Alcatraz: A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years

by Michael Esslinger

  J. Edgar Hoover had been appointed as Assistant Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1921, and in 1924 he would take over as the Director. This was a position he would hold until his death in 1972. It has been written that Hoover exercised immense power and was a persuasive politician. Together with Attorney General Homer Cummings, Hoover waged a public war against the American gangster and petitioned for establishment of a “super prison.” Future inmates at Alcatraz would later call their home “Hoover’s Heaven.” A sentence to Alcatraz would come to be seen as the maximum penalty for crime short of execution, and it was reserved for the most violent, predatory, and relentless criminals of the era.

  A program cover from one of the many “Alcatraz Fights” events. Originally held in the prison Mess Hall, these fights became so popular that they would eventually develop into small stadium events held at Fort Mason.

  A page from the “Alcatraz Fights” event program. Note the inmates’ names and weight classes, and the various advertisers.

  The first known aerial photograph of Alcatraz, taken by the U.S. Army in 1920.

  The Model Industries building was completed in the early 1930’s. It was an all-concrete, three-story factory building constructed entirely by inmate labor at a cost of only $15,000. Also shown is a modern-day view of how the building appears today.

  A press photo from 1933, showing an officer posing next to an abandoned cannon on the parade ground wall. The Military had already decided to close the prison due to the high cost of operation and ownership shifted to the Department of Justice.

  J. Edgar Hoover, then the Assistant Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, waged a public war against the American gangster. Hoover is seen here (center) in a public campaign photograph publicizing the FBI’s mission against crime.

  Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary

  You are entitled to food, clothing, shelter and medical attention.

  Anything else that you get is a privilege.

  - Alcatraz Inmate Regulations, Rule # 5

  Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary

  Alcatraz would soon come to play a major role in the federal government’s overdue response to organized crime. If gangsters such as Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly were the symbol of the nation’s lawlessness, then Alcatraz would be the national symbol for punishing the lawless. In this respect, gangsters and Alcatraz were perfect foils in a common tragedy – two iconic extremes drawn together on an unavoidable collision course. Thanks to the celebrity status of the American gangster, the stage was set for the birth of a unique detention concept.

  Aside from the military prison facilities, the federal government did not establish its own penitentiaries until 1891, so it was forced to incarcerate federally convicted inmates in state and local jails. In the late 1800’s, the number of federal prisoners housed in these institutions was quite significant. As an example, in January of 1877, twenty-nine of the fifty-two inmates confined at Greystone, the Alameda County Jail located in Pleasanton, California, were federal convicts. But in 1887 the situation changed, as the United States Congress made it illegal for states to hire or contract out the labor of federal prisoners housed in their institutions. Up to this point, the federal inmates had cost the states little or nothing, since the prisons benefited financially from inmate labor. To offset operating costs after the new laws came into force, state facilities began charging daily fees for maintaining the incarceration of each inmate. In the early 1900’s, these charges ran from thirty to fifty cents a day, per inmate.

  In 1891, Congress had authorized construction of three federal prisons. The first of these would be Fort Leavenworth, in Kansas. Leavenworth had originally been a military fortress and it was taken over by the Department of Justice in 1895. A second federal prison opened in Atlanta in 1902, and the third would be a converted territorial jail on McNeil Island in Washington’s Puget Sound. On May 27, 1930, Congress authorized the establishment of a Federal Bureau of Prisons within the Department of Justice:

  It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Congress that the said institutions be so planned and limited in size as to facilitate the development of an integrated Federal Penal and Correctional System which will assure the proper classification and segregation of federal prisoners according to their character, the nature of the crime they have committed, their mental condition and such other factors as should be taken into consideration in providing an individualized system of discipline, care, and treatment of the persons committed to such institutions.

  On October 12 1933, the Justice Department announced plans to take over Alcatraz as a federal prison. Alcatraz was officially named as a federal penitentiary on January 1, 1934, during a time of severe economic depression. As a federal “super-prison,” Alcatraz would serve the dual purpose of incarcerating the nation’s most notorious criminals in a harsh, disciplined environment, and acting as a visible warning to the new brand of criminal, that the federal government meant business. It was designed as a maximum security / minimum privilege institution. The Bureau established a strict policy of controlling every piece of information regarding prisoners that was released to the press. Part of the punishment for famous inmates would be never allowing them to see their names in print again. Alcatraz would serve to completely isolate the inmates from the public, and would maintain firm control of every aspect of their daily lives.

  Break the laws of society and you go to prison, break the prison-rules and you go to Alcatraz.

