Location in the middle of a bay with icy water and strong sea currents provides natural isolation for the island. Due to this, Alcatraz was considered by the US Army as an ideal place for holding prisoners of war. In 1861, the first prisoners of the Civil War from various states began arriving on the island, and by 1898, as a result of the Spanish-American War, the number of prisoners of war had increased from 26 to over 450 people. In 1906, after the earthquake in San Francisco that destroyed a large part of the city, hundreds of civilian prisoners were transferred to the island for security reasons. In 1912, a large prison building was constructed, and by 1920, the three-story structure was almost completely filled with prisoners. Alcatraz was the first long-term army prison and began to gain a reputation as a place distinguished by its strictness towards violators, who faced severe disciplinary measures. Punishment could include hard labor, placement in solitary confinement with a limited diet of bread and water, and the list did not end there. The average age of military prisoners was 24 years old, and the majority served short sentences for desertion or less serious violations. There were also those who served long sentences for disobedience to commanders, physical violence, theft, or murder.
An interesting element of the military order was the prohibition of staying in the cells during the daytime, except in cases of forced confinement. High-ranking military prisoners were allowed to freely move around the prison territory, except for the guard rooms located on a higher level. Despite the harsh disciplinary measures applied to the criminals, the prison regime was not strict. Many prisoners performed agricultural work for the families living on the island, and some were occasionally entrusted to take care of children. Some took advantage of the vulnerability of the prison guard organization to attempt escape. Despite all efforts, most escapees failed to reach the shore and had to return, only to be saved from the icy waters. Those who did not return died from hypothermia.
Over the decades, the prison's rules became even softer. In the late 1920s, prisoners were allowed to build a baseball field and even wear their own baseball uniforms. The military command organized boxing competitions between inmates, held on Friday evenings, which were very popular. Often, civilians from San Francisco came to Alcatraz just to watch them.
Due to the high maintenance costs, in 1934, the Department of Defense decided to no longer use Alcatraz as a military prison, and its building was transferred to the custody of the Department of Justice.
During the Great Depression (late 1920s to mid-1930s), the level of crime increased significantly, and an era of organized crime began. Large mafia families and individual gangs waged war for spheres of influence, often victimizing civilians and law enforcement personnel. Gangsters controlled power in cities, and many officials received bribes and turned a blind eye to the crimes being committed.
In response to the crimes committed by gangsters, the government decided to reopen Alcatraz as a federal prison. Alcatraz met the main goals pursued: to place dangerous criminals far from society and to intimidate criminals who were still free. The head of the Federal Prisons, Sanford Bates, and the Attorney General, Homer Cummings, initiated the prison reconstruction project. Robert Burge, one of the best security experts at the time, was invited to redesign the prison. Only the foundation remained untouched during the reconstruction, and the building itself was completely rebuilt.
In April 1934, the military prison received a new face and a new direction. Before the reconstruction, the bars and grates were made of wood, now replaced with steel. Electricity was installed in each cell, and all service tunnels were walled up to prevent the possibility of prisoners sneaking into them for hiding and further escape. Along the perimeter of the prison building, special weapon galleries were placed above the cells, which allowed guards to keep watch while being protected by steel bars.
The prison cafeteria, as the most vulnerable place for fights and clashes, was equipped with tear gas canisters that were located in the ceiling and controlled remotely. Guard towers were placed around the perimeter of the island in the most strategically suitable places. The doors were equipped with electric sensors. The prison complex had a total of 600 cells and was divided into blocks A, B, C, and D, whereas before the reconstruction, the prison population never exceeded 300 inmates. Block D was considered the most severe block, and it housed the most dangerous criminals. The introduction of new security measures, along with the cold waters of San Francisco Bay, created a reliable barrier even for the most desperate escapees.
The new prison needed a new warden. The Federal Bureau of Prisons chose James A. Johnston for this position. Johnston was selected for his strict principles and humane approach to rehabilitating criminals for their return to society. He was also known for his reforms in favor of inmates.
