American history is all over the United States, stretching from coast to coast and border to border, but a very important part of our history is located off the coast of San Francisco. Alcatraz, a former fort, prison, Indian ground, and now a national park has been in America’s history from 1861, where it was a fort, to 2015, where it boasts as one of the nation's most notorious national parks. As any famous thing or person, this small island when from rags to riches. Alcatraz was a small island just off the coast of San Francisco, when the Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala first discovered it in 1775, where he named it “La Isla de Los Alcatraces” or “Island of the Pelicans”. It was left mostly untouched until in 1861 the United
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Most people would also, but Hoover was also responsible for Alcatraz becoming a federal penitentiary in 1934. No one knew of the harsh treatment of this prison until the trial of Henry Young in 1941, where it was truly revealed why some prisoners deemed it “Hellcatraz”. Not only did this trial add to the reputation of this island, but also so did Hollywood. Many movies of Alcatraz made it out to be much worse than it ever was. While only two people, Frank Mans and Angelino Mans escaped, there were many failed attempts and the most notorious of them all was the “Battle of Alcatraz”. From May 2 to May 4, 1946, seven convicts tried to escape by using weapons and forceful strategies, thankfully, they were stopped. This dropped the prison’s reputation even lower. Alcatraz had many cells inside of its walls, 336 to be exact, but still it was never full. The most prisoners in Alcatraz at one time were 215. Most of these cells weren’t even as big as most of today's walk-in-closets. A few special cells for the more rowdy visitors had no light, no toilet, and no mattress. Called “The Hole” this was the cell that pushed most prisoners over the edge and made then insane. While Alcatraz had a bad reputation, most prisoners requested that they are housed there. The reason for being so is the prison chef was dedicated to making sure that no prisoner ate bad food, so only the best food was prepared for the prisoners and they had the best water. Most prisoners were permitted free time, and they prison also had a gym and a library. Due to its extremely low reputation and its harsh environment, Alcatraz was closed in 1963 by the United States
Most people would also, but Hoover was also responsible for Alcatraz becoming a federal penitentiary in 1934. No one knew of the harsh treatment of this prison until the trial of Henry Young in 1941, where it was truly revealed why some prisoners deemed it “Hellcatraz”. Not only did this trial add to the reputation of this island, but also so did Hollywood. Many movies of Alcatraz made it out to be much worse than it ever was. While only two people, Frank Mans and Angelino Mans escaped, there were many failed attempts and the most notorious of them all was the “Battle of Alcatraz”. From May 2 to May 4, 1946, seven convicts tried to escape by using weapons and forceful strategies, thankfully, they were stopped. This dropped the prison’s reputation even lower. Alcatraz had many cells inside of its walls, 336 to be exact, but still it was never full. The most prisoners in Alcatraz at one time were 215. Most of these cells weren’t even as big as most of today's walk-in-closets. A few special cells for the more rowdy visitors had no light, no toilet, and no mattress. Called “The Hole” this was the cell that pushed most prisoners over the edge and made then insane. While Alcatraz had a bad reputation, most prisoners requested that they are housed there. The reason for being so is the prison chef was dedicated to making sure that no prisoner ate bad food, so only the best food was prepared for the prisoners and they had the best water. Most prisoners were permitted free time, and they prison also had a gym and a library. Due to its extremely low reputation and its harsh environment, Alcatraz was closed in 1963 by the United States