March 21, 2022 – Alcatraz

59 years ago today, Alcatraz Prison officially closed down. It was a maximum security federal prison on Alcatraz Island. just over a mile off the coast of San Francisco. It had been the site of a fort since the 1850s and then used as an Army military prison. It was transferred to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which hoped the isolated location and high security would make the prison escape-proof. It was intended for the worst of the worst and had a very strict set of rules and regulations. Essentially, inmates were entitled to food, shelter, clothing, and medical attention, and that was it. They were allowed outside into the yard on weekends and holidays, where they could play baseball, softball, and other sports. The prison also had its own band, called the Rock Islanders. Al Capone played banjo in the band, which held concerts on Sundays for the other prisoners.
Over the course of Alcatraz’s 29 years of operation, 36 prisoners attempted to escape. 23 were caught, 6 were shot and killed, 2 drowned, and 5 are listed as “missing and presumed drowned”. One of the more infamous escape attempts happened in June 1962, a year before the prison closed. Inmates Clarence Anglin, John Anglin, and Frank Morris put papier-mache heads in their beds, broke out of their cells through an unused utility corridor, and left the island on an improvised raft. Their fate is unknown – the official report concluded that the prisoners drowned. However, no bodies were ever found, and the U.S. Marshals Service still lists the 3 men on their wanted list. New circumstantial and material evidence has surfaced over the years, creating new debates about whether the inmates could have managed to survive.
After the prison closed in 1963, Alcatraz Island now operates as a public museum and sees around 1.5 million visitors each year. Learn more here.