1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:11,320 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:15,560 Speaker 2: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:18,479 Speaker 2: show that takes you on a guided tour of history, 4 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:23,200 Speaker 2: one day at a time. I'm Gabelusier, and today we're 5 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:27,800 Speaker 2: taking a closer look at California's dreariest landmark, a barren 6 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:31,320 Speaker 2: rock in the San Francisco Bay that underwent an unlikely 7 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:36,159 Speaker 2: transformation from an uninviting prison to a must see destination 8 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:45,519 Speaker 2: for tourists. The day was October twenty sixth, nineteen seventy three. 9 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 2: The infamous island prison of Alcatraz was open to the public. 10 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 2: The austere facility had sat abandoned for the past ten 11 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 2: years following its closure as a federal penitentiary, only to 12 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 2: be given new life as one of the most popular 13 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:04,839 Speaker 2: tourist attractions in the Bay area. Roughly seven hundred people 14 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:08,039 Speaker 2: showed up for the sold out inaugural tour, and by 15 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:11,040 Speaker 2: the end of the year, more than fifty thousand had visited. 16 00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:15,840 Speaker 2: Most tourists came out of morbid curiosity, eager to learn, 17 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,760 Speaker 2: at least superficially, what life was like in one of 18 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 2: the world's most remote and imposing prisons. They didn't get 19 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:25,959 Speaker 2: the true experience, of course, but they also wouldn't have 20 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 2: wanted it, for as one member of the first tour 21 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:32,200 Speaker 2: group wisely pointed out, it's nice to check out on 22 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 2: the same day you check in. The story of Alcatraz 23 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 2: Island began in seventeen seventy five when Spanish explorer Juan 24 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:44,679 Speaker 2: Manuel de Ayala became the first to sail into what's 25 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 2: now known as San Francisco Bay. His expedition mapped the 26 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:52,240 Speaker 2: surrounding area and named one of the three islands found 27 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:57,360 Speaker 2: there Alcatrasees, the Spanish word for Pelicans. The rock bound 28 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:01,080 Speaker 2: volcanic island was claimed for Spain, but following the end 29 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 2: of the Mexican American War in eighteen forty eight, it 30 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:07,520 Speaker 2: became the property of the United States, along with Arrest 31 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:12,520 Speaker 2: of California. At that point, its name was anglicized to Alcatraz. 32 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 2: In the eighteen fifties and sixties, the island was the 33 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:19,919 Speaker 2: site of a military fortress tasked with keeping watch over 34 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 2: the bay and warding off foreign invaders with its arsenal 35 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 2: of more than one hundred cannons. By the time of 36 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 2: the Civil War, the fort had been transformed into a 37 00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:32,520 Speaker 2: military prison, a function the island would continue to serve 38 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:36,680 Speaker 2: for nearly a century. In the early nineteen hundreds, the U. S. 39 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:41,240 Speaker 2: Army deconstructed the original fortress, leaving only the basement foundation 40 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 2: in place. Military prisoners then spent the next several years 41 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:49,960 Speaker 2: constructing a new structure to house disciplinary barracks for the army, 42 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:54,320 Speaker 2: and that's the building that still stands today. The military 43 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,320 Speaker 2: made use of the new facility for about twenty years, 44 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 2: then in nineteen thirty three, it transferred ownership of the 45 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 2: entire island to the Department of Justice so that it 46 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 2: could be used as a federal prison for the country's 47 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 2: most dangerous felons. Attorney General Homer Cummings explained the department's rationale, 48 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:17,919 Speaker 2: calling Alcatraz the ideal location for the confinement of incorrigibles. 49 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:21,520 Speaker 2: It's positioned a mile from the nearest shore in the 50 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:24,960 Speaker 2: midst of currents, he said, and its record of never 51 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:28,680 Speaker 2: a single successful escape makes it a perfect federal prison. 