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Alcatraz (1850's)
By the late 1850's, the U.S. Army had begun holding military prisoners at Alcatraz. Isolated from the mainland by the cold, strong waters of San Francisco Bay, the island was deemed an ideal location for a prison. It was assumed no Alcatraz inmate could attempt to escape by swimming and survive.
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Inmate #110: Roy “The Smiling Bandit” Gardner
One of America’s most famous prison escapees and one of the most ruthless criminals in history, Roy G. Gardner is considered Alcatraz’ most charming inmate, which earned him the nickname of “The Smiling Bandit.” Using his charisma and good luck, he robbed numerous mail trucks and trains, becoming a handful for the authorities. https://goo.gl/KsfhUo -
Inmate #325: Alvin “Creepy” Karpis
When your fellow gangsters, murderers, robbers, and rapists call you “Creepy,” it makes a clear statement about who you are. One of the three leaders of the infamous Ma Barker-Karpis Gang during the Great Depression in the 1930’s, Alvin Karpis got his nickname from his sinister smile. He was America’s last Public Enemy No. 1, personally taken down by J. Edgar Hoover. Alvin even mocked the director of the FBI for not being able to capture him. https://goo.gl/0bC7oL -
What it's like to be a prisoner
The Federal Bureau of Prisons viewed Alcatraz as “the prison system’s prison,” a place where the most disruptive inmates could be sent to live under sparse conditions with few privileges in order to learn how to follow rules. According to the BOP, Alcatraz typically held some 260 to 275 prisoners, which represented less than 1 percent of the entire federal inmate population.
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Inmate # 117: George “Machine Gun” Kelly
George Kelly Barnes, better known as Machine Gun Kelly, was one of the Prohibition Era’s most notorious gangsters. He got his nickname from his favorite weapon, a Thompson machine gun, and it seems it was his wife who created the image for him. Machine Gun Kelly became famous when he kidnapped Charles F. Urschel, an oil tycoon and businessman, collecting a $200,000 ransom. He immediately became FBI’s Public Enemy No. 1. https://goo.gl/OZkZoe -
Inmate #85: Al Capone
Perhaps the most resonant name on the American Mafia scene, the Chicago mob boss was one of the first convicts to step through Alcatraz’s gates when it opened in 1934. Out of the many crimes Al Capon was guilty of, it was only income tax evasion that landed him in prison. He was sentenced to 11 years, and arrived at Alcatraz in 1934. https://goo.gl/VhDH5c -
Inmate #268: Arthur R. “Doc” Barker
A gang member of the Ma Barker-Karpis Gang, Arthur “Doc” Barker was the son of Ma Barker, another Public Enemy No. 1, so it was only natural that crime run through his veins. Sentenced to life in prison for murder and kidnapping, he arrived at Alcatraz in 1936. https://goo.gl/WX1dts -
1st Failed Escape Attempt
1. April 27, 1936 - While working his job burning trash at the incinerator, Joe Bowers began climbing up and over the chain link fence at the island's edge. After refusing orders to climb back down, Bowers was shot by a correctional officer stationed in the West road guard tower, then fell about 50-100 feet to the shore below. He died from his injuries. https://goo.gl/Q23aig -
2nd escape attempt
Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe had, over a period of time, filed their way through the flat iron bars on a window. After climbing through the window, they made their way down to the water's edge and disappeared into San Francisco Bay. This attempt occurred during a bad storm and the Bay's currents were especially fast and strong - most people believe Roe and Cole were swept out to sea. Officially, they are listed missing and presumed dead. https://goo.gl/3oAuKj -
The doc escape
Arthur "Doc" Barker, Dale Stamphill, William Martin, Henry Young, and Rufus McCain escaped from the isolation unit in the cellhouse by sawing through the flat iron cell bars and bending tool-proof bars on a window. Correctional officers found the men at the shoreline on the west side of the island. Martin, Young, and McCain surrendered, while Barker and Stamphill were shot when they refused to surrender. Barker died from his injuries. https://goo.gl/DCRbbJ -
Inmate No. #594: Robert “The Birdman” Stroud
Alcatraz’ most feared inmate was Robert Stroud, better known to the public as the “Birdman of Alcatraz.” . President Woodrow Wilson commuted his sentence from death by hanging to life in solitary confinement, and Birdman Stroud walked into Alcatraz in 1942. https://goo.gl/mhQsfi -
Inmate #714: Clarence Victor “The Choctaw Kid” Carnes
he youngest inmate ever to walk through the gates of Alcatraz, Clarence Victor Carnes, better known as “The Choctaw Kid,” was only 18 when he arrived on the island prison. At just 16 years old, he was sentenced to life in prison for killing a garage attendant during a holdup. Shortly after arriving at Alcatraz in 1945, he began plotting an escape. https://goo.gl/vfW00w -
The Genius plan?
