Alcatraz Island

From ArticleWorld

Alcatraz Island is located in the middle of San Francisco bay in California. It was formerly used as a military stockade and later as a maximum Federal prison. To date the island is a historic site and is open to tourists. Visitors can reach the island by ferry ride from fisherman's wharf inside San Francisco and it is listed as a national historic landmark

It was first discovered by Juan De Ayala and its name comes from the Spanish word pelican. An English version of the word Alcatraz was used to name the albatross.

The now abandoned prison is the oldest operating lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States; it is also the starting point of the annual escape from Alcatraz triathlon.

History

Alcatraz was established in 1850, first as a military installation and then later as a military prison until 1933. The island became a Federal prison in 1934. During the 29 years it was in use the gel held such notable criminals as Al Capone. It also provided housing for the bureau of prison and staff and their families.

By this edition of the United States, the president was closed for good on March 21st, 1963. Alcatraz closed because it was too expensive to run an update was being polluted by their raw sewage of all the people living in the prison.

Escape attempts

During the 29 years of operation, Alcatraz never officially has any successful escapes. 34 prisoners were involved in a dozen attempts. Three escapees in particular popularized the motion picture escape from Alcatraz; their escape was among the most intricate ever devised. So only some evidence was found that they died in their attempt, there was no need concrete proof that they failed in their escape. In 2003, that the hosts of the television series Mythbusters, sought to prove whether the escapees could have survived. Using similar materials to those by the three convicts, they created an inflatable raft and made it plywood paddles. They were able to do the escape in less than 40 minutes. It was agreed that it was possible that the prisoners did succeed.