Alcatraz on the geographical map of the world is a small island located in the San Francisco Bay. Another name for it is The Rock.
The island has an interesting history. At one time, its territory was used as a protective fort, a little later it housed a military prison, and then its building turned into a super-secure prison, where especially dangerous criminals were kept, as well as those who tried to escape from the previous place of detention in the past.
Currently, there is a museum on the island. You can get to it by ferry that runs from San Francisco.
When was the island discovered?
The first traveler to enter San Francisco Bay was Spaniard Juan Manuel de Ayala. Together with his team, he visited there in 1775 and made a map of the bay. He also gave the name of La Isla de los Alcatrazes to one of the three islands located there. Translated from Spanish, it means "island of pelicans." According to some researchers, such a name could be given due to the abundance of these birds on this piece of land. However, according to ornithologists, there are no pelican colonies on or near the island. Thisthe area is favored by cormorants and other large waterfowl.
In 1828, the English geographer Captain Frederick Beachy made a mistake. When compiling his map, he transferred the name of the island given by Juan Manuel de Ayala from Spanish documents to the neighboring one. This area is now known as the location of the famous prison called Island Alcatrazes. Further, in 1851, the name of the island was somewhat shortened by the topographic service of the American Coast Guard. This place became known as Alcatraz.
Building a lighthouse
In 1848, gold deposits were discovered in California. This fact led to the fact that thousands of ships came to San Francisco Bay. This created an urgent need for the construction of a lighthouse. The first of them was installed and began to work in the summer of 1853 on the island of Alcatraz. Three years later, a bell was installed at this lighthouse, used during heavy fog.
In 1909, the construction of a prison began on the island. At the same time, the first lighthouse, which had served for 56 years, was dismantled. The second such structure was installed on Alcatraz on December 1, 1909, not far from the prison building. In 1963 this lighthouse was modified. Becoming autonomous and automatic, it no longer required round-the-clock service.
Fort
The gold rush that arose in these places led to the need to protect the bay. That is why on the island in 1850, by decree issued by the President of the United States, the construction of a fort began. On the territory of this protective structureinstalled long-range guns, the number of which exceeded 110 units. Somewhat later, the fort began to be used to accommodate prisoners within its walls. However, in 1909, by order of the army command, the building was demolished to the foundation. By 1912 a new building had been erected for criminals.
Military prison
The location of Alcatraz Island provides its natural isolation from the land. After all, it is located in the very middle of the San Francisco Bay and is surrounded by icy water, as well as powerful sea currents. All this contributed to the fact that the island began to be considered by the leadership of the US Army as an ideal place for keeping prisoners of war. The first of them ended up in the Alcatraz prison in 1861. They were people from various states who were captured during the Civil War. In 1898, the United States was involved in hostilities with the Spaniards. This war led to an increase in the number of prisoners who also ended up in the Alcatraz prison. So, from 26 people it increased to 450.
The history of the Alcatraz prison began to develop in a slightly different direction after the earthquake that happened in 1906. A natural disaster destroyed most of San Francisco, forcing the authorities to move several hundred civilian prisoners to the island. This was done primarily for security reasons.
In 1912, the Alcatraz prison was expanded. An impressive building was erected on the island. By 1920, this three-story building was almost completely "populated" with prisoners.
HistoryAlcatraz prison allows us to judge it as a place that was particularly strict towards violators. Here, prisoners who did not obey discipline faced the most severe punishments. In the first army long-term prison, offenders were sent to hard labor, and could also be placed in solitary confinement, providing them with a limited ration of bread and water. But the list of disciplinary sanctions was not limited to this either.
Soldiers in Alcatraz Prison had an average age of 24. Most of them were serving time for desertion or some less serious offense. There were also those in the Alcatraz prison who were sent here for a long period for physical violence and disobedience to commanders, murder or theft.
Military order forbade the people who were there to stay in the cell during the day. The only exceptions were special cases of forced imprisonment. High-ranking servicemen who committed certain disciplinary offenses were also accommodated here. These prisoners in the Alcatraz prison were able to move around fairly freely. They were only forbidden to enter the guard rooms that were one level higher.
But in general, despite the harsh disciplinary measures taken against criminals, the regime here could not be called strict. Most of the prisoners did housework for those families who lived on the island where the Alcatraz prison is located. A select few of them were sometimes trusted to look after the children. At times, prisoners used a vulnerable guard organization to escape. However, the very place where the Alcatraz prison is located did not allow them to reach the mainland. Most of the fugitives were forced to return because of the icy water. Those who dared to reach the shore died of hypothermia in the bay.
Alcatraz prison (see photo below) gradually softened its rules.
