In the mid of San Francisco bay, framed by some of the most pleasant and grand opinions in the country lies Alcatraz Island. A national retributive is not commonly involved on the list of one's holiday programs, however the story and beauty of this island sanction an exception. From 1934 to 1963 a number of the most feared felons in the American penal organisation called the rock home. Well-known for the wild contrast between its spectacularly serene environment and the severity of life and eccentric inside its walls, Alcatraz has found its way into American lore.



Earlier named Isla de los Alcatraces, or Island of the Pelicans it was later changed and shortened to Alcatraz. Today looking out from the island visitants see a picturesque thought from the Prosperous Gate Bridge, and downtown San Francisco, to the Bay Bridge, and Value Island. One can for a minute think this location as the putting of a luxurious resort hotel. Turning from the views outside the island to its home contents however, speedily brings back the belief that this island was the scene of a less comfortable history.

Most best-known for its role as a prison, Alcatraz was initially a military basic. When gold was found in California in 1848 San Francisco's population jumped from 300 to 30,000 in a issue of years. With this new influx of population and wealth there was a need for the United States government to protect the region from other nations. In 1850 when California became a state, a triangle of fortifications was designed to protect San Francisco Bay. Upon its closing in 1853 Fortress Alcatraz took on the lead role as the most prestigious coastal defense on the western coast. The landscape of the island was organized into the design, and high walls were built on the rocky isle, leaving the dock as the only access to the fort.

Alcatraz was never called upon to guard the bay, however a number of small incidents during the Civil War taken the island into the spot light. As its use as a defensive fortress lessoned, the island began to take on a new role, that of military prison. Eleven enlisted men were incarcerated in the guardhouse basement in 1859, and slowly deserters, thieves, and other military felons were sent there from the San Franciscan forts. Finally in 1861 Alcatraz was named the official prison for the Department of the Pacific. The island served this role until 1933 when the cost of importing supplies led the Army to leave, sending prisoners to Kansas and New Jersey.

At this signal crime in America had become an incorporative trouble, fed mostly by the problems linked with prohibition. A new prison was sought that could take the worst of the country's criminals, and withdraw them from the public. While land in Alaska was originally taken, the Army's recent departure from Alcatraz cemented the island as the choice for America's new super-prison. The readiness was to take in the most troublesome of convicts from other prisons around the country.

In 1934, Al Capone, perhaps the penitentiary's most infamous prisoner, arrived as one of the first official changes. His arrival generated big involvement, and sparkled more headlines then the opening of the prison itself. Previously while jailed in Atlanta, Capone had been able to reach a lifestyle within the jail that was unheard of for other prisoners. A carpeted cell and a radio were among the niceties he was able to secure through bribes and other methods. He was even able to remain to manage his organization through relatives who settled themselves in a nearby hotel. For this reason he was put on a secure prison railroad car without notice, and shipped to Alcaztraz in the desires that the lack of outside contact would be the government's answer to the Capone problem. On the rock Capone was never able to control the warden or guards, and was confined to menial duties along with the rest of the prison population. Staying only 4 years due to health complications Capone given for FCI Last Island in 1939.

Visitors can wonder at the wildlife, gardens, and tremendous positions from the high drops before entering the cell house where they can be locked within one of the solitary restriction cells. There in the cold set up black room they can go through for just a brief moment what life must have been like at the prison in heaven.