Alcatraz

Podcast Transcript

Located in the middle of San Francisco Bay is one of the Bay Area’s most iconic landmarks: Alcatraz. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country, with over a million visitors every year.

Most people know of Alcatraz as a prison, yet it only served as a prison for a very short period of time.

During its history, it has served multiple different functions and has had many different lives.

Learn more about Alcatraz, its past, present, and possible futures, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

I’m guessing that most of you have at least heard of Alcatraz. You are probably aware that it was a maximum security prison and had several famous inmates, but maybe not much beyond that.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, Alcatraz is an island in San Francisco Bay. It isn’t very big. It has an area of only 22 acres or 8.9 hectares.

The island is extremely rocky, which is why it earned the name “The Rock” during its period as a prison.

Its position in San Francisco Bay is strategically located. It is approximately 3 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge and sits right in the middle of the channel. Anything entering the San Francisco Bay has to sail right past Alcatraz Island.

It is also located a little more than a mile off Fisherman’s Wharf, meaning it is clearly visible from the City of San Francisco.

Before European contact, Alcatraz Island was known and avoided by the Ohlone people, the indigenous inhabitants of the San Francisco Bay Area.

The island, barren and rocky, had no fresh water and limited vegetation, and was primarily a site for collecting bird eggs and possibly for temporary banishment or isolation.

Basically, the island was nothing special. No one lived there, hardly anything grew there, and it had no spiritual importance.

In 1775, Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala became the first European to sail into San Francisco Bay. He charted the area and named the island La Isla de los Alcatraces due to the abundance of seabirds.

The name was later Anglicized to “Alcatraz.”

There has been some debate as to the meaning of the name. Today, Alcatraces is Spanish for the seabirds known as gannets. However, some believe it might have referred to pelicans. The modern Spanish word for pelican is pelicano, but De Ayala might have either used an antiquated version of the word or might have misidentified the birds.

As I’ve mentioned in previous episodes, despite being unquestionably the best harbor on the west coast of North America, the Spanish did nothing with San Francisco Bay.

After the United States annexed California following the Mexican-American War, President Millard Fillmore set Alcatraz aside in 1850 for military use, largely due to its strategic location at the mouth of San Francisco Bay.

Between the 1850s and 1860s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a fortress on the island with defensive cannons to guard against possible foreign attacks, particularly from the British or Spanish during early California statehood.

If you look at a map, the two sides of the Golden Gate, that being the strait that is the entrance to San Francisco Bay, plus Alcatraz, make a triangle. Any enemy trying to sail into San Francisco Bay would face cannon fire from two or all three of the fixed points that guard the entrance.

In 1859, Fort Alcatraz became the first operational U.S. military fort on the West Coast and also one of the first sites to house a military prison. By the time of the Civil War, the island served a dual function: defending the harbor and imprisoning Confederate sympathizers and privateers.

In the decades following the Civil War, the military expanded the prison facilities on Alcatraz. It became a formal military detention center in 1907 and was used to house insubordinate soldiers, Native American prisoners, conscientious objectors, and others. Among the more famous early prisoners were members of the Hopi tribe who had resisted forced assimilation.

Despite its fortified structure, the prison was considered inadequate by modern standards. However, the island’s isolation made escape almost impossible, which was a key reason for its continued use.

Here, I should explain why Alcatraz was considered to be escape-proof.

Alcatraz Island is surrounded by the cold, fast-moving waters of San Francisco Bay. These waters have powerful currents and average water temperatures of 50–55°F or 10–13°C.

Even strong swimmers would have faced hypothermia, exhaustion, and disorientation if they attempted to cross the 1.25-mile distance to the mainland. Sharks in the bay, while not typically dangerous, added to the psychological barrier for anyone attempting the swim.

The biggest change to the island took place in the 1930s.

The United States was experiencing social unrest and public anxiety, largely due to the effects of the Great Depression and the Prohibition era.

This period saw the rise of powerful organized crime syndicates and infamous criminals like Al Capone, “Machine Gun” Kelly, and John Dillinger. The media glamorized these figures, undermining public confidence in law enforcement and the penal system.

Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the federal government sought to demonstrate strong, visible action against what it saw as a breakdown of law and order. The creation of a “super-prison” would serve as both a practical solution and a symbolic message that the federal government was serious about cracking down on the worst criminals.

Several factors made Alcatraz an ideal candidate for such a prison.

The island already housed a military prison with basic facilities, which meant the government would not have to build from scratch. The site included cellblocks, guard towers, and basic utilities, though significant upgrades were needed.

The surrounding waters of San Francisco Bay were a natural deterrent to escape. This made Alcatraz perfect for housing inmates who had a history of violence, disruption, or escape attempts at other prisons.

Its small size and limited points of access made it easier to control and monitor both inmates and staff. The island could be easily sealed off in an emergency, and its perimeter was almost impossible to breach.

Finally, the fact that it was immediately off the shore of one of the largest cities in the country meant that it would be a highly visible symbol.

