Tim Maguire

1934 Postcard of Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz Island, located in the San Francisco Bay in California, was developed as
a military prison (1868), and a federal prison beginning in 1933.

Because the penitentiary was becoming more costly to operate than other prisons,
coupled with the salt water erosion of the buildings, Attorney General Robert F.
Kennedy ordered the facility closed. The U.S. Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois
opened as the replacement for Alcatraz.

Today, the island’s facilities are managed by the National Park Service as part of
the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is open to tours.

Robert F. Kennedy

Alcatraz Island, Calif.

From left: prisoners Frank Morris,Clearance Anglin and brother John
Anglin. Morris was the mastermind behind the escape attempt.

The June 11, 1962 Alcatraz escape was an attempt by convicted bank robbers
Clarence Anglin, John Anglin and Frank Morris to escape Alcatraz Island, one
of the country’s most famous prisons. They burrowed out of their cells with
spoons, climbed a ventilation shaft onto the roof and then climbed down
and left the island on a makeshift raft made of raincoats.Their escape was
not realized until the next morning. Despite an extensive search, the men
were never heard from again and their fates remain unknown to this day.

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The 1979 movie based on the true story.