  The citizens of San Francisco bitterly resented the Bureau’s decision to concentrate the nation’s worst criminals in the middle of the scenic San Francisco Bay. Several public campaigns were led to block this transition, but all were unsuccessful. The Department of Justice called upon patriotic Americans to support the nation’s war against crime through the establishment of Alcatraz. The Department also assured the residents that the prison would be designed as an escape-proof fortress, and that this would completely eliminate any threat that might be posed by escaped prisoners. The project was led by Sanford Bates, Director of the Federal Prisons, James V. Bennett, Assistant Director, and Attorney General Homer Cummings, assisted by soon-to-be Warden of Alcatraz James A. Johnston, and each of these men had a hand in the design concept.

  James A. Johnston, the first appointed warden of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary.

  Johnston would later write in his 1949 memoir entitled Alcatraz and the Men Who Live There:

  I assumed office on January 2, 1934. Hour after hour, day after day, I walked back and forth, up and down and around the island, from the dock to the administration building, from the office to the powerhouse, powerhouse to the shops, shops to the barracks, into the basements, up on the roofs, across the yards, through the tunnels: I sent more suggestions to Washington...

  One of the nation’s foremost security experts, Robert Burge, was commissioned to design a prison that was escape-proof as well as be outwardly forbidding. Burge’s basic concept would be to fully restrict the movements of all inmates. No longer would prisoners have the right of entry to any part of the island. They would be restricted primarily to the main cellhouse building and passage to the Industries would be equally controlled. The main entrance was securely designed so that anyone entering would have to pass through several gates, with access controlled by an officer stationed in the Armory. The Armory would be a control center that oversaw all movements of people leaving or entering the cellblock. The duty officer could view the sallyport area through a two-inch-thick bulletproof rectangular glass portal, and the gates were controlled electronically. The sallyport also featured electronically manipulated sliding steel plates on the gate lock mechanisms which shielded the key slots. The Armory officer was the only person who had access to the slide panel. Once the shield was opened, the officer would need a key to open the first gate manually. There were then two more gates to pass through before entering the cellhouse. This would become the hallmark of Alcatraz: security safeguards set into layers upon lay
ers of redundancies.

  A view of correctional officers standing inside the prison’s main sallyport entrance. In the background is the main door to the prison, and of special note is the gate lock mechanism (right). The sallyport featured sliding steel plates on the gate locks, which shielded the key slots. The Armory Officer was the only person who had access to the slide panel. Once the shield was opened, the officer would use a key to unlock the gate manually.

  A view showing the main door open to allow access to the cellhouse.

  One of several documents authorizing the transfer of military property to the Bureau of Federal Prisons.

  Under the transfer agreement from the War Department to the Justice Department, Alcatraz would continue to provide laundry services to the U.S. Army, as well as several other support services. The Army transferred title of nearly all of the industry equipment, and established a long-term agreement to provide fresh water delivery, which would continue in force throughout the history of the island. The Army would finally evacuate from the island on June 19, 1934, leaving behind thirty two inmates to assist in the transition.

  Officers could control each cell remotely using pull levers located at the end of each cellblock. The officer could open an individual cell or a group of cells.

  In April of 1934, work began to give the prison a new face and sound security features. The Stewart Iron Works Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, was contracted by the Bureau of Prisons to install elaborate precautions that would ostensibly render Alcatraz escape-proof. The guards would have the ability to control each cell remotely, in full view of the gallery officer. By utilizing clutch style linkages and pull levers, the guard would be able to open individual cells, or select groups of cells. The soft squared bars were replaced with modernized tool-proof models. Electricity was routed into each cell and all utility tunnels were cemented to eliminate the inmates’ ability to enter or hide in them. Tool-proof iron window coverings would shield all areas that could be accessed by inmates. Special elevated gun galleries would traverse the cellblock perimeters, allowing guards to carry weapons while secured behind out-of-reach iron rod barriers. These galleries would allow the armed guards to oversee all inmate activities, and thus to safeguard the vulnerable officers who walked the cellhouse floors unarmed.

  Gun galleries were positioned at each end of the main cellblock, allowing guards to carry weapons while secured behind iron rod barriers that were beyond the prisoners’ reach. These galleries allowed the armed guards to oversee all inmate activities, and to cover the officers who walked the cellhouse floors unarmed.

  Metal detectors were positioned at strategic entry and exit points around the prison. Inmates would later affectionately refer to these devices as “stool pigeons” or “snitch boxes,” as they were effective in detecting hidden metal contraband. Other detection devices were also utilized throughout the prison’s history to discover metallic contraband items.

  Special tear-gas canisters were installed in the ceiling of the Dining Hall, which could be remotely activated from both the gun gallery and the outside observation points. Guard towers were strategically positioned around the island’s perimeter. A new technology allowed for the use of electromagnetic metal detectors, which were positioned outside the Dining Hall and on prison industry access paths. The prisoners would later affectionately refer to these devices as “mechanical stool pigeons.”

