Alcatraz History

Changes of The 1950's

"Alcatraz was never no good for nobody."

-Frank Wathernam, the last prisoner to leave Alcatraz (March 21, 1963)

 

• In 1955, Paul J. Madigan became the next warden of Alcatraz. Within a year of his arrival, the escape attempts started up again.
  
  
• July 23, 1956- Floyd P. Wilson, a murderer serving a life sentence, grabbed 25 feet of cord from the dock during his work duty and disappeared beneath the dock. Below he began tying pieces of driftwood he had collected together to make a raft. When his absence was discovered, the alarms were sounded. Wilson abandoned his raft idea and decided to allude the search teams by hiding in a crevice in the rock along the water's edge. For nearly 12 hours he hid there, being repeatedly hurled against the rocks by the tumultuous waves of San Francisco Bay. Finally, bruised, battered and hypothermic, Wilson gave up his attempt and turned himself in.

• The final warden to run Alcatraz came to the island in 1961. Olin Blackwell had no way of knowing that he would hold the distinction of being the man in charge when one of the most inventive and possibly successful escape attempts was hatched.
  
  

• The most famous escape attempt involved Frank Lee Morris, John William Anglin, and his brother Clarence Anglin. This great escape, which occurred on June 11, 1962, became the inspiration for many movies, including Escape from Alcatraz starring Clint Eastwood.

• Although not directly responsible, the 1962 escape did lead officials to closely evaluate the costs and benefits of keeping Alcatraz operational. Ironically, the one thing that made it such a secure prison was also the thing that was causing its demise. The salt water from the bay had taken its toll on the island. The concrete in the cellhouse and other key structures on the island absorbed much of the salt and were quickly disintegrating. This is one of the things that made the 1962 escape attempt easier to pull off. It was estimated that it would take $5 million dollars to bring Alcatraz back up to standard. That was a price tag no one was in a hurry to pay. A survey also looked at operating costs for Alcatraz, compared to other mainland prisons. The survey found that while it cost $9.27/day to house and secure an inmate in mainland prisons, it cost $23.50/day to house and secure each inmate on Alcatraz.
  
  
• In late 1962, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy announced that, rather than focusing solely on detention of prisoners, the federal prison system needed to learn to factor rehabilitation into the equation. To begin this new direction in reform, Kennedy announced that a new maximum security prison would be built in Marion, IL. that year.
  
  
• Faced with the huge expense of day-to-day operations, coupled with the $5 million dollar renovation price tag and Kennedy's shift in punitive ideals, Alcatraz was closed on March 21, 1963.
  
  
• In July of 1964, Alcatraz was turned over to the General Services Administration of the federal government. The land was offered to several government agencies, but no one wanted the land. There was talk of erecting a second Statue of Liberty on the island or of making it a living memorial to the United Nations. Neither idea came to fruition.
  
  
• 1965- Nearly two years to the day that the prison closed, five Indian activists landed on the island and claimed Alcatraz as rightfully theirs. Their justification was a 1868 treaty between the U.S. and the Sioux Indians that stated that any surplus land would be turned over to Indians. When federal marshals arrived on the island, the activists left willingly.
  
  
• May 27, 1968- With no offers from within the government to use the land, the General Services Administration declared Alcatraz to be "surplus property" up for bidding. Within weeks of this declaration, the mayor of San Francisco, Joseph Alioto, stated that the city of San Francisco wanted the island. The GSA asked Alioto to put together a proposal for what the city wanted do with the island.
  
  

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• After receiving thousands of proposals from the people of San Francisco, Alioto and the City and County of San Francisco decided to demolish all the structures on the island and prepare it for commercial development. Almost overnight, outraged citizens of San Francisco began a letter-writing campaign to "Save Alcatraz". As a result of this outpouring of concern, Interior Secretary Walter Hickel placed Alcatraz under the jurisdiction of the National Parks Service in early 1969.
  
  
• November 9, 1969- Richard Oakes and three other Native American college students occupied the island, claiming it as Indian land.

November 20, 1969- Oakes returned to the island. This time, a group of 90 Native Americans came with him. They set up a camp and flatly refused government demands to leave the island. Oakes and his followers asked to purchase the island from the government for $24 dollars worth of beads and red cloth. They claimed that this was the price their people had been paid in exchange for an island similar in size to Alcatraz nearly 300 years ago. Naturally, the government balked at the offer and refused to negotiate with them. The government considered forcibly removing the occupiers from the island, but growing public support for the Indians stopped any plans of raiding the island and forced officials to renew negotiations.

• In early January of 1970, Oakes suffered a tremendous loss that led to his willingly leaving the island. While playing on the rooftop of one of the island's buildings, Oakes youngest daughter slipped and fell to her death. Distraught over this accident, Oakes and his family decided to abandon their claim to the island. However, nearly 60 Native Americans remained on the island.

 

• In March, 1970, negotiations broke down once again when the government refused to allow an Indian university to be built on the island. As the stalemate dragged on, the majority of the occupiers began to slowly leave the island. In all, only 15 chose to remain.

June 1, 1970- The warden's house (right) was destroyed by fire. On this same day, a string of fires on the island also consumed the recreation hall, former officer's club, another home on the island, and the lighthouse.

• June 11, 1971- Following frustration over the negotiation breakdown and the devastating damage left in the wake of the fires, government troops embarked on a pre-dawn raid of the island. The remaining 11 Indians occupying the island were arrested (plus four children taken off the island) and the 19-month Indian occupation came to an end.

 

• October 12, 1972- House Resolution 16444, establishing the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, was passed by Congress and was signed by President Richard Nixon 15 days later. The island of Alcatraz was incorporated into this park. Exactly a year later, Alcatraz Island officially opened to the public.
  

Today, Alcatraz plays host to over 1.3 million visitors a year. Most are attracted by its notoriety, but one can't help but be mesmerized by the natural beauty of the island and the breathtaking views it offers of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco skyline. National Park Service Rangers offer guided tours of the infamous cellhouse and scenic grounds of the island, seven days a week. Alcatraz island has also become protected habitat for several endangered birds that have been found nesting on the island. For that reason, a good portion of the islands nature trails are off limits to visitors.

The biggest problem facing the island right now is deterioration. The salt water from the bay that contributed to the closure of Alcatraz as a prison also threatens to close Alcatraz as a tourist destination. The cement structures on the island are literally crumbling apart and there is not enough money available to restore Alcatraz to its earlier condition. For now, the National Park Service does what it can to preserve what is left of this monument to U.S. history.

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Comprehensive History of Alcatraz:

(New!)  Alcatraz 2002 Renovation! 

The 1700's & 1800's - the beginning

1900-1950 - crime and prison escapes...

1950 until today - the world changes...

Special Thanks:  The following information was compiled and licensed for use by:

neysa76@hotmail.com

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