Located in the middle of San Francisco Bay in California, the 12-acre Alcatraz Island was declared a military reservation in 1850 but was later converted into a federal penitentiary in 1934. The name, “Alcatraz” comes from Spanish and refers to a kind of seabird
Recreation Area, maintained by the National Park Service. People can now tour the Island and is one of the most popular tourist stops in the west coast.
Alcatraz Island was also the first long-term Army prison. During the 1800s, Civil War and Spanish American War Prisoners were the first inmates to arrive on the Island. By the 1920s, the three-story building was almost at full capacity.
Due to its isolated location, the authorities regarded Alcatraz Island as an ideal place for setting up a maximum-security prison. Therefore, it is also well known for having accommodated dangerous criminals like Robert Shroud, Alvin Karpis and Al Capone.
Alcatraz Island received national attention when Native Indians occupied it in 1969, associated with the Native American civil rights movement, citing an 1868 federal treaty. However, Federal agents removed them in 1971.
Alcatraz Island is now a busy tourist site mainly because of the old abandoned prison, the oldest operating lighthouse on the West Coast, remnants of early military fortifications, and natural features such as rock pools, a seabird colony, etc.
Many famous movies have been filmed on Alcatraz Island such as, “Escape from Alcatraz” (1979) – the true story of an escape attempt by three inmates and “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back” (1980). More recently, Alcatraz Island was also the filming location for box-office hits such as “The Rock” (1996) and “Murder in the First” (1995)
Related Articles of Interest :
-
Alcatraz
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
No Comments
Alcatraz is an old prison, which was used as a federal penitentiary from 1934 to 1963, a total of 29 years. It is located in the middle of San Francisco Bay in California and when it was opened to the public from 1972, it has...
-
Alcatraz History
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
No Comments
Alcatraz Island was declared a military reservation in 1850 and troops were permanently stationed by 1859. For almost eighty years Alcatraz Island was the site of the first fortress and military prison on the west coast. The United States Disciplinary Barracks on Alcatraz were acquired...
-
Alcatraz Prison
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
No Comments
Alcatraz Prison is located in a very small piece of island in the middle of the San Francisco Bay. The prison was originally an army fort, which was later converted into and used as a federal penitentiary for 29 years (1934 to 1963). The prison...
-
Alcatraz Escapes
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
No Comments
Due to its isolated location and the freezing San Francisco Bay waters, the authorities considered Alcatraz as an ideal place for holding dangerous prisoners. Alcatraz operated for a full 29 years and during that time; there had been no known case of any successful escape...
-
Alcatraz Ghosts
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
No Comments
Alcatraz was supposed to be a prison for America’s worst prisoners. But even before the department of prisons actually took over the island, the military used it as a place to keep the civil war prisoners. Over the years, there have been a lot of...
-
Alcatraz Souvenirs
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
No Comments
A souvenir is a product or an item bought from a particular place to serve as a reminder of that place. It helps relive the experience of the visit to the place. The Alcatraz prison off the coast of San-Francisco is one of America’s major...
-
Alcatraz Tours
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
No Comments
Ever since Alcatraz was opened to the public in 1972, it has become one of the most visited historic sites in San Francisco. About a million people visit the island each year. Therefore, tickets to Alcatraz sell out as early as one to two weeks...
-
Alcatraz Lighthouse
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
No Comments
Alcatraz islands off the cost of San-Francisco have only two lighthouses. The foundation of the first was laid in 1852, and the entire structure became operational in 1854. The first lighthouse was a two storey structure with a tower at the center. The fifty-foot structure...
-
Birdman of Alcatraz
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
No Comments
The most famous inmate in Alcatraz Prison was Robert Stroud, also known to the public as the “birdman of Alcatraz” (so called due to the keen interest he developed in canaries and birds during the thirty years of his time in Leavenworth). Stroud was first...
-
Alcatraz Inmates
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
No Comments
Alcatraz is famous for having housed some famous gangsters and criminals. Most of these prisoners were those considered dangerous, disobedient, escape risks and known for committing serious crimes such as murder, racketeering, smuggling etc. Al Capone, one of the most notorious gangsters in America, was...