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary was opened in August 1934. Designed to be escape-proof, it had reinforced cells, armed guards, and tight security protocols. It became home to some of the most notorious criminals of the 20th century, including Al Capone, George “Machine Gun” Kelly, Robert Stroud aka The “Birdman of Alcatraz”, and Alvin “Creepy” Karpis who was once Public Enemy #1 and who served the longest sentence at Alcatraz of 26 years.

Oddly enough, the Birdman of Alcatraz didn’t keep birds at Alcatraz. He kept them at Leavenworth before he was moved to Alcatraz.

The prison could hold about 300 inmates at a time and emphasized isolation and control. Inmates had minimal privileges and spent most of their time in their cells or at work.

The ratio of guards to prisoners was quite high at three to one.

While the term wasn’t used at the time, Alcatraz was the first Supermax prison.

Despite its reputation, Alcatraz was relatively calm and organized internally. However, the high operational costs, the harsh marine environment, and deteriorating infrastructure made it increasingly untenable.

Alcatraz Prison officially closed on March 21, 1963, due to its high maintenance cost —triple the cost of other prisons—and concerns over its crumbling buildings.

Over its 29 years of operation, 36 men attempted to escape in 14 separate incidents. Most were caught or killed.

However, there was one exception….

Brothers and bank robbers John and Clarence Anglin and a genius career criminal named Frank Morris attempted to escape Alcatraz in 1962. On June 11, 1962, they escaped. It was a six-month process in which they bored a hole in the wall, created fake heads for their beds, and built a raft out of 50 stolen raincoats.

They were in the water by 10 p.m., and by the time anyone knew they were gone, they had a 10-hour head start.

They were never seen again.

A massive manhunt followed involving the FBI, U.S. Marshals, and the Coast Guard. Authorities found paddles and pieces of the raincoat raft, as well as a plastic-wrapped wallet with personal papers and photos, believed to belong to one of the Anglins.

However, no bodies were ever recovered.

The FBI concluded in 1979 that the men likely drowned in the frigid waters, citing the strong currents, cold temperatures, and lack of concrete evidence of survival.

Despite the FBI’s official conclusion that the 1962 Alcatraz escapees likely drowned, various pieces of evidence and testimony suggest they may have survived. Unlike other escape attempts where drowned bodies were recovered, no remains were ever found in this case, casting doubt on the FBI’s theory.

Modern analysis of tide patterns indicates it was possible, though difficult, for the men to have reached Angel Island or the Marin Headlands if they timed their launch correctly.

Over the years, there have been reported sightings of the Anglin brothers, and some individuals claim to have received letters from them, including a 1993 letter revealed in a 2013 documentary that alleged they were alive and in hiding.

The Anglin family also reported receiving mysterious postcards and calls, and even produced a photograph purportedly showing the brothers in Brazil in the 1970s. In 2015, the U.S. Marshals Service confirmed the case remains open and that they continue to follow new leads.

For several years after the closure of the prison, the island was mostly abandoned, although some proposals were made for its redevelopment.

On November 20, 1969, a group of Native American activists from the group Indians of All Tribes occupied Alcatraz Island, citing the Treaty of Fort Laramie of 1868, which stated that unused federal land should revert to Native ownership. They intended to reclaim the island as a cultural and educational center.

The occupation lasted for 19 months, drawing national and international attention to Native American issues. The occupation ended in June 1971 when federal agents removed the remaining occupants.

In 1972, Alcatraz became part of the newly established Golden Gate National Recreation Area under the National Park Service.

In 1986, Alcatraz was designated a National Historic Landmark.

Today, Alcatraz is one of San Francisco’s most popular tourist destinations. Visitors can explore the former prison, view the remains of military structures, and learn about its history through exhibits and guided tours.

The island also supports a bird sanctuary and features gardens originally planted by residents and inmates.

Over the years, a wide range of proposals have been made for the future of Alcatraz Island. In the decades following the prison’s closure, some suggested transforming the island into a casino, luxury hotel, amusement park, or even an international peace center, though these commercial and ambitious plans faced strong public opposition.

More recent and serious proposals have focused on preserving the island’s historical significance while expanding its educational and cultural roles. Ideas have included enhancing museum exhibits related to incarceration, civil rights, and Native American history, as well as using the island for environmental conservation, such as protecting nesting birds and restoring native vegetation.

One idea that keeps being floated is returning Alcatraz to being a prison.

However, this is highly unlikely to happen for one simple reason: cost.

The only reason why Alcatraz made sense in 1934 was that there was already a military prison on the site, and the Department of Justice was able to just take over the facility.

However, by 1963, over 60 years ago, the facilities were already antiquated, and the cost of operating the prison, even back then, was three times that of an average prison.

After the better part of a century, to bring Alcatraz back to operational status would require a massive investment, almost rebuilding the entire facility.

Moreover, we don’t really need an Alcatraz anymore because we have other Supermax prisons that now serve the role that Alcatraz once did.

ADX Florence, outside Florence, Colorado, is one of the most secure prisons in the world, and it is where many of the most notorious criminals today are locked up, just as they once were in Alcatraz.

Alcatraz is more of a symbol at this point than anything else. Its past manifestations as a military fort and a prison are no longer warranted in the modern world. As such, Alcatraz’s future will probably look a lot like the present. It will remain a popular tourist attraction, which currently draws 1.7 million visitors annually.