Alcatraz

Absolutely. Alcatraz was closed in 1963; surviving inmates were transferred to other prisons. :)

It was originally opened as a fortress to protect the entrance of the San Francisco Bay from anyone who might want to gain control of the bay, most especially the British Navy. The bay had become the most valuable port in the world almost overnight in 1848 because of the Gold Rush.

John Anglin went to Alcatraz after he robbed a bank in Alabama. He was sentenced to serve 35 years in prison. While in prison, he attempted to escape. As a result he was then sent to Alcatraz in 1960 to serve the remainder of his sentence.

Engineer building.

I believe it was Robbery

Alcatraz opened in 1933. By the time it closed in 1963, there had only been four wardens:

James A. Johnston from 1933-1948

Edwin B. Swope from 1948-1955

Paul Madigan from 1955-1961

Olin Blackwell from 1961-1963

Some of the most infamous gangsters, mobsters and bootleggers in criminal history. People such as Al Capone, Alvin "Creepy" Karpis, George "Machine gun Kelly", Arthur "Doc" Barker, John Paul Chase, Basil "The Owl" Banghart and Raymond Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson have all spent time on "The Rock".

There are several reasons. For one, It could be called "The Rock" because the prison sits on an otherwise barren island. It can also be because the guards and prisoners who made it to Alcatraz were considered the toughest of the tough.

The first spaniard to discover the island was Juan Manuel de Ayala in 1775, who charted San Francisco Bay and named the island "La Isla de los Alcatraces," which translates as "The Island of the Pelicans,"from the archaic Spanish alcatraz, "pelican", a word which was borrowed originally from Hispano-Arabic qatrás (proud or noble walking).

There was a large powerhouse constructed in 1909-1910 to replace the coal-fired heating plant. The powder magazines from the 1857-era North Battery were replaced by oil tanks, so that the island generated its own electricity and steam heat.

Its open year round

Today it's a National Park site, visited by 5,000 people a day.

The federal prison closed down in 1963 because it was too expensive to maintain.

The island sat idle until 1969, when a group of American Indian activists from many tribes occupied the island in an act of Civil Disobedience until 1971.

In 1972, it became a National Park site.

Interestinglly, it sounds like the food served on Alcatraz was quite good (compared to today's prison standard). There was meat and potatos, eggs and bacon, etc... Also, they got into some grim trouble because they gave the inmates real metal silverware in the beginning (oops).

Robert Stroud, most commonly known as the 'bird man of Alcatraz' never kept birds while he was on 'the rock'. Hollywood sometimes strays from the facts. He wrote 2 books on the ailments of birds while serving time in Leavenworth prison.

Alcatraz was a hardcore federal penitentary and keeping any kind of pet or carrying out any kind of research would not have been allowed. He also did extensive studies on the American Penal system, again at Leavenworth, not Alcatraz.

Amid much hoopla about his release, he was transferred to Federal Medical Center in Springfield, MO in 1959. He died there in 1963, having spent 56 of his 76 years in prison, most of those years in solitary confinment.

Fairly well. They were provided all the facilities of any federal prison at that time. They were able to listen to the radio, had a musical hour were they could practice their instruments if they had one, and were entitled to a healthy diet. The guards also treated them with respect (assuming they got some in return). The only hardcore punishments were the isolation, silent rule (in the first years of the prison) and solitary confinement (for serious offenders).

1973 =]

Alcatraz was closed march 21st 1963 due to rising operational costs and deteriorating facilities. President John f. Kennedy authorized the prisons closure and warden Olin Blackwell was in charge of prisoner transfer, all the prisoners were sent to appropriate facilities per the crimes they committed.

saleing drugs

Somewhere in the vicinity of 1545 total, with 1576 numbers issued (some 30+ were returned to the institution with same number reissued). High number at one time was 302, the lowest 222, and average was around 260.

Al Capone arrived on the first train from USP Atlanta to Alcatraz shortly after the prison opened in 1934.

He was perhaps the most famous prisoner there.

Claude Earl "Jack" Allen (211-AZ) died at USP Alcatraz on January 17, 1936.

It's $600.00, plus volunteering.

The Alcatraz Island Prison is located in San Francisco Bay, is also known as the Rock, there have been 14 escape attempts by 36 inmates, two of which made it off the island but were later captured. There have been 7 believed to have drowned trying to escape.

Alcatraz Island has a total area of 22 acres or 958,320 square feet.