President Donald Trump wants to convert Alcatraz back into a federal prison, decades after the California island fortress was converted into a U.S. tourist destination because it had become too costly to house America’s worst criminals.
The prison off the coast of San Francisco is where the government sent notorious gangsters Al Capone and George 鈥淢achine Gun鈥 Kelly as well as lesser-known men who were considered too dangerous to lock up elsewhere.
Circled by herons and gulls and often shrouded in fog, Alcatraz has been the setting for movies featuring Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage and Clint Eastwood.
Trump says Alcatraz, now part of the National Park Service, suddenly is needed to house America鈥檚 鈥渕ost ruthless and violent鈥 criminals.
鈥淲hen we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm. That鈥檚 the way it鈥檚 supposed to be,鈥 Trump said Sunday on his Truth Social site.
What is Alcatraz?
Alcatraz is in San Francisco Bay off the coast of San Francisco and visible from the Golden Gate Bridge. It is best known for its years as a federal prison, from 1934-63, but its history is much longer.
President Millard Fillmore in 1850 declared the island for public purposes, according to the park service, and it soon became a military site. Confederates were housed there during the Civil War.
By the 1930s, the government decided that it needed a place to hold the worst criminals, and Alcatraz became the choice for a prison.
鈥淎 remote site was sought, one that would prohibit constant communication with the outside world by those confined within its walls,鈥 the park service said. 鈥淎lthough land in Alaska was being considered, the availability of Alcatraz Island conveniently coincided with the government鈥檚 perceived need for a high security prison.鈥
Why did it close?
The remoteness eventually made it impractical. Everything from food to fuel had to arrive by boat.
鈥淭he island had no source of fresh water,鈥 鈥渟o nearly one million gallons of water had to be barged to the island each week.鈥
The cost to house someone there in 1959 was $10.10 a day compared with $3 at a federal prison in Atlanta, the government said. It was cheaper to build a new prison from scratch.
Why is Alcatraz notorious?
Despite the location, many prisoners tried to get out: 36 men attempted 14 separate escapes into the bay, according to the FBI. Nearly all were caught or didn鈥檛 survive the cold water and swift current.
鈥淓scape from Alcatraz,鈥 a 1979 movie starring Eastwood, told the story of John Anglin, his brother Clarence and Frank Morris, who all escaped in 1962, leaving behind handmade plaster heads with real hair in their beds to fool guards.
鈥淔or the 17 years we worked on the case, no credible evidence emerged to suggest the men were still alive, either in the U.S. or overseas,鈥 the FBI said.
鈥淭he Rock,鈥 a 1996 fictional thriller with Connery and Cage, centers on an effort to rescue hostages from rogue Marines on Alcatraz.
A national park
Alcatraz became part of the and was opened to the public in 1973, a decade after it was closed as a prison.
The park service says the island gets more than 1 million visitors a year who arrive by ferry. A ticket for an adult costs $47.95, and visitors can see the cells where prisoners were held.
In 1969, a group of Native Americans, mostly college students, claimed to have a right to Alcatraz and began an occupation that lasted for 19 months. It ended in 1971 when federal authorities intervened.
鈥淭he underlying goals of the Indians on Alcatraz were to awaken the American public to the reality of the plight of the first Americans and to assert the need for Indian self-determination,鈥 late historian
