Alcatraz Island
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| Alcatraz Island | |
|---|---|
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| Location | San Francisco Bay, California, USA |
| Nearest city | San Francisco, California |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 18.86 acres (7.63 ha) |
| Established | 1972 |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
Alcatraz Island (sometimes informally referred to as simply Alcatraz or by its pop-culture name, The Rock) is a smaller island located in the middle of San Francisco Bay in California, United States. It served as a lighthouse, then a military fortification, then a military prison followed by a federal prison until 1963. It became a national recreation area in 1972 and received landmarking designations in 1976 and 1986.
Today, the island is a historic site operated by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is open to tours. Visitors can reach the island by ferry ride from Pier 33, near Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.
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[edit] History
The United States Census Bureau defines the island as Block 1067, Block Group 1, Census Tract 179.02 of San Francisco County, California. There was no population on the island as of the 2000 census.[1]
It is home to the now-abandoned prison, the oldest operating lighthouse on the west coast of the United States, early military fortifications, and natural features such as rock pools, a seabird colony (mostly Western Gulls, cormorants, and egrets), and unique views of the coastline.
[edit] Natural history
The first Spanish to discover the island was Juan Manuel de Ayala in 1775, who charted San Francisco Bay and named the island "La Isla de los Alcatraces," which means "Island of the seabirds."
[edit] Military history
The earliest recorded owner of the island of Alcatraz is one Julian Workman, to whom it was given by Mexican governor Pio Pico in 1846 with the understanding that the former would build a lighthouse on it. Julian Workman is the baptismal name of William Workman, co-owner of Rancho La Puente and personal friend of Pio Pico. Later that same year John C. Fremont bought the island for $5000 in the name of the United States government, who subsequently wrested control from Fremont after a legal battle. [2]
Following the acquisition of California by the United States as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) which ended the Mexican-American War, and the onset of the California Gold Rush the following year, the U.S. Army began studying the suitability of Alcatraz Island for the positioning of coastal batteries to protect the approaches to San Francisco Bay. In 1853, under the direction of Zealous B. Tower, the Corps of Engineers began fortifying the island, work which continued until 1858. The island's first garrison, numbering about 200 soldiers, arrived the following year. When the American Civil War broke out in 1861 the island mounted 85 cannon (increased to 105 by 1866) in casemates around its perimeter, though the small size of the garrison meant only a fraction of the guns could be used at one time. Alcatraz never fired its guns in anger, though during the war it was used to imprison Confederate sympathizers on the west coast.[3]
Following the war in 1866 the army determined that the fortifications and guns were being rapidly rendered obsolete by advances in military technology. Modernization efforts, including an ambitious plan to level the entire island and construct shell-proof underground magazines and tunnels, were undertaken between 1870 and 1876 but never completed (the so called "parade ground" on the southern tip of the island represents the extent of the flattening effort).[2] Instead the army switched the focus of its plans for Alcatraz from coastal defense to detention, a task for which it was well suited because of its isolation. In 1867 a brick jailhouse was built (previously inmates had been kept in the basement of the guardhouse), and in 1868 Alcatraz was officially designated a long-term detention facility for military prisoners.
On March 21, 1907, Alcatraz was officially designated as the Western US Military Prison. In 1909 construction began on the huge concrete main cell block, designed by Major Reuben Turner, which remains the island's dominant feature. It was completed in 1912. In order to accommodate the new cell block, the Citadel, a three-story barracks, was demolished down to the first floor, which was actually below ground level. The building had been constructed in an excavated pit (creating a dry "moat") to enhance its defensive potential. The first floor was then incorporated as a basement to the new cell block, giving rise to the popular legend of "dungeons" below the main cell block.
Among those incarcerated at Alcatraz were some Hopi Native American men in the 1870s.[3]
Inmates also included prisoners from the Spanish-American War and the subsequent uprising against American rule in the Philippines at the turn of the century.