John Giles was able to take advantage of his job working at the loading dock, where he unloaded army laundry sent to the island to be cleaned - over time, he stole an entire army uniform. Dressed in the uniform, Giles calmly walked aboard an army launch to what he thought was freedom. He was discovered missing almost immediately As Giles set foot on Angel Island, he was met by correctional officers who returned him to Alcatraz. https://goo.gl/3QZWx9
https://goo.gl/PZKvwB (video) -
Inmate # 1428: James “Whitey” Bulger
An organized-crime personality, James Joseph “Whitey” Bulger Jr. was first arrested in 1943 for larceny. He soon moved on to more serious things, like assault, battery, forgery, and armed robbery. According to local folklore, Whitey Bulger was a modern-day Robin Hood, a social bandit who would go to any length to protect his neighborhood. In 1956, he was convicted for bank robbery and was sentenced to 25 years in prison https://goo.gl/1I9yCm -
Inmate #1518: Meyer Harris “Mickey” Cohen
Gangster and member of the Jewish Mafia, Meyer Harris “Mickey” Cohen was a professional boxer who ran with Chicago’s most ruthless mobsters, working for the Mafia’s gambling rackets. He was an enforcer for the Chicago Outfit and worked with Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel in setting up the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. Twice convicted for tax income evasion, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison and arrived at Alcatraz in 1961. https://goo.gl/L4yJGT -
The tools they used- Part 4
The drill- The anglin brothers made a very nifty drill out of a vaccum motor, ot was used to break holes in the walls of the cells.
The wrench- made out of wood and carved metal, used for wrenching things
Shivs and scrapers- made out of homade shivs and silerware to carve into walls and maybe even to kill a guard if needed. https://goo.gl/vwUvM4 -
Tools they used- Part 2
A spoon key- Using machine tools in the prison workshops, they copied a carving of a key into the prisons spoons
Things to cover up holes on the wall- things like posters or cinderblocks used to cover up the hole they were secretly digging at night.
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Tools they used- Part 1
Real human hair- the prisoners got the hair from the prison barber and was used to put on the dummy head used to escape
Periscope- While working on their escape plan from the roof of their cell block, the inmates took turns keeping watch for the guards in the evening using this homemade periscope. -
Tools they used- Part 3
Boat paddles- Made from wood from the workshops, used to paddle out of the shark infested waters
Boat made out of raincoiats- Historians believe this was impractical for a raft, but cou;d have worked -
The Great Escape- How they did it
The prison informant, though, did not have his ventilator grill completely removed and was left behind. The three others got into the corridor, gathered their gear, climbed up and out through the ventilator, and got on to the prison roof. Then, they shimmied down the bakery smoke stack at the rear of the cell house, climbed over the fence, and snuck to the northeast shore of the island and launched their raft. https://goo.gl/b98aZT -
The Great Escape- Morning check
the routine early morning bed check turned out to be anything but. Three convicts were not in their cells: John Anglin, his brother Clarence, and Frank Morris. In their beds were cleverly built dummy heads made of plaster, flesh-tone paint, and real human hair that apparently fooled the night guards. The prison went into lock down, and an intensive search began. https://goo.gl/RpcyFJ -
The great escape- Gathering clues
Alcatraz offices- We interviewed relatives of the men and compiled all their identification records and asked boat operators in the Bay to be on the lookout for debris. Later, some paddle-like pieces of wood and bits of rubber inner tube were found in the water. A homemade life-vest was also discovered washed up on Cronkhite Beach, but extensive searches did not turn up any other items in the area. https://goo.gl/JT2aGV -
did they survive???
