There are many prisons in the United States holding some of this countries most dangerous criminals, but there is one prison that prison that was known for harboring only the most ruthless criminals, and that prison was the only place to keep them. That prison was a hell hole far from any outside human contact, a cold depressing atmosphere where it drove some of its inhabitants to insanity and escape would be futile. The name of this prison is Alcatraz, the home of the wicked where it was a curse to be a prisoner and if you made it out alive of this facility, your time spent there will haunt of you for the rest of your days.

The island received its name in 1775 when Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala charted the San Francisco Bay, and named this tiny island land La Isla de los Alcatraces, which translated to "Island of the Pelicans." About seventy-two years later in 1847, the U.S. Army took notice of the island rock and of its strategic value as a military base. Engineers began conducting geological surveys, and by 1853, U.S. Army Engineers had started building a military base on the island, along with the Pacific Coast's first operating lighthouse. In 1848, the discovery of gold along the American River in California brought miners from around the world to the West Coast in search of the precious gold. As word spread around the globe of never-ending wealth in California, the United States Government would begin security measures to protect the land from seizure by other countries. After several years of hard construction and many weapons expansions, Alcatraz was established as the United States strong point for military strength . The new military fortress featured long-range iron cannons and four massive 36,000-pound, 15-inch Rodman guns, which were capable of sinking emneny ships three miles away. The guns of Alcatraz could fire 6,949 pounds of iron shot in one sitting. Though the fortress would eventually fire only one 400-pound canon round at an unidentified ship, and miss its target, the island had lived up to its reputation as an icon of U.S. military power in the west. But within a few decades the island's role as a military fortress would start to fade away, and its defenses would become obsolete by the standards of more modern weapons.
Because of the islands natural isolation, surrounded by freezing waters and hazardous currents, Alcatraz would soon be considered by the U.S. Army as an ideal location for holding prisoners. In 1861 the island began receiving Civil War prisoners, and in 1898 the Spanish-American war would bring the prison population from just twenty-six to over four hundred and fifty. Then in 1906, after an San Francisco earthquake, hundreds of civilian prisoners were transferred to the island for safe confinement. By 1912 a large cellhouse had been constructed in the center of the island, and by the late 1920's, the three-story prison was nearly at full. Alcatraz was the Army's first long-term prison, and it was already beginning to build its reputation as a tough place for prisoners. by exposing inmates to harsh confinement conditions and brutal discipline. The prisoners were separated into three classes based on their conduct and on the crimes they had committed, and each class held certain levels of privilege. For example, prisoners in the third class were not allowed to have reading material from the library or visits and letters from relatives, and a strict rule of silence was enforced at all times. Prisoners who violated these rules faced strict disciplinary actions. In addition to losing their earned class rankings, violators were assigned punishments that included working on hard labor details, wearing a twelve-pound ball and ankle chain, and enduring solitary lock-downs with only bread and water diet.
Despite the strict rules and harsh standards for hardened criminals, Alcatraz primarily operated as a minimum-security. The types of work given to inmates varied depending on the prisoners, their classification, and how responsible they were. Many inmates worked as general billets who cooked, cleaned, and attended to household chores for island families. In many cases, some prisoners were entrusted to care for the children of staff members. Alcatraz was also home to several Chinese families, who were had jobs as servants, and made up the largest of the island’s civilian population. The lack of a strict focus on prison security led some inmates believe there is hope to make a break to freedom. But try as they may in their best efforts, most escapees never made it to the mainland, and usually turned back to be rescued from the freezing waters. Those who were not missed and failed to turn back eventually would tire drown.
Due to high operational costs, the Military decided to close the prison in 1934, and ownership shifted to the Department of Justice. The Great Depression became the primary reason of a severe crime wave during the late 20's and 30's, which brought about in a new era of organized crime. The gangster era was in full swing, and the nation witness to horrific violence, brought on by the of Prohibition and desperate need. The American people watched in fear as mobsters and public enemies brought heavy influence on Americas cities and their authorities. Law enforcement agencies were often ill-equipped to deal with the onslaught, and would frequently lose to the better-armed gangs in shoot-outs and public slayings. Alcatraz was the solution to the problem. It could serve the dual purpose of incarcerating public enemies while standing as a visible place of torment , a warning to this new and ruthless brand of criminal. Sanford Bates, the head of the Federal Prisons, and Attorney General Homer Cummings led the project, and they kept a hand in the finely detailed design concepts. One of the nation’s foremost security experts, Robert Burge, was commissioned to help design a prison that was escape-proof as well as removing, the original cellblock, built in 1909, would Alcatraz would go under extensive upgrades and renovations.
In April of 1934 work was begun to give the military prison a new face and a new identity. The soft squared bars were replaced with modernized tool-proof substitutes. Electricity was routed into each cell, and all of the utility tunnels were cemented to completely remove the possibility that a prisoner could enter or hide in them. Tool-proof iron window coverings would shield all areas that could be accessed by inmates. Special Gun Galleries would lay across the cellbock perimeters, allowing guards to carry weapons while protected behind iron rod barriers. These secure Galleries, which were elevated and out of reach of the prisoners, would be the control center for all keys, and would allow the guards the ability to oversee all inmate activities. Each prisoner would be assigned their own cell, and only the basic minimum life necessities would be allotted, such as food, water, clothing, and medical and dental care. The prisoners’ contact with the outside world was completely cutoff. Convicted spy Morton Sobell would later state that this policy was so strictly enforced that the inmates were never even allowed to explore the cellhouse. They would be marched from one location to another, always in a formation. The prison routine was rigid, day after day, year after year. As quickly as privileges could be earned for good behavior, it could be taken away for the smallest infraction of the rules. The inmates day began when they were woken at 6:30 a.m., and they were given twenty-five minutes to fix their cells and stand to be counted. At 6:55 a.m. individual rows of cells would be opened one by one, and the inmates would march in single file into the Mess Hall. They would be given only twenty minutes to eat, and then would be marched out to line up for their work assignments. The main corridor of the cellhouse was named "Broadway" by the inmates, and the cells along this passageway had the worst unbearable living standards in the prison. The cells on the bottom were colder because they stood against the cement, and they were also the least private, as inmates, guards, and other prison officials visited this corridor frequently. The newer inmates were generally assigned to the second row of B Block, and were placed there for the first three months of their imprisonment on The Rock.