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United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island, also known simply as Alcatraz ( English: / ˈælkəˌtræz /, Spanish: [ a l k a ˈ t ɾ a s] "the gannet ") or The Rock, was a maximum security federal prison on Alcatraz Island, 1.25 miles (2.01 km) off the coast of San Francisco, California, United States.
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- Early Years as a Military Prison. In 1775, Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala (1745-97) mapped and named rugged Alcatraz Island, christening it La Isla de los Alcatraces, or Island of the Pelicans, due to its large population of sea birds.
- Doing Time as a Federal Prison: 1934-63. In 1933, the Army relinquished Alcatraz to the U.S. Justice Department, which wanted a federal prison that could house a criminal population too difficult or dangerous to be handled by other U.S. penitentiaries.
- Famous Inmates. Among those who did time at The Rock was the notorious Prohibition-era gangster Al “Scarface” Capone, who spent four-and-a-half years there during the 1930s.
- Escape Attempts from Alcatraz. Over the years, there were 14 known attempts to escape from Alcatraz, involving 36 inmates. The Federal Bureau of Prisons reports that of these would-be escapees, 23 were captured, six were shot and killed during their attempted getaways, two drowned and five went missing and were presumed drowned.
Jun 13, 2018 · The basement housed a kitchen, storerooms, a few bedrooms and single jail cells. The upper levels were used as military personnel quarters, parlors, and mess room. The basement and moat still exist underneath the current cell-house. The United States built the first lighthouse in California on Alcatraz in 1853.
Alcatraz, former maximum-security prison located on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, off the coast of California. Alcatraz, originally envisioned as a naval defense fortification, was designated a residence for military offenders in 1861, and it housed a diverse collection of prisoners in its.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Feb 28, 2024 · Alcatraz, which sits just over a mile north of San Francisco, has had many chapters beyond its years as a high-security federal prison. Cayce Clifford for The New York Times. By Heather Knight....
While the defensive necessity of Alcatraz diminished over time (the island never fired its guns in battle), its role as a prison would continue for more than 100 years. In 1909, the Army tore down the Citadel, leaving its basement level to serve as the foundation for a new military prison.
An exterior view of the Alcatraz main cell block from the exercise yard. The United States Disciplinary Barracks on Alcatraz were acquired by the United States Department of Justice on October 12, 1933, and the island was designated as a federal prison in August 1934.