Morris and the Anglin brother successfully escaped from the impenatratable prison... but did they survive the ocean? Although presumed dead, people still believe that they are alive and have proof. https://goo.gl/3oAuKj -
The Escapees
15 June 1962:
The escaped convicts are Frank L. Morris, 35, a Louisiana bank robber, whose cell adjoined West’s, and the two bank robbing Angling brothers of Ruskin, Fla., John, 32, and Clarence, 31.
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https://goo.gl/rN9mXQ (video) -
Old theory
This theory is that the prisoners are dead and there is no way that they could be alive. The waters are shark infested and they were eaten by sharks, starved/died of thirst or drowned. https://goo.gl/bGcwQc -
Last Escape Attempt (FAILED)
14. December 16, 1962 - John Paul Scott and Darl Parker bent the bars of a kitchen window in the cellhouse basement, climbed out, and made their way down to the water. Parker was discovered on a small outcropping of rock a short distance from the island. Scott attempted to swim towards San Francisco, but the currents began pulling him out to sea. -
Help to Brazil
They say a well known gangster, Mickey Cohen, helped get the men out of San Francisco bay and eventually to South America. https://goo.gl/J0SGvk -
Letters
Many letters were sent to their mother with stamps and approved hand writings https://goo.gl/J0SGvk -
The closing Part 1
the isolated island buildings were beginning to crumble due to exposure to the salty sea air. During nearly three decades of operation, Alcatraz housed a total of 1,576 men. https://goo.gl/4Z8FVF -
The closing Part 3
In late August of 1962, the rumors of Alcatraz closing were confirmed when transfer orders for prisoners started flowing in with the first official chain of six inmates was set for permanent departure to USP Leavenworth on September 10, 1962. https://goo.gl/4Z8FVF -
Closing of alcaraz Part 2
The federal penitentiary at Alcatraz was shut down in 1963 because its operating expenses were much higher than those of other federal facilities at the time. https://goo.gl/4Z8FVF -
The closing Part 5
In 1969, a group of Native Americans led by Mohawk activist Richard Oakes arrived on Alcatraz Island and claimed the land on behalf of “Indians of All Tribes." Oakes left Alcatraz following the death there of his stepdaughter in 1970, and the remaining occupiers, whose ranks had become increasingly contentious and divided, were removed by order of President Richard M. Nixon (1913-94) in 1971. https://goo.gl/4Z8FVF -
The closing Part 4
The island became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in 1972 and was opened to the public a year later. Today, some 1 million tourists visit Alcatraz each year. https://goo.gl/4Z8FVF
https://goo.gl/rrNRuF (video) -
The Movie
The Escape From Alcatraz starring Clint eastwood shows how they escaped Alcatraz and is mostly alcatraz but some Hollywood ifluences https://goo.gl/SmuWFz -
IMBD description of Escape from Alcatraz
Alcatraz is the most secure prison of its time. It is believed that no one can ever escape from it, until three daring men make a possible successful attempt at escaping from one of the most infamous prisons in the world. https://goo.gl/4Z8FVF
https://goo.gl/mlSaJ4 (video) -
New theory.... they are alive!!!
There is lots of proof stating that the escaped prisoner never died in the ocean from escaping. From christmas cards to science showing that they didn't die https://goo.gl/HoriKd -
DNA
DNA remains from another Anglin brother Alfred does not mach the bones found at the san francisco bay.
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https://goo.gl/afMXoN (video) -
The christmas card
A christmas card that was signed by the anglin brothers(handwriting matched up) was sent to their mother saying they are in brazil with a family https://goo.gl/r69sy0 -
Never Found
Investigators and experts concluded the men died during their journey across the water, but their bodies were never found and new evidence brought forth by relatives of the Anglin brothers refute the long-standing theory. https://goo.gl/0TCkuS
https://goo.gl/GkHfQV (video) -
Alcatraz now
Alcatraz does tours of the prison now that it is not functional. The tours are very popular and are very cool. https://goo.gl/gzqQmR
Video-https://goo.gl/oyIl1L
https://goo.gl/oyIl1L (Video)
