When Lieutenant Juan Manuel de Ayala explored the island in 1775, only a small amount of vegetation and seabirds were living there. He named the area Isla de los Alcatraces, which means "Isle of the Pelicans." It was sold in 1849 to the United States government and was the first site of a lighthouse on the coast of California. After the lighthouse was built, other buildings went up, and in 1868, the island was made into a residence for military offenders (World Book Encyclopedia 333).

In 1930, the Federal Bureau of Prisons was established and Sanford Bates was appointed as director. The bureau established an assortment of prisons by buying or building them. These prisons rang

As a federal penitentiary, Alcatraz held a total of 1,033 prisoners. Thirty-four men were involved in fourteen separate attempts to escape. Of these inmates, twenty-three were caught and punished, six were shot and killed, and five were missing and presumed to have drowned (Fillion 1). Because of the dangerous prisoners, many officers had to do tower watch. It was long and strenuous work. An officer would stand for an eight-hour shift for three to six months at a time. The Mail Hill Tower was connected to the prison building and to the Model Roof Tower by a very long catwalk. Both towers were occupied when prisoners were outside of their cells. When the guards wanted to eat, they would have to walk the catwalk to the dining room and also watch over the prisoners as they were eating (Babyak 25).

In 1933, James A. Johnston became warden at Alcatraz. He was given the chance to oversee the remodeling of the facility during the shift from military to federal prison. He installed new tool-proof cell fronts and added new towers and barbed wire around the entire prison and beach. He also installed new gun centers inside the cell house, tear gas canisters in the dining room, and metal detectors at the dock and other places where prisoners would pass through on a daily basis. He decided that one guard would serve for every three prisoners. No newspapers or radios were allowed. Family visits would be short and only one visit was allowed each month. Finally, only minimal talking was allowed between the prisoners (Babyak 10).

Many people came to visit Alcatraz while it was an operational prison and also for years after it closed - this could be why it is so damaged. The warden's house, officer's clubhouse, and the lighthouse were destroyed by fire. The government then tore down the other buildings and made it into a national park in 1972. The memories of Alcatraz, however, will always live on (Babyak 122)

With the second "official" shipment of prisoners, came George "Machine Gun" Kelly. He was sent to Leavenwo

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Approximate Word count = 1385
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)