During the First World War the prison held conscientious objectors, including Philip Grosser, who wrote a pamphlet entitled 'Uncle Sam's Devil's Island' about his experiences.[4]
[edit] Prison history
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[edit] Military prison
Because of its natural isolation in the middle of a bay, surrounded by cold water and strong sea currents, Alcatraz was soon considered by the U.S. Army as an ideal location for holding captives. The maximum number of inmates was 302. In 1906, following the San Francisco earthquake (which destroyed much of the city), hundreds of civilian prisoners were transferred to the island for safety reasons. By 1912 a large cell house had been constructed on the island’s central crest, and by the late 1920’s, the three-story structure was nearly at full capacity.
Alcatraz was the Army’s first long-term prison, and it was already beginning to build its reputation as a tough detention facility by exposing inmates to harsh conditions and iron fisted discipline. The prisoners who violated the rules faced strict disciplinary measures. Violators were assigned punishments that included, but were not limited to, working on hard labor details and solitary lock-downs with a severely restricted bread and water diet.
The average age for law-offending soldiers was twenty-four years, and most of the prisoners were serving short-term sentences for desertion or lesser crimes. However, it wasn't uncommon to find soldiers serving longer sentences for the more serious crimes of insubordination, assault, larceny, and murder. The prisoners were allowed to stay in their cells. They could clean up, play cards or read books with their neighbors. They were still required to do their work assignments, but once they were done they could go to their cell. Inmates with first or second class rankings were allowed to go anywhere about the prison grounds, except for the guards' quarters on the upper levels.
Despite the strict rules for criminals, Alcatraz primarily functioned in a minimum-security capacity. The types of work assignments given to inmates changed depending on the prisoners, their classification, and how responsible they were. Many inmates worked as general servants who cooked, cleaned, and attended to household works for the families who lived on the island. In many cases, select prisoners were given the responsibility to care for the children of staff members. Alcatraz was also the home of several Chinese families, who were employed as servants and made up the largest segment of the island's civilian population. The lack of a strict focus on prison security helped some inmates who hoped to be able to escape from the prison. But in spite of their best efforts, most escapees never made it to land, and usually turned back to be rescued from the freezing waters. Those who failed to turn back died because of the cold water.
Over the decades the prison's routine became more relaxed, and recreational activities were more common. In the late 1920's prisoners were permitted to build a baseball field, and were even allowed to wear their own baseball uniforms. On Friday nights the Army hosted "Alcatraz Fights" that featured boxing matches between inmates selected from the prisoner population. These fights were highly popular, and often civilians from San Francisco would come to Alcatraz just to see the fights.
Due to rising operational costs because of its location, the War Department decided to close this famous prison in 1934, and it was subsequently taken over by the Department of Justice.
[edit] Federal prison
| United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island |
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| Location: | San Francisco Bay, California |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Status: | Closed (Museum) |
| Security class: | Maximum |
| Capacity: | 300 |
| Opened: | January 1, 1934 |
| Closed: | March 21, 1963 |
| Managed by: | Department of Justice |
The Great Depression and Prohibition contributed to a severe increase in the crime rate during the late 1920s and 1930s, heralding a new era of organized crime. There was a sharp rise in serious violence, provoked by the combined effects of Prohibition and great poverty. Gangsters and other "public enemies" gained influence in metropolitan areas and the existing law enforcement agencies were not equipped to deal with the situation; frequently being bested by better-armed gangs in shoot-outs.
Alcatraz was perceived as the best solution to these problems. It could serve the dual purpose of keeping public enemies away from the general population and of being a warning to the new, ruthless brand of criminals. Sanford Bates, the head of Federal Prisons, and Attorney General Homer Cummings led the project, and were responsible for the finely detailed design concepts. One of the top security experts of the day, Robert Burge, was asked to help design an escape-proof prison. The original cell block, built in 1909, would undergo an extensive series of upgrades and renovations.
