What is Alcatraz?
Alcatraz was built on an island in San Francisco. In 1850 Alcatraz was a military fort. The fort was used as a dump store for weapons. In 1907 Alcatraz was a military prison, for military people who were guilty of desertion and other crimes. In 1934 Alcatraz was a prison for the worst criminals of America. You deserve your place in Alcatraz if you are a danger for people or a threat. The prison was very expensive but it was also a heavily secured prison, with much security around the building. Security By closing a lever, all fourteen cells closed at the same time. In three seconds the 120 Kgs thick metal doors closed with an enormous BANG!! This was very intimidating for the prisoners. This was exactly the intention of the director of the prison. The security was necessary because only the most dangerous prisoners and gangsters were put away in this prison. On the work-place there was a metal-detector to check if the prisoners had stolen something. The only way to leave the prison was
*~ Are you kidding me? If you’ve never heard of Alcatraz, you must be living under a rock…er, no pun intended. Beginning in the mid-1930s and lasting until the mid-1960s, Alcatraz was home to the most hardened and notorious criminals – thieves, kidnappers and murderers, including such infamous names as Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly. The Rock was the ultimate in American maximum-security prisons, one of the last places anyone could hope to wind up. The island was first used by the U.S. government in 1847, when its strategic positioning for military use was noticed. Before becoming the site of the penitentiary, Alcatraz Island was home to a military fortress, as well as to the Pacific Coast’s first lighthouse, which remains standing on the island today. During the Civil War, prisoners began to be held on the island – due to the cold waters, strong currents and distance from shore (as well as rumors of shark-infested waters), escape attempts were unlikely, and the military us
