Located on a twenty-two acre island in San Francisco Bay, about a half mile off shore (National Geographic), Alcatraz was built out of an old military fort. It consisted of a cellhouse, the old fort, work buildings, a lighthouse, and a mess hall. Some considered Alcatraz escape proof. The entire structure was surrounded by a cyclone fence topped with barbed wire. The cellhouse was three stories of reinforced concrete. Elevated gun galleries were built at each end of the cellhouse. Inmates were monitored constantly by guards on a central walkway surrounded by bars. All doors on the island were electronically operated and were designed to slam and let the inmate know the guards were in total control. Coming back from work i

Normal inmates had to find a way to spend hours in their cells. Some wrote letters, read, painted, drew, and others planned escape, ways to get at enemies, and ways to get off the island. Inmates would memorize every move of the guards down to the second. They stole anything they could that would tear flesh, cut steel or chip stone. They would tie strings to these objects and hide them in toilets or down drainpipes. Some of these probably are still hidden today.

In 1946, six inmates took weapons from a guard. They intended to blast out. Led by Joseph Cretzer and Bernard Coy, the inmates controlled the cellhouse for three days. Thousands of spectators watched from the city as the Navy, Coast Guard, and Marines circled the island. The Marines decided to end it and climbed on the roof while throwing grenades down through vents and skylights. Cretzer pointed his gun at a group of guards in a cell and opened fire. Only one was killed. Two of the three ring leaders were later executed (Stuller 92).

The most fabled getaway involved Frank Morris and John and Clarence Anglin. In 1962, using stolen tools they chipped through vents in their cells and replaced them with cardboard replicas. With dummy heads in their bunks to fool night guards, they climbed into a utility corridor above the B block, into the ceiling and then cut through a vent. They made an inflatable raft out of stolen rain jackets The preparation took 6 months. On June 11 they exited through the roof, climbed down a drainpipe and got away. Officials found personal belongings in the bay but no bodies. If they made it to shore, they never pulled another crime (Stuller 90).

The only contact inmates had with the outside world was through heavily censored magazines, censored books, and monthly visits (Corrections 54). Visits only lasted a half hour and they had to talk over telephones through thick glass. The conversations were monitored and could be cut off at any time. Inmates could also write letters, but they were heavily censored and rarely mailed.

Well behaved inmates could spend their Saturday and Sunday afternoons w

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