In April of 1934, the completed works gave the military prison a new face and identity. The soft, squared bars were replaced with very modern tool-proof iron bars. Electricity was routed into each cell, and all of the utility tunnels were cemented to completely remove the possibility that a prisoner could enter or hide in them for escape purposes. Tool-proof iron window coverings would protect all the areas that could be accessed by inmates. Special gun galleries surrounded the cell block perimeters, allowing guards to carry weapons while being protected behind iron barriers. These secure galleries, which were elevated and out of reach of the prisoners, were to be the control centers for all keys, and would allow the guards to keep an eye on all inmate activities.
Special teargas canisters were permanently installed in the roof of the dining hall; they could be activated remotely, from the gun gallery as well as from the outside observation points. Guard towers were strategically positioned around the perimeter, and new technology allowed the use of metal detectors, which were positioned outside of the dining hall and on the Prison Industries access path. The cell house contained a total of nearly 350 cells, which were very far from the perimeter wall. If an inmate managed to tunnel his way through the cell wall, they would still need to find a way to escape from the cell house itself. The inmates would only be assigned to B, C, and D blocks, since the primary prison population was not allowed to exceed 300 inmates (although the record was 302). The implementation of these new measures, combined with the natural isolating barrier created by the very cold Bay waters, meant that the prison was ready to receive the nation's most incorrigible and dangerous criminals.
[edit] Life in prison
All privileges would be limited, and no inmate, regardless of public stature, would be given special rights or freedoms. Inmates arriving at Alcatraz were driven in a small transfer van to the top of the hill. They were processed in the basement area, and were then provided with all of their basic things and allowed a brief shower.
Visitation rights would have to be earned by the inmates, and no visits would be allowed for the first three months of residence at Alcatraz. All visits would have to be approved directly by the Warden, and would be limited to one per month. Inmates would be given restricted access to the Prison Library, but no newspapers, radios, magazines, or other non-approved reading materials would be allowed during their term in Alcatraz. Receiving and sending mail would be considered a privilege and all letters, both in-coming and out-going, were to be screened and type-written after being censored by prison officials. Working was also a privilege and consideration for work assignments would be based on an inmate's conduct record. The type of work could vary for each prisoner, and those working places were the most valuable thing a prisoner could have.
Each prisoner would be assigned their own cell, and only the bare necessities would be given, such as food, water, clothing, and medical and dental care. The prisoners' contact with the outside world was completely restricted during their term in Alcatraz. They would be marched from one location to another, always in the exact same places in a unified formation.
As quickly as a given privilege could be earned for good behavior, it could be taken away for the slightest infraction of the rules.
Wardens from the various Federal penitentiaries were interviewed, and were permitted to send their most incorrigible inmates into secure confinement on The Rock. The prison population at Alcatraz was made up of inmates who had histories of unmanageable behavior or escape attempts, and high-profile inmates who had been receiving special privileges because of their public status.
The inmates' day began when they were woken at 6:30 a.m., and were given twenty-five minutes to clean their cells and stand to be counted. At 6:55 a.m. individual tiers of cells would be opened one by one, and the inmates would march in single line into the Mess Hall. They would be given twenty minutes to eat and would then be marched out to line up for their work assignments.
The main corridor of the cell house was named "Broadway" by the inmates, and the cells along this passageway were considered the least desirable in the prison. The cells on the bottom tier were colder because they stood against the long slick run of cement, and they were also the least private, as inmates, guards, and other prison personnel frequented this corridor. The newer were generally assigned to the second tier of B Block, and were placed in quarantine status for the first three months of their term on The Rock.
There was a ratio of one guard to every three prisoners on Alcatraz, as compared with other prisons, in which the ratio exceeded one guard to every twelve inmates, a measure which was meant to prevent the prisoners from trying to escape. With the gun galleries at each end of the cell blocks, and the frequent inmate counts (twelve per day), the guards were able to keep extremely close track of each inmate. Because of the small number of prisoners at Alcatraz, all of the guards usually knew each inmate by sight and name.
