Alcatraz 

Alcatraz or Alcatraz Island is a small island in the middle of San Francisco Bay in California, USA. The island initially served as a lighthouse, a military fortification, so it became a military prison. Later, the island became a federal prison, which was until 1963, when the prison became a tourist attraction.

Today, Alcatraz is a historical and tourist attraction overseen by the Golden Gate National Park. The island is open for visits. Visitors can reach the island by ferry departing from Dock 33 in San Francisco. Every year, the prison is visited by millions of tourists from all over the world.

10 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ALCATRAZ

Alcatraz is the most famous prison in the world. It has existed for about 30 years, and in its cells lay the most notorious American criminals of all time. The area of ​​the island on which the prison was located is 90,000 square meters, the prison was abolished in 1963, and since then, it has been an unavoidable tourist destination.

One of the first prisoners was Al Capone. He was arrested in 1931 for tax evasion. He has forbidden any contact with people from the outside world in prison. He played banjo in a prison band. He had syphilis and was sent to the hospital for home treatment. He died in 1947. Another name for Al Capone in prison was Prisoner No. 85.

There is no evidence that anyone managed to escape from Alcatraz. There were 36 attempts, of which 23 were initially thwarted, 6 people were killed and two were drowned. The first escape, ie. an attempt to escape occurred on April 27, 1936. After one of the escape attempts, the famous film Escape from Alcatraz was made, with Clint Eastwood.

The name Alcatraz itself came from the name of seabirds, the inhabitants of the island. Spanish researcher Juan Manuel de Ayala found it and called it that.

After Alcatraz was closed, only five years later, a group of 100 Indians, who occupied the island, wanted to buy it for $ 24 and founded a college.

Since 1980, a sports event has been held in San Francisco, which brings together competitors from all over the world. The triathlon, called Escape from Alcatraz, consists of three disciplines (swimming, cycling, and running).

Alcatraz never filled all the places destined for prisoners, the average number of prisoners was 260.

Alcatraz's first warden, James Johnson, was aware that there were riots in the prison due to poor nutrition. He gave the prisoners to eat as many portions as they wanted. Also, the prisoners had a library at their disposal and could watch movies.

The managers of Alcatraz thought that swimming in cold water, carried by strong currents, was simply not feasible, but for years one of the prisoners managed to swim across the bay, but the police caught him exhausted on the shore.

Alcatraz is considered to be haunted. There was an Indian cemetery. After being released from prison, many inmates went insane and claimed to have seen strange things in prison, such as red eyes. The entire D-block was considered paranormal, and as many as 42 were considered haunted cells.