Johnston did not believe in chaining convicts. He believed that prisoners should be involved in work where they would be respected and rewarded for their efforts. Dubbed the "Golden Rule Warden," the press praised Johnston for the improvements made on California highways in his road camps. Prisoners working in these camps were not paid money, but had their sentences reduced for diligent work.
Before Alcatraz, Johnston was the director at San Quentin prison, where he introduced several successful educational programs that had a positive effect on most of the inmates. At the same time, Johnston was a proponent of strict discipline. His rules were the strictest in the correctional system, and the punishments were the harshest. Johnston had witnessed hangings at San Quentin and knew how to deal with the most incorrigible criminals.
Courts did not sentence people to Alcatraz; it was usually reserved for particularly "outstanding" prisoners from other prisons. It was not possible to voluntarily choose Alcatraz as a place to serve a sentence. Although exceptions were made for some gangsters, including Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly (the "public enemy number one" at the time), and others.
The rules in Alcatraz were drastically different. Now, each prisoner had only their own cell and minimal privileges for food, water, clothing, medical and dental care. Prisoners in Alcatraz were not allowed to have any personal belongings. To receive privileges for communication with visitors, access to the prison library, and the ability to write letters, a prisoner had to earn it through hard work and impeccable behavior. Additionally, prisoners with bad behavior were not allowed to participate in prison labor. Any infraction resulted in the loss of all privileges. All forms of media, including newspapers, were prohibited in Alcatraz. All letters, like in any other prison, were reviewed and corrected by prison officials. Federal prison officials had the authority to transfer any offending prisoner to Alcatraz. Despite popular belief, not only gangsters and particularly dangerous criminals were held in Alcatraz. It was also filled with escapees and troublemakers from other prisons and those who systematically violated the conditions of their confinement. Among the inmates of Alcatraz were gangsters, but most of them were sentenced to death.
Prison life began with a wake-up call at 6:30 AM. Inmates were given 25 minutes to clean their cells, after which each prisoner had to approach the cell door for roll call. If everyone was in place by 6:55, individual cellblocks were unlocked one by one and the prisoners made their way to the prison mess hall. They had 20 minutes to eat, and were then lined up for their assigned prison work duties. This monotonous cycle of prison routine was unrelenting and unchanged for many years. The main corridor of the prison was called "Broadway" by the inmates, and the cells located on the second tier along this passage were the most coveted in the prison. Other cells were located on the lower levels, were cold, and were often passed by both staff and inmates.
In the early years of Alcatraz, Johnston maintained a "quiet policy" where inmates were forced to refrain from making any noise for long periods of time, which many prisoners found to be the most unbearable punishment. There were many complaints demanding an end to the quiet policy. Rumors circulated that several prisoners went insane due to this rule. Later, the quiet policy was abolished, and this was one of the few changes to the rules at Alcatraz.
In the eastern wing single isolation cells were located. They didn't even have a proper toilet: just a hole controlled by a guard. Prisoners were placed there without their outerwear and given meager rations. The door of the cell had a narrow, closing slit for the delivery of food, which was always closed, leaving the prisoner in complete darkness. Typically, prisoners were placed in isolation for 1-2 days. It was cold in the cell, and mattresses were only given at night. This was considered the strictest punishment for serious offenses and bad behavior, and all prisoners feared it.
On March 21, 1963, Alcatraz prison was closed. According to the official version, this was done due to the high costs of maintaining prisoners on the island. The prison required repairs amounting to around 3-5 million dollars. In addition, the cost of maintaining prisoners on the island was too high compared to mainland prisons, as everything had to be regularly imported from the mainland.
After its closure, there were many discussions about the further use of the island, such as placing a UN monument there. In 1969, a group of Native Americans from different tribes moved to the island, effectively taking it over. This was done thanks to the 1934 federal law on the free resettlement of Native Americans. While living on the island, the Native Americans burned large bonfires in the buildings, painted the walls, and caused significant damage to the guardhouse recreation building, a quarter of the Coast Guard barracks, and the warden's house. Many apartments in residential buildings on the island were also significantly damaged. However, the Native Americans did not stay on the island for long, and in June 1971, they were expelled from Alcatraz by the US government. The graffiti on the walls can still be seen today. In 1971, the island became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
