Alcatraz Island

A small island called Alcatraz Island is located 1.25 miles (2.01 km) off the coast of San Francisco, California. It was built in the 19th century to serve as a military jail, fortification, and lighthouse. Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, a federal prison, was established on the island in 1934. Juan Manuel de Ayala of Spain was the first European to record the islands in San Francisco Bay. He gave Yerba Buena Island the Spanish name "Isla de los Alcatraces," or "Island of the Pelicans."

In modern Spanish, "pelican" is called "pelcano," which comes from the old Spanish term "alcatraz" ("pelican"). Alcatraz Island was ordered to be set aside especially as a United States military reservation in 1850 by President Millard Fillmore. The island was fortified when the United States won California from Mexico in the Mexican-American War. It served as a jail for Confederate sympathizers and privateers during the American Civil War. Under the former Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary recreation yard, there were uncovered the remains of ammo stores, tunnels, and ventilation ducts.

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR data and georectifications) was utilized by archaeologists to locate the structures. Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, civil inmates were moved to the island. The prison housed conscientious objectors during World War I. Alcatraz was converted to a federal prison in 1934. Some of the most renowned criminals in American history were housed on Alcatraz.

In 1963, the prison was shut down after 29 years of operation. The mandatory swim from the island to the bay shore is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long as part of the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. Native Americans first set up residence on Alcatraz Island on March 8, 1964. According to the terms of the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) between the US and the Sioux, the American Indians claimed the island. Occupiers demanded compensation for the several treaties that the US administration had broken.

In the course of the American Indians' occupancy of Alcatraz, fire damaged or completely destroyed a number of the island's buildings. After the occupation was over, the US authorities demolished a number of additional structures. Since then, it has been governed by the National Park Service and is now a popular tourist destination. One of San Francisco's top tourist destinations is Alcatraz. A scheme to demolish the prison and erect a peace center there was abandoned in 2008.

For more than a year, Alcatraz was off-limits to visitors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Quarrying activities on the island led to the formation of tide pools, which are home to several invertebrate species. It may be found in Yu-Gi-Oh! Al Capone Does My Shirts, the anime series Duel Monsters, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 are just a few examples. The Main Cellhouse, the Boat Dock, and a made-up region dubbed the Catacombs are all present on Alcatraz in the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II. The Escapists also offers a map of Alcatraz for download.

## Origin and Closure

The name Alcatraz comes from the Spanish word "Alcatraces," which translates to "pelican" or "weird bird". San Francisco Bay was shielded by a "triangle of defense" that included Alcatraz. The United States' West Coast's first operable lighthouse was built on the island. Alcatraz was created to serve as the jail for a prison system. It was not "America's Devil's Island," as frequently depicted in literature and motion pictures.

Most prisoners were non-violent offenders who disobeyed the norms and regulations of other Federal facilities. Less than 1% of all federal prisoners were housed on Alcatraz. Robert Stroud, the infamous "Birdman of Alcatraz," was the most well-known prisoner at Alcatraz. Stroud was incarcerated for 54 years of his life. He was moved to Springfield, Missouri's Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in 1959.

36 men participated in 14 different escape attempts during the 29 years that Alcatraz was in operation. 23 were apprehended, 6 were shot and murdered as they fled, and 2 perished in drowning. Two of the guys who were apprehended were eventually put to death in the San Quentin California State Prison's gas chamber. Alcatraz's operating costs were almost three times higher than those of any other federal prison. Nearly one million gallons of water had to be barged to the island each week because there was no freshwater source there.

Building a new institution was more economical than maintaining Alcatraz. Native Americans declared Alcatraz Island to be their ancestral homeland in 1969. In 1971, Federal Marshals cleared the island of all surviving Native Americans. Alcatraz was included to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area by the National Park Service in 1972. In the fall of 1973, the island became accessible to the public.

## Alcatraz Breakout

Alcatraz Island as seen from above in January 1932. From 1934 through 1963, the island served as a federal prison with the highest level of security.

Looking south from the third-level guard station, this interior shot of the Alcatraz Island jail in 1986 shows cell blocks B and C on the left and right, respectively. From 1934 through 1963, the island served as a federal prison with the highest level of security. Al Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Alvin "Creepy" Karpis, Arthur "Doc" Barker, and Whitey Bulger were among the prominent criminals who resided there. In June 1962, the FBI assisted in the investigation of a well-known unsolved escape. Image from the Library of Congress.

Looking south from the third-level guard station, this interior shot of the Alcatraz Island jail in 1986 shows cell blocks B and C on the left and right, respectively. Image from the Library of Congress.

It was the pinnacle of maximum security prisons in its prime.

Alcatraz, also known as "The Rock," was a prison that had been in operation since the Civil War and was situated on a lone island in the center of San Francisco Bay. Alcatraz, however, wasn't re-fortified until 1934, in the height of a significant war on crime, making it the most secure jail in the world.

The violent public foes Al Capone and George "Machine Gun" Kelly, as well as criminals with a history of escapes and the iconic "Birdman of Alcatraz," were among the eventual inmates.

Alcatraz was already a threatening location in the 1930s, encircled by the chilly, choppy Pacific Ocean. The renovation includes harder iron bars, a number of carefully placed guard towers, and stringent regulations, such as a dozen daily prisoner checks. Escape seems to be quite difficult.

Despite the obstacles, 36 inmates attempted 14 different escapes between 1934 and 1963, when the facility was closed. Nearly everyone was either apprehended or died in the endeavor.

However, the fate of three specific prisoners is still a mystery. This is their tale.

