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Alcatraz
Alcatraz is an island sitting in
San Francisco Bay, a mile and a half from shore from San Francisco,
California and often called the Rock. It was an early lighthouse,
then a military installation, military prison and finally a Federal
Bureau of Prisons prison until 1963. In 1972, it became a national
recreation site and was designated a landmark in 1976 and 1986. This
historical site is maintained by the National Park Service, part of
the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and open for tours. You can
get to the island by ferry, from Pier 33, by Fisherman's Wharf. In
2008, the country's first hybrid propulsion ferry started taking
passengers back and forth from the island. The Rock has been
featured in numerous TV show, movies, books, comics, games and
cartoons. The earliest recorded owner of the island was Julian
Workman, who was given the island by Mexican governor Pio Pico, with
the understanding that Julian would build a lighthouse there, in
1846. Later that year, Military Governor of California, John C.
Fremont, paid $5000 for it in the name of the United States
government from Francis Temple. How Francis came to own the island
from Workman is not known, but one of Workman's daughters did marry
a Pliny Temple in 1845. In 1850, President Millard Fillmore ordered
the island be set aside for military purposes due to the gaining of
the state from Mexico after the Mexican-American War. Fremont
expected some recompense for his initiative in purchasing the island
for the US, but it instead invalidated the sale, which caused
Fremont and later, his heirs to continue the battle in court, which
proved quite unsuccessful, but did go on until the 1890s. Since the
island was isolated from the outside, by strong, cold and dangerous
currents in the waters of the bay area, it was used to hold
prisoners of the Civil War early in 1861. After the Civil War, the
army wanted to use the island for defense, and thought about
leveling the landscape of the rock, but by the mid 1870s hadn't done
more than make a level parade ground. Abandoning the use of the
island for coastal defenses, the army decided the best use of the
island would be for detention, so in 1867, a brick jailhouse was
built and the next year, it was officially designated a long-term
detention facility for military prisoners. In the 1870s, some of
those that were held here included Hopi Native Americans. In 1898,
the Spanish-American war brought the population from 25 to more than
450. After the 1906 Frisco earthquake, many civilian prisoners were
transferred to Alcatraz for safer confinement and by 1912 there was
a bigger cellhouse, and in the 1920s a big 3 story structure was
almost full. In 1907, it had been made the Western US Military
Prison, then the Pacific Branch US Disciplinary Barracks in 1915.
The fortress was deactivated as a military prison in 1933 and
transferred to the Bureau of Prisons. In World War I, the prison was
used to house conscientious objectors, one of whom was Philip
Grosser, who later wrote a pamphlet called Uncle Sam's Devil's
Island, about his time there. During its 29 year history of being a
federal prison, it held such notables as Al Capone, Robert Franklin
Stroud who was known as the Birdman of Alcatraz, George "Machine
Gun" Kelly, James "Whitey" Bulger and Alvin Karpis, who became known
as the longest serving inmate at the island prison. There was
sufficient housing for the prison staff and their families, although
it was not the best place to be raising a family, only if it were
the last place to get work. During that 29 year period, no one ever
escaped, although there were 36 prisoners involved in 14 attempts,
two inmates trying twice, 23 caught, six shot and killed and three
lost at sea and never found. The most violent attempt was on May 2,
1946, when six prisoners tried to escape and started the Battle of
Alcatraz. It is a story well worth reading and by going to the
island, should be considered one of the oddest places anyone ever
went to for an attraction.
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