In the early years at Alcatraz, Warden Johnston maintained a silence policy that many inmates considered to be their most unbearable punishment. Many complaints were posted for this matter. There were reports that several inmates were being driven insane by the severe rule of silence on Alcatraz. The silence policy was later relaxed, but this was one of only a few policy changes that occurred over the prison's history.
The single Strip Cell, also known as the "Oriental," was a dark steel covered cell with no toilet or sink. There was only a hole in the floor for the inhabitant to relieve himself, and the ability to flush the contents was controlled by a guard. Inmates were placed in the cell naked, and were put on severely restricted diets. The cell had a standard set of bars with an expanded opening through which to pass food, and a solid steel outer door that remained closed, leaving the inmate in total darkness. Inmates were usually subjected to this degree of punishment for periods of only one to two days. The cell was cold, and the sleeping mattress was only allowed during the night, and was taken away during daylight hours. This was considered the most invasive type of punishment for severe violations and misconduct, and it was genuinely feared by all the inmates.
[edit] Escape attempts
During its 29 years of operation, the penitentiary claimed no prisoners as having ever successfully escaped. 36 prisoners were involved in 14 attempts, two men trying twice; seven were shot and killed, two drowned, five were unaccounted for, and the rest were recaptured. Two prisoners made it off the island but were returned, one in 1945 and one in 1962. The most violent attempt was the so-called Battle of Alcatraz in 1946, in which three prisoners and two guards were killed and two prisoners were later executed at San Quentin for their participation in the battle.
In 1945, John K. Giles, 50, a mail robber and four-time convict, stole an army uniform from the prison laundry and jumped aboard the army ferry General Frank M. Coxe just before she departed for Fort McDowell on Angel Island. Although a count of both the soldiers on the Coxe and the prisoners working on the docks alerted the authorities to an escape, an error in communication and forged documents allowed Giles to land at Fort McDowell, and blend in with the many soldiers. However, a discrepancy in his uniform brought him to the attention of an Army officer, who then recognized his forged documents and arrested him not knowing of the prison break. Giles was returned to Alcatraz to serve-out his sentence. There was some controversy over whether this constituted a successful escape and a recapture, or a foiled plan.
The most publicized escape attempt involved Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin, popularized in the motion picture Escape from Alcatraz. The three disappeared from their cells on June 11, 1962 in one of the most intricate escapes ever devised.
Behind the prisoners' cells in Cell Block B (where the escapees were interned) was an unguarded 3-foot (0.91 m) wide utility corridor. The prisoners chiseled away the moisture-damaged concrete from around an air vent leading to this corridor, using tools such as a metal spoon soldered with silver from a dime and an electric drill improvised from a stolen vacuum cleaner motor. The noise was disguised by accordions played during music hour, and their progress was concealed by false walls which, in the dark recesses of the cells, fooled the guards.
The escape route then led up through a fan vent; the fan and motor had been removed and replaced with a steel grille, leaving a shaft large enough for a prisoner to climb through. Stealing a carborundum cord from the prison workshop, the prisoners had removed the rivets from the grille and substituted dummy rivets made of soap. The escapees also stole several raincoats to use as a raft for the trip to the mainland. Leaving papier-mâché dummies in their cells with paint brush bristles as hair, they escaped. The prisoners are estimated to have entered San Francisco Bay at 10 p.m.
The official investigation by the FBI was aided by another prisoner, Allen West, who also was part of the escapees' group but was left behind (West's false wall kept slipping so he held it into place with cement, which set; when the Anglin brothers accelerated the schedule, West desperately chipped away at the wall but by the time he did his companions were gone). Articles belonging to the prisoners (including plywood paddles and parts of the raincoat raft) were located on nearby Angel Island, and the official report on the escape says the prisoners drowned while trying to reach the mainland in the cold waters of the bay.