### The Runaway

After being found guilty of bank robbery, burglary, and other offenses and making numerous efforts to elude various prisons, Frank Morris was transferred to Alcatraz in January 1960. John Anglin, a prisoner, was transported to Alcatraz later that year, and his brother Clarence was sent there at the start of 1961. All three of them were acquainted thanks to prior incarceration.

Assigned to adjacent cells, they started formulating an escape strategy. Morris, a man of intelligence, took the initiative in the preparation. Allen West, another prisoner, helped them.

### Missing

The typical early-morning bed check on June 12th, 1962, proved to be everything but. John Anglin, his brother Clarence, and Frank Morris were the three prisoners who weren't in their cells.

There were cleverly constructed dummy heads in their beds made of plaster, flesh-tone paint, and real human hair that, it seems, fooled the night watchmen. Lockdown was imposed within the institution, and a thorough search got under way.

### Dummy head for Alcatraz

The dummy head's profile, as discovered in Morris' cell. The head rolled off the bed and hit the floor after a guard reached through the bars and shoved it, breaking the nose.

Dummy Head in Bed at Alcatraz

This image, which was captured in Clarence Anglin's cell, demonstrates how the dummy heads were positioned to give the impression that the prisoners were dozing off.

### Getting the Leads

We were informed very away and requested to assist.

Our San Francisco office gave instructions to offices across the country to look for any records regarding the missing inmates and their prior escape attempts (all three had made them). We also conducted interviews with the men's relatives, gathered all of their identity paperwork, and advised boaters in the Bay to keep an eye out for debris.

Within two days, a rubber-sealed packet of letters pertaining to the guys was found. Later, remnants of rubber inner tube and wood in the shape of paddles were discovered in the water. On Cronkhite Beach, a homemade life-vest was also found, although thorough searches of the area produced no more objects.

The prisoners fashioned wooden paddles to aid in their escape. This paddle was built using the same brass bolts that were found in a paddle that washed up on the shore of Angel Island, little over a mile away from Alcatraz.

Paddle created by the inmate was found there. One like it was found on Angel Island.

An up-close look at a life preserver built out of raincoats by the inmates of Alcatraz. The seams appear to have been vulcanized, or sealed under pressure and heat. A huge, hefty plank was used to provide pressure while an exposed copper hot water pipe provided heat. Magazines discovered in the prisoners' cells may have given them the idea to utilize vulcanization.

### Putting the Plan Together

The FBI, the Coast Guard, Bureau of Prison officials, and others found additional evidence as the days passed and pieced together the brilliant escape plan. Allen West, a prisoner who didn't make it out of his cell in time, helped us and started giving us information. Here is what we discovered.

When one of them discovered some used saw blades, the group had already started making arrangements.

The plotters methodically drilled evenly spaced holes around the cover of the air vents at the back of their cells using rudimentary tools, including a makeshift drill constructed from a broken vacuum cleaner motor, so that the entire part of the wall could be removed. After passing, they covered the holes with anything they could find, such as a suitcase or a piece of cardboard.

There was a communal, unsupervised utility passageway behind the cells. They moved along this hallway and ascended to the roof of the building's cell block, where they erected a covert workshop. There, using a variety of donated and stolen materials to create and conceal what they needed to escape, they took turns keeping watch for the guards the evening before the last count (see the rudimentary "periscope" they constructed for the lookouts). The idea came from magazines that were discovered in the inmates' cells. More than 50 raincoats that they stole or gathered were transformed into improvised life preservers and a 6 by 14 foot rubber raft, with the seams carefully stitched together and "vulcanized" by the hot steam pipes in the prison. Additionally, they constructed wooden paddles and transformed a musical instrument into a tool for raft inflation.

They were simultaneously hunting for a route out of the structure. They were able to climb up and eventually pry open the ventilator at the top of the shaft despite the fact that the ceiling was about 30 feet high thanks to a network of pipes. They created a false bolt out of soap to hold it in place momentarily.

Alcatraz Inmates Use a Ventilation Grate to Escape

Prisoners used a ventilation grate to access the utility tunnel behind Cell Block "B."

Top of cell block secret Alcatraz workshop

Prisoners built tools for their escape in this hidden room on top of Cell Block "B."

### The Evasion

They were prepared to leave on the evening of June 11.

However, West's ventilator grill was not entirely removed, and he was left behind.

The three further inmates entered the hallway, collected their belongings, and then ascended and exited through the vents to reach the jail roof. They then sneaked to the northeast edge of the island and launched their raft after sliding down the bakery smoke stack at the back of the cell house.

In the Alcatraz Escape, roof access

View of the prisoners' path to the roof of the Cell House from the catwalk above Cell Block B.

Cover for Alcatraz Ventilator on Prison Roof

The Alcatraz prison's roof's ventilation cover, through which the inmates escaped.

### The Mysteries Keep Coming

The events that followed are still a mystery. Did they successfully cross the Bay, arrive at Angel Island, and then proceed as intended to cross Raccoon Strait into Marin County? Or did the prevailing wind and seas defeat them?

The soldiers could have survived, and many people have gone to great pains to demonstrate this, but did they? Our inquiry at the time came to the contrary conclusion for the reasons listed below:

navigating the Bay. Yes, young people have successfully completed the over one-mile swim from Alcatraz to Angel Island. However, the odds were definitely against these individuals given the strong currents and chilly Bay water.

if by land, three. Our prison informant claimed that the intention was to take clothing and a car once on shore. Despite the fact that the case was widely publicized, we never discovered any thefts similar to this one.

links to family. We were unable to verify any assistance the escapees may have gotten. The likelihood that the families would even have the resources to offer any meaningful assistance seemed low.

absent from activity. No reliable proof that the men were still alive, either in the United States or abroad, surfaced during the 17 years we worked on the case.