Trump's Alcatraz plan ignites debate over costs and legacy

Alcatraz, also known as "The Rock," is one of the most famous prisons in the history of the United States. Located on an island in the San Francisco Bay, it operated as a federal maximum-security prison from 1934 to 1963.

This facility gained a reputation as an escape-proof place, and its history is full of fascinating facts and dramatic events.

Initially, Alcatraz served as a military fort and military prison. In 1934, it was converted into a federal prison designed to hold the most dangerous criminals who caused problems in other correctional facilities. The island's isolation, strong currents, and cold water made escape nearly impossible.

During its 29 years of operation, Alcatraz "hosted" a total of 1,576 prisoners. The closure of the prison in 1963 was due to high maintenance costs and the deteriorating technical condition of the facilities.

Alcatraz was a place of confinement for many notorious criminals:

Al Capone – the notorious gangster from the Prohibition era. Al Capone was sent to Alcatraz in 1934 not for murders, alcohol smuggling, or other violent crimes for which he was known as the boss of the Chicago mafia, but for... tax evasion.

George "Machine Gun" Kelly – a kidnapper and criminal from the 1930s, was sent to Alcatraz for kidnapping and ransom demands. In 1933, together with his wife Kathryn, he kidnapped wealthy businessman Charles Urschel from his home in Oklahoma. After holding him for over a week, Kelly and his accomplices extorted a ransom of $200,000 — a huge sum at the time.

Robert Stroud, widely known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz," was sent to this prison not for one specific crime, but due to his exceptionally difficult and aggressive behaviour as a prisoner.

Stroud was initially sentenced to 12 years for murder in 1909 — he shot a bartender in Alaska after the bartender allegedly mistreated his girlfriend. While serving his sentence at the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, he killed a prison guard. For this act, he was sentenced to death, which was later commuted to life imprisonment in isolation. During his many years at Leavenworth, Stroud became a self-taught ornithologist — he raised birds and wrote books about their diseases, which brought him fame.

He was transferred to Alcatraz in 1942, not because he committed another crime, but because authorities deemed his presence in Leavenworth too troublesome. In Alcatraz, he was no longer allowed to keep birds — despite his nickname "Birdman," he never actually kept any birds on the island.

Despite the harsh conditions, 14 escape attempts involving 36 prisoners were recorded. Most of them ended in failure.

The most famous escape attempt, known as the Battle of Alcatraz, occurred on May 2-4, 1946, and was one of the bloodiest episodes in the prison's history. It began when six inmates, including Bernard Coy and Marvin Hubbard, attempted an escape by acquiring weapons and taking hostages. The plan spun out of control when they failed to obtain the key to the outer doors. A three-day struggle ensued involving guards and marines. Three officers and two prisoners were killed, and three of the mutineers were later sentenced — two to death.

In 1962, Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin used improvised tools to break out of their cells and escaped on a raft made from raincoats. They were officially declared missing, but over the decades, various leads and speculations suggested that they survived and hid in South America. A feature film, "Escape from Alcatraz" starring Clint Eastwood, was based on this story.

Although Alcatraz is most associated with a harsh prison for the most dangerous criminals, life on the island was not limited solely to cells and guards. During the prison's operation, families of employees, including children, also lived there, commuting daily by boat to schools in the city.

One of the most extraordinary facts is that in the silence of the night, prisoners could hear laughter, music, and fireworks coming from San Francisco, just 2.4 kilometers away, yet completely out of their reach.

After the prison closed in 1963, Alcatraz remained a place of symbolic significance. From 1969 to 1971, the island became the site of high-profile protests by Indigenous peoples, demanding the return of land in accordance with old treaties. This event marked an important moment in the movement for the rights of Indigenous peoples in the USA.

Today, Alcatraz is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States. Every year, it attracts over a million visitors who want to see the legendary cells, learn about escape stories, and experience the atmosphere of one of the world's most famous prison islands.