[edit] Famous inmates
Robert Stroud, who was better known to the public as the "Birdman of Alcatraz," was transferred to Alcatraz in 1942. He spent the next seventeen years on "the Rock" — six years in segregation in D Block, and eleven years in the prison hospital. In 1959 he was transferred to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield.
When Al Capone arrived on Alcatraz in 1934, prison officials made it clear that he would not be receiving any preferential treatment. While serving his time in Atlanta, Capone, a master manipulator, had continued running his rackets from behind bars by buying off guards. "Big Al" generated incredible media attention while on Alcatraz though he served just four and a half years of his sentence there before developing symptoms of syphilis and being transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution at Terminal Island in Los Angeles.
George "Machine Gun" Kelly arrived on September 4, 1934. At Alcatraz, Kelly was constantly boasting about several robberies and murders that he had never committed. Although this was said to be an apparent point of frustration for several fellow prisoners, Warden Johnson considered him a model inmate. Kelly was returned to Leavenworth in 1951.
James 'Whitey' Bulger spent 3 years on Alcatraz (1959-1962) while serving a sentence for bank robbery. While there, he became close to Clarence Carnes, also known as the Choctaw Kid.
[edit] Post Prison Years
| Alcatraz | |
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| (U.S. National Historic Landmark) | |
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| Location: | San Francisco, California |
| Built/Founded: | 1847 |
| Architect: | U.S. Army,Bureau of Prisons; U.S. Army |
| Architectural style(s): | Mission/Spanish Revival |
| Designated as NHL: | January 17, 1986[5] |
| Added to NRHP: | June 23, 1976[6] |
| NRHP Reference#: | 76000209 |
| Governing body: | NATIONAL PARK SERVICE |
By decision of US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, the penitentiary was closed for good on March 21, 1963. It was closed because it was far more expensive to operate than other prisons (nearly $10 per prisoner per day, as opposed to $3 per prisoner per day at Atlanta),[7] and the bay was being badly polluted by the sewage from the approximately 250 inmates and 60 Bureau of Prisons families on the island. The United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois, a new, traditional land-bound prison opened that same year to serve as a replacement for Alcatraz.
[edit] Native American occupation
In 1969, a group of Native Americans from many different tribes, (many individual Native Americans voluntarily relocated to the Bay Area under the Federal Indian Reorganization Act of 1934),[citation needed] occupied the island, and proposed an education center, ecology center and cultural center. According to the occupants, the 1868 Fort Laramie treaty[4] between the U.S. and the Sioux conceded all retired, abandoned or out-of-use federal land to the Native people from whom it was acquired. During the occupation, several buildings were damaged or destroyed by fires, including the recreation hall, the Coast Guard quarter and the Warden's home. It is not known who started the fires if anyone at all. A number of other buildings (mostly apartments) were destroyed by the US Government after the occupation had ended. After 18 months of occupation, the government forced the occupiers off. But the end of the Termination policy and the new policy of self-determination were established in 1970, in part as a result of the publicity and awareness created by the occupation. Graffiti from the period of Native American occupation is still visible at many locations on the island.[5]
[edit] Landmarking and Development
The entire Alcatraz Island was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976,[6] and was further declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986.[5][8]
In 1993, the National Park Service published a plan entitled Alcatraz Development Concept and Environmental Assessment. This plan, approved in 1980, doubled the amount of Alcatraz accessible to the public to enable visitors to enjoy its scenery and bird, marine, and animal life, such as the California slender salamander.[9]
Today American Indian groups, the International Indian Treaty Council, for example, hold ceremonies on the island. The most notable of these are on Columbus Day and Thanksgiving Day when they hold a "Sunrise Gathering."