By the end of the 1920s, its prisoners were allowed to set up a baseball field and even wear their own sports uniforms. Boxing competitions were organized between the criminals on Friday evenings. These duels were so popular that even civilians living in San Francisco gathered to watch them.
How many years has Alcatraz been used as a prison by the military? The Ministry of Defense closed it in 1934. This happened after 73 years of use due to the high costs associated with the location of the Alcatraz prison, since the supply was carried out only by means of boat transport from the coast. After that, the facilities located on the island were taken over by the Ministry of Justice.
Federal Penitentiary
A high surge in crime rates was noted in the US from the late 1920s to the mid-1930s. This was facilitated by the Great Depression that arose in the country.
During this period, organized crime began to emerge in the form of individual gangs and mafia families that unleashed a real war for spheres of influence. Law enforcement officers and civilians often became victims in this fight. gangsterscontrolled power in the cities. The criminals gave bribes to officials so that they turned a blind eye to the lawlessness.
The response of the authorities to the war unleashed by gangsters was the decision to reopen the famous Alcatraz prison. Only now it has become federal.
A similar decision was made by the US government due to the fact that the Alcatraz prison is located on an inaccessible island, and this allows you to isolate criminals from society, frightening those offenders who are still at large. The head of the Federal Prisons, Sanford Bates, and Attorney General Homer Cummings, initiated the development of a project to renovate the prison. To this end, they invited Robert Burge, who at that time was considered the best expert in the field of security. His task was to draw up a new project for the prison. The reconstruction of the building was capital. The entire building, except for the foundation, was destroyed, and then a new structure was built on this site.
Already in April 1934, where war criminals were housed in the Alcatraz prison, a building appeared with a new face and a new direction. So, if before the reconstruction the bars and gratings were made of wood, then after the redevelopment they became steel. Also, electricity appeared in each cell, and it was decided to completely wall up the service tunnels so that the prisoners could not hide in them and escape in the future. Appeared in the prison building and special gun galleries. They were placed above the level of the chambers forin order to protect the guards, who now kept their watch behind the iron bars.
The prison canteen has always been the most vulnerable place for brawls and fights. That is why this room of Alcatraz was equipped with containers filled with tear gas. Mounted on the ceiling, they were controlled remotely.
Around the perimeter of the prison building, in the most strategically suitable areas, guard towers were placed. The equipment of the doors has also changed. They have built-in electrical sensors.
In total, there were 600 cells in the Alcatraz prison (photo inside the building is shown below). At the same time, the building was divided into four blocks - B, C, F and D.
This made it possible to significantly expand the area of the prison, which before the reconstruction could accommodate no more than 300 prisoners. The security measures put in place, combined with the icy waters of the bay surrounding the island, created an impregnable barrier even for those criminals who were considered incorrigible.
Chief
The new prison needed a new leader. The Federal Bureau of Prisons appointed James A. Johnston to this position. He was chosen for his strict principles and humane approach to the reformation of criminals, which allowed them to return to society after their release. Johnston was also known for his reforms, which were carried out for the benefit of the prisoners. This man did not see convicts bound in a single chain in criminals. He believed that they should be introduced to such work, where they wouldfelt respect and understood that their efforts would certainly be rewarded. The press wrote laudatory articles about Johnston, calling him the "chief of the golden rule."
Prior to his assignment to Alcatraz, this man was director of the San Quentin Prison. There he was introduced to a number of educational programs that were very successful and had a beneficial effect on a large part of the prisoners. But at the same time, Johnston was a strict disciplinarian. The rules he established were considered the most rigid in the entire correctional system, and the pen alties applied were the most severe. Johnston personally attended the execution by hanging in San Quentin and knew perfectly well how best to deal with incorrigible criminals.
Prison life
The decision to serve the sentence in Alcatraz was not issued by the courts. Here criminals got from other prisons for their special "differences". After Alcatraz came under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice, the rules here have undergone fundamental changes. For example, each prisoner was given his own cell. In addition, criminals enjoyed minimal privileges that allowed them to receive water and food, clothing, medical and dental care. Personal belongings are strictly prohibited. Anyone who wished to communicate with visitors, borrow a book from the prison library or write a letter, had to earn this right by impeccable behavior and work. At the same time, those criminals who were considered violators of discipline were not allowed to work. In case of the slightest offense, privilegesfilmed immediately.
Any media, including newspapers, were banned in Alcatraz. Letters written by prisoners were subject to correction by a prison official.
On the transfer of prisoners to Alcatraz had the right to any boss who headed one of the federal prisons. Here, despite the prevailing opinion, not only gangsters were sent. Contained in this prison on the island and those who represented a special danger. For example, fugitives and rebels, as well as those who constantly sought to violate the regime, were sent to Alcatraz from other prisons. Of course, gangsters were among the criminals on the island, but for the most part they were usually sentenced to death.
