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Informative Essay On Alcatraz

Decent Essays

If I said: It’s the site of the first lighthouse on the West Coast and was once a fortress, would you know what famous California landmark I was referring to?

Now, what if I included the following details: It has been the subject of numerous books, movies, and much speculation. Al Capone was one of its first “guests.” Burt Lancaster starred in a movie that was set, in part, here.

Naturally, I’m talking about Alcatraz Island or The Rock as it’s also known. Over a million visitors go to Alcatraz annually, but few arrive knowing the island’s complete history. I was one of the people surprised to learn that Alcatraz was more than a former federal penitentiary.

Alcatraz was initially a military prison. During the Civil War, Confederate sympathizers and persons accused of treason were held here. In the late 1890s, nineteen Hopi men were incarcerated for resisting laws intended to wipe out their culture. …show more content…

Alcatraz was considered the “prison system’s prison,” a secure facility where dangerous felons could be housed. The Rock’s notorious prisoners included Al Capone and Robert Stroud (whom Burt Lancaster played in the Birdman of Alcatraz).

The Rock has the distinction, albeit contested, of being the only prison that no one has ever successfully escaped from. In 1963, three inmates escaped from Alcatraz. The men were never seen again and prison officials claimed that the men died in the cold waters of the San Francisco Bay. The families of the prisoners, however, claimed that they survived.

A visit to Alcatraz will demonstrate the difficulty of escape and the complexities of the plot to do so. You’ll be able to view the paper mache heads, constructed from toilet paper and cement mix, the escapees put in their beds to fool the guards into believing that they were in their

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