In 2006, the Park Service awarded the ferry contract to Hornblower Yachts ferry operator Alcatraz Cruises. Because Hornblower does not employ union labor, there have been protests for several months and several demonstrations with nearly 1,000 participants.[citation needed]
[edit] Man made features
- The parade grounds. Carved from the hillside during the late 19th century and covered with rubble since the government demolished guard housing in 1971, the area has become a habitat and breeding ground for black-crowned night herons, western gulls, slender salamanders and deer mice.
- The Agave Path, a trail named for its dense growth of agave. Located atop a shoreline bulkhead on the south side, it provides a nesting habitat for night herons.
[edit] Natural features
[edit] Habitats
- Cisterns. A bluff that, because of its moist crevices, is believed to be an important site for California slender salamanders.
- Cliff tops at the island's north end. Containing a onetime manufacturing building and a plaza, the area is listed as important to nesting and roosting birds.
- The powerhouse area. A steep embankment where native grassland and creeping wild rye support a habitat for deer mice.
- Tide pools. A series of them, created by long-ago quarrying activities, contains still-unidentified invertebrate species and marine algae. They form one of the few tide-pool complexes in the Bay, according to the report.
- Western cliffs and cliff tops. Rising to heights of nearly 100 feet (30 m), they provide nesting and roosting sites for sea birds including pigeon guillemots, cormorants, Herrmann's gulls and western gulls. Harbor seals can occasionally be seen on a small beach at the base.
[edit] Vegetation
Historic gardens. Planted by prison guards' families, they are now overgrown and have also become a bird nesting habitat.
[edit] Appearances in popular culture
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[edit] References
- ^ Block 1067, Block Group 1, Census Tract 179.02, San Francisco County United States Census Bureau.
- ^ Alcatraz Preservation Project: Exposing the Layers of An American Landmark (pamphlet), Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, 2003.
- ^ "The most painful story of resistance to assimilation programs and compulsory school attendance laws involved the Hopis in Arizona, who surrendered a group of men to the military rather than voluntarily relinquish their children. The Hopi men served time in federal prison at Alcatraz".Child, Brenda J. (February 2000). Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families, 1900-1940. University of Nebraska Press, p. 13. ISBN 0-8032-6405-4.
- ^ Grosser, P., Block, H., Blackwell, A. S., & Berkman, A. (1933). Uncle Sam's Devil's Island: experiences of a conscientious objector in America during the World War. [Boston, Mass: Published by a Group of friends. [1]
- ^ a b Alcatraz Island. National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
- ^ a b National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
- ^ A Brief History of Alcatraz, p.5
- ^ Stephen A. Haller (April 15, 1985), National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Alcatraz Island / La Isla de los Alcatraces / Fort Alcatraz / The Post at Alcatraz / Pacific Branch, U.S. Military Prison / U.S. Disciplinary Barracks, Alcatraz Island / United States Penitentiary ad Alcatraz IslandPDF (1.68 MiB), National Park Service and Accompanying 18 photos, exterior and interior, from 1985, 1980, and undated.PDF (1.86 MiB)
- ^ Adams, Gerald D. (July 27, 1993) San Francisco Examiner. Alcatraz Proposal Highlights Wildlife Plan Would Open Up More of Rock. News section, pg. A1.
- ^ Herman Rarebell Interview 2006
[edit] See also
- The General Frank M. Coxe (ship) served as an Army transport vessel and later a cruise ship on San Francisco Bay. It served as a ferry to and from Angel Island and Alcatraz, during and before the Federal Prison period. It is now preserved as a floating restaurant in Burlingame, California, just south of San Francisco.
[edit] External links
- National Park Service - Alcatraz Official Website
- Federal Bureau of Prisons - A Brief History of Alcatraz
- California State Military Museum - Post at Alcatraz Island
- Report on the 1962 escape incident (from the FBI's FOIA electronic reading room)
- AlcatrazHistory.com
- Map of Alcatraz with marker pictures.
- Alcatraz at Panoramio.
- Alcatraz Island is at coordinates