The prison day began with getting up at 6:30. Then, within 25 minutes, the prisoners had to clean the cell, after which they had to go to the roll-call grate. At 6:55 a.m., if everyone was present, the doors were opened and the criminals were led into the dining room. They were given 20 minutes to eat. After that, the prisoners lined up and received prison work.
The whole life of these people turned into a monotonous routine cycle, which was not subject to any changes for many years. The largest corridor in the building was called “Broadway” by the prisoners, and the cells located along this passage, but only on the second tier, were the most desirable for them. They were warm and no one walked past them.
Assigned to lead Alcatraz, Johnston at the initial stage of hiswork adhered to a policy of silence. Many prisoners regarded this as the most unbearable punishment. In this regard, they complained and demanded its cancellation. Some of the criminals were said to have gone mad because of this policy. Later, this rule was removed, which was one of the few content changes on the island.
The east wing of the prison was reserved for solitary confinement cells. The toilet in them was an ordinary hole, the drain of which was controlled by a guard. Criminals were placed in such cells without outerwear, allocating them a rather meager ration. The doors of the insulators had a narrow gap through which the prisoner was given food. The cell was always closed, and the person in it was in the dark. Placed in isolation for 1-2 days. It was very cold in it. The mattress was given out only for the night. Being in this wing was considered the most severe punishment for bad behavior and serious infractions. Every prisoner was afraid to get here.
Escapes
To break free and leave Alcatraz dreamed of many. However, this was almost impossible to do. The most successful escape attempt, which was probably successful, was carried out in 1962 by Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin. These criminals used a homemade drill with which they dug the cement out of the walls. Having carefully studied the schedule for changing guards and other nuances, on June 11, 1962, the prisoners escaped through the service tunnel, which was located behind their cells. On the sleeping place of each of the criminals, they left a body model. The fugitives blocked the hole in the tunnel from the inside with bricks. Such measures were necessary in order for the guards to become aware of their absence as late as possible.
Further, the criminals entered the roof through the ventilation system and went down the drain channel. Having got out to the bay, they built a makeshift raft, inflating rubber raincoats prepared in advance with a small accordion. According to the official version, the fugitives could not swim to the shore. However, their bodies were not found in the bay. There is also an unofficial version of what happened. According to many independent experts, the escape in 1962 was nevertheless successful, and the prisoners were released. The MythBusters show was also interested in this story at one time. Its organizers conducted their own investigation, the results of which convincingly proved the fact that the escape could well have been successful.
Another, quite possibly, successful escape took place on 1937-16-12. On this day, Theodore Cole and his friend Ralph Rowe (workers at the workshop where iron was processed) removed the bars from the window in one of their shifts and went to the waters of the bay. However, on this day a strong storm raged, and, judging by the official version, the fugitives drowned. However, their bodies were not found. Perhaps the criminals were swept out to sea. But until now, these fugitives are considered missing in the United States.
In general, from the beginning of its existence to the closing of the Alcatraz prison, 14 escape attempts were made in it, in which 34 people took part. And two of them did it twice. As a result, seven of these criminals werewere shot dead by guards, the five described above went missing, two drowned, and the rest were returned to their cells.
Prison closure
The last prisoners left the inhospitable island on March 21, 1963. This is the date the Alcatraz prison was closed. The decree on the termination of the operation of the legendary structure was signed by US Attorney General Robert Kennedy (brother of John F. Kennedy, the then US President).
Why was the Alcatraz prison closed? The official version explained this decision by the excessively large expenses that the government allocated for the maintenance of prisoners. After all, everything here (food, water, fuel, etc.) was imported from the mainland. In addition, the s alt water gradually destroyed buildings, causing the prison to need $3-5 million in repairs.
Alcatraz today
After the prison was officially closed, the government of the country discussed various ways to use the island. One of these options was to place a UN monument on it.
In 1971, the island became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and became a prison museum. Today, Alcatraz is one of the most important attractions in San Francisco and is very popular with tourists. Thousands of visitors come here every day on ferries, eager to experience the exciting atmosphere of this prison.
The glory of Alcatraz today is exploited in every possible way. Hotels with the same names are open in Germany and England. They areoffer their customers to stay in a small room, which has all the amenities. Of course, such numbers can hardly be compared with the real Alcatraz.
In 1996, the film "The Rock" was released on the screens of cinemas. This is a film about the Alcatraz prison with Nicolas Cage, shot by American director Michael Bay. The tape tells the viewer about the history of the theft of missiles with deadly gas, which was carried out by a general of the US elite special forces with his subordinates. The military took hostage visitors to the former Alcatraz prison and put forward demands for the transfer of money to the families of military personnel who died during covert operations.