  The New Cellhouse

  Broadway, the main prison corridor (between B and C Blocks). This contemporary photo was taken from the Mess Hall gate, looking toward the East Gun Gallery and the Visitors’ Station. The cells along the flats of Broadway were the least favored by the inmate population. These cells were subject to the greatest amount of traffic and the least privacy. They received no direct sunlight, and were considerably colder than cells in other sections, since the heat radiators were located along the cellhouse interior perimeter.

  This is a period view of Broadway around 1940, looking toward the West End Gun Gallery and the Mess Hall. Note the officer visible in the Gallery. New inmates were assigned to the second tier of B Block, and were quarantined in their cells for a ninety-day period. During this time they were not provided with work assignments, and were not allowed to see movies in the upstairs auditorium. They were only released from their cells for meals, recreation, religious services, and showers. Alcatraz was racially segregated, and African-American inmates were assigned to this area of the prison.

  A view of cells from the second tier of B Block, taken in December of 1954.

  After the 1934 renovations were complete, the new steel reinforced concrete cellhouse would contain four cellblocks, each housing 168 cells, with no one cell adjoined to any perimeter wall. If an inmate were able to tunnel his way through the cell wall, he would still need to find a way to escape from the cellhouse itself. There were 336 cells in B and C Blocks and each block spanned 150 feet in length. Each tier contained twenty-eight cells that were nine feet long and five feet wide, with a ceiling height of just over seven feet. There had originally been 348 cells, but twelve were removed when stairways were installed at the end of each cellblock. Two cells at the end of C Block were used as restrooms for the guard staff. The primary inmate population would only be assigned to B, C and D Blocks, since the total number of inmates would generally not exceed three hundred. Inmates would typically spend anywhere from twelve to twenty-three hours a day confined in their cells. Each cell contained a cot with a sleeping mattress approximately five inches thick, blankets, a small worktable, a toilet, a sink that supplied cold fresh drinking water, and a shelf that could be used for the inmate’s personal effects.

  In the middle of each block was a utility corridor containing plumbing and ventilation ducts for each cell. The cross-aisle at the front of the prison was named by inmates “Peekin’ Place.” This was the location of the visiting area, which consisted of four small bulletproof windows with small partitions. Inmates would sit here to talk with relatives and authorized guests during their visiting period. Directly across on the opposite end of the cellhouse was Times Square, so named because of a large wall-mounted clock that hung at the base of the West Gun Gallery.

  A series of views showing the cellhouse area known to inmates as “Times Square.” The second photograph was taken on August 20, 1934

  The cells in A Block were generally used in special solitary confinement conditions for short-term lock-up periods or whenever an inmate needed to be fully isolated from his fellow prisoners. Following the construction of D Block in 1941, A Block was used only in special circumstances. Several of the cells served as storage space for things such as cleaning supplies, and others were set up as small offices with ribbon typewriters and law references for inmates who were preparing their legal cases.

  Inmates later named the main corridor running between B and C Blocks Broadway. The cells along this passageway (and especially the cells along the flats) were considered the least desirable of all. Those on the bottom tier were inherently colder because of the long slick run of cement, and they were also the least private, since guards, inmates, and other personnel frequented and this corridor and a main passageway between the east and west sections of the prison. The newer “fish” were assigned to the second tier of B Block during their quarantine status. The quarantine protocol required inmates to remain in their cells for twenty three hours per day and prohibited any work assignments for the first three months of their imprisonment. The outer aisle between C and D Blocks were named Seedy Street, and Michigan Avenue between the B and A Blocks. The section of C Block directly facing the library was known as Park Ave.

  The area known to inmates as “Seedy Street.”

  A view from the D Block entrance, looking down “Seedy Street” towards “Park Ave.”

  Park Avenue. This was considered by inmates as the best cell location, because of its warmth and sunlight.

  Inmates considered this group of cells to be the best living area in the entire prison. The cells were co
nsiderably warmer, as they received some direct sunlight and when no one was at work in the library, they had limited privacy. The cellhouse plumbing system piped in saltwater from the San Francisco Bay for the flushing of cell toilets. It was said to have permeated the cells with a foul smell that the inmates hated, and this would be the origin of Warden Johnston’s nickname, “Saltwater Johnston.”

  There were several tests performed on the new “tool-proof” bar structures. The new round-style bars were forged from a layered composite material, and they replaced the older flat-style bars. In tests, prison personnel utilized several hacksaw types that could be found within the prison industries. Their studies showed that sawing through the soft steel exterior of the cell bars was seemingly easy, but once the blade struck the hardened core section made from carbon steel, it could progress no further, and would quickly dull. There were other tests utilizing abrasives and piano wire and these had limited success in making significant cuts into the bar, but all failed to saw completely through. The Stewart Iron Works Company completed the remodeling of the cellhouse structure and locking mechanisms in late July of 1934, and also facilitated the training all of the prison personnel.