, “Machine-Gun” Kelly. Alvin Karpis the first “Public Enemy #1,” and Arthur, also known as “Doc” Barker. Did a lot of time at the prison.. Most of the prisoners were incarcerated, but they were not well-known gangsters! But, prisoners who refused to conform to the rules, and regulations at the other Federal institutions, who were considered violent, and/or dangerous, or who were considered “escape risks!” If a man didn’t spend time at another institution, he could be sent to Alcatraz, where a highly structured, monotonous daily routine was designed to teach an inmate to follow rules and regulations. Alcatraz gave the inmates four rights, the rights consist of: food, clothing, shelter, and medical care. Everything else that the prison offered was a privilege that had to be earned. Some of the privileges a prisoner could earn included: working, corresponding with and having visits from family members, and friends. Also they had to earn entry into the prison library, and recreational activities such as painting, and playing music. Alcatraz was set to be the better prison out of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and several inmates actually requested a transfer to Alcatraz. But while USP Alcatraz was not the “America’s Devil’s Island,” that book, and movies often portrayed, it was formally designed to be a prison system’s prison.

“Bird Man”

The island’s most famous prisoner was most likely Robert Stroud, the so-called “Birdman of Alcatraz,” who spent over 54 years of his life behind bars, at many different prisons. Stroud never really had any birds at Alcatraz, nor was he the grandfatherly person, portrayed by Burt Lancaster, in the well-known movie. The time, Stroud was convicted of manslaughter, in 1909, while serving his prison sentence, in the U.S. Penitentiary (USP), McNeil Island, Washington, and he viciously attacked another inmate. It was really Stroud’s violent behavior that earned him most of his time in segregation. During the last 30 years at Leavenworth, he developed his interests in birds and eventually wrote two books, mainly about canaries, and their diseases. Initially, the prison officials allowed Stroud’s “bird studies,” because it was seen as a constructive use of time. However, contraband items were found quite often hidden in the bird cages, and prison officials discovered that equipment Stroud had requested for his “scientific” studies had actually been used to construct different things such as, “home-brew” and many more. He was transferred to Alcatraz in the year of 1942. Where he would spend the next 17 years (6 years of it would be in segregation in “D Block” and 11 years in the prison hospital).

“Escape Attempts”

Over the last 29 years (1934-1963) the Federal prison operated, 36 men (including two who would try to escape twice) were involved in 14 separate escapes! Fourteen of these escapes, 23 inmates were caught, 6 were shot and killed during their escape, and 2 inmates drowned. There were fifteen publicly known escapes.

Sources:

Federal Bureau of Prisons (Website) title of resource. Retrieved from: https://www.bop.gov/about/history/alcatraz.jsp#:~:text=The%20California%20Gold%20Rush%2C%20the,island%20in%20the%20early%201850s

National Park Service’s (Website) title of resource. Retrieved from: https://www.nps.gov/alca/index.htm

History (Website) title of resource. Retrieved from: https://www.history.com/news/alcatraz-escape-new-evidence-anglin-brothers