Home > Alcatraz Island
Alcatraz Island is located in the middle of San Francisco Bay in California. It was formerly used as a military stockade and later as a maximum security prison . Today, the island is a historic site supervised by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It is listed as a National Historic Landmark. Its name comes from the Spanish word for gannetIt 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 pool s, a seabird colony, and unique views of the coastline.
Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay.
1 History
Alcatraz was a military fort from 1850 to 1933. The United States Disciplinary Barracks on Alcatraz were acquired by the United States Department of JusticeThe United States Department of Justice DOJ is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice f on October 12October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). There are 80 days remaining. Events 1492 Christopher Columbus's expedition makes landfall in the Caribbean. The explorer believes he has reached East Asia. 1609 " Thr, 1933. The island became a federal prison on January 1January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Here a calendar year refers to the order in which the months are displayed, January to December. The first day of the medieval Julian year was usually a day other, 1934Events January-April January 1 Alcatraz becomes a federal prison. January 7 First Flash Gordon comic strip is published. January 10 Execution of Marinus van der Lubbe January 24 Einstein visits White House January 26 The Apollo Theater opens in Harlem, Ne. During the 29 years it was in use, the jail held such notable criminals as Al CaponeAlphonse Gabriel Capone ( January 17, 1899 January 25, 1947) more popularly known as Al 'Scarface' Capone was a famous American gangster in the 1920s and 1930s, although his business card is reported to have said he was a used furniture dealer. A Sicilian and Robert Franklin Stroud, the Birdman of AlcatrazRobert Stroud ( 1890- 1963), known as the Birdman of Alcatraz was a prisoner in Alcatraz who supposedly found solace from solitary confinement in raising and selling birds. Robert Franklin Stroud was born in Seattle, Washington, on January 28, 1890, to El. The penitentiary was closed for good on March 21March 21 is the 80th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (81st in leap years). There are 285 days remaining. Events 1556 In Oxford, Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer is burned at the stake. 1788 A fire destroys 856 buildings in New Orleans and, 1963. The prison closed because it was far more expensive to operate than other prisons of the time. It was easier to build a new, traditional land-bound prison than to pay for all the upkeep and support the Alcatraz prison required.
During its 29 years of operation, the penitentiary never logged any official successful escapes. All attempts were either ultimately unsuccessful or tragic, where the attempters were either shot dead or drowned in the frigid San Francisco Bay waters. Three escapees, Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin , disappeared from their cells on June 11, 1962. This attempt, popularized in the motion picture Escape from Alcatraz was the most intricate ever devised. Though only some evidence was found that they died in their attempt, they are officially listed as "missing and presumed drowned." It is very likely that they did die in their attempt as, after all these years, no one has surfaced claiming to be or even have seen the escapees.
In 1969, a group of Native Americans attempted to reclaim the land saying that an 1868 federal treaty allowed Native Americans to use all federal territory that the government was not actively using. After nearly two years of occupation, the government forced them off.
The island is also known as "The Rock", and it featured in a movie of the same name (see The Rock (movie)).
The Rock
Cell phone service is available on the island.