52 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:34,160 Speaker 2: The first general population criminals were brought ashore on August eleventh, 53 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 2: nineteen thirty four, with one of the prison's most famous residents, 54 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 2: al Capone, arriving nine days later. He was soon joined 55 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:46,120 Speaker 2: there by fellow gangster George machine Gun Kelly and notorious 56 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 2: kidnappers Harvey Bailey and Albert Bates. Nicknamed Devil's Island and 57 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 2: the Rock because of its inhospitable geography, Alcatraz quickly developed 58 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 2: a reputation as a prison that was just as brutal 59 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:03,760 Speaker 2: and unrelay as the criminals it housed. The daily routine 60 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:07,760 Speaker 2: was incredibly strict, and prisoners were granted few privileges beyond 61 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 2: the basics of food, shelter, clothing, and medical care. In 62 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:15,320 Speaker 2: most cases, they were housed in cramped private cells and 63 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:18,000 Speaker 2: weren't even allowed to speak to each other. And while 64 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 2: inmates were afforded the luxury of hot showers, that was 65 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 2: only to prevent them from acclimating to cold water, lessening 66 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 2: their chance of success should they attempt to escape by 67 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 2: swimming across the frigid bay. Life in Alcatraz was certainly 68 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:36,000 Speaker 2: no picnic, neither for the prisoners nor for the guards 69 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:38,599 Speaker 2: and other prison staff who lived on the island with 70 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 2: their families in separate housing. However, the prison's conditions weren't 71 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:46,640 Speaker 2: as harsh as Hollywood portrayed them in movies and television. 72 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:51,359 Speaker 2: Although isolating, many prisoners appreciated having their own cells, and 73 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:55,039 Speaker 2: some criminals even requested to be transferred to Alcatraz because 74 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,680 Speaker 2: there was less violence among the inmates. The Bureau of 75 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:02,800 Speaker 2: Prisons decided the close Alcatraz in nineteen sixty three, and 76 00:05:02,839 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 2: while many people assumed the closure was due to human 77 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:08,320 Speaker 2: rights issues, it was actually just a matter of money. 78 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:11,479 Speaker 2: Fresh water and other supplies had to be brought in 79 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:14,880 Speaker 2: by boat on a weekly basis, and the island's structures 80 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:18,120 Speaker 2: were in constant need of repair due to continuous erosion 81 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:21,400 Speaker 2: from salt water. By the time the prison was shuttered, 82 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:25,120 Speaker 2: its daily operating cost had risen to about fifteen dollars 83 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 2: per inmate, three times that of other federal prisons at 84 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:32,120 Speaker 2: the time. It was no longer practical to hold prisoners 85 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:34,480 Speaker 2: on the rock, and the last twenty seven of them 86 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:38,000 Speaker 2: left the island on March twenty second, nineteen sixty three. 87 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:42,200 Speaker 2: Frank C. Weatherman was the final convict to depart that day, 88 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:45,279 Speaker 2: and his parting words showed there was no love lost 89 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:49,360 Speaker 2: between him and his former home. This place is hell, 90 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:55,120 Speaker 2: he said. Alcatraz never was no good for anybody. The 91 00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:58,039 Speaker 2: island sat empty for the next ten years, with the 92 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:01,080 Speaker 2: exception of a nineteen month period when it was occupied 93 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:05,040 Speaker 2: by Native American protesters. There were all kinds of proposals 94 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 2: for what to do with Alcatraz, including turning it into 95 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:11,160 Speaker 2: a housing development or a casino, but in the end, 96 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:14,040 Speaker 2: the twenty two and a half acre island was handed 97 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:17,480 Speaker 2: over to the National Park Service. It was then decided 98 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:19,719 Speaker 2: that the rock should be opened to the public for 99 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 2: a period of five years while plans for the island's 100 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:26,799 Speaker 2: future were developed. During that time, a private boat company 101 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:29,880 Speaker 2: would take groups of fifty visitors to the island every 102 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:33,040 Speaker 2: half hour from nine am to three pm, seven days 103 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:36,040 Speaker 2: a week, at a round trip cost of two dollars. 104 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:39,280 Speaker 2: Once on the island, visitors would be greeted by park 105 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 2: rangers and given a guided tour of the former prison 106 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:46,279 Speaker 2: free of charge. The first ferry to Devil's Island departed 107 00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 2: from Peer forty three in San Francisco on October twenty sixth, 108 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:54,400 Speaker 2: nineteen seventy three. Dozens of men, women and children had 109 00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:57,120 Speaker 2: lined up over an hour early to take the first tour, 110 00:06:57,640 --> 00:06:59,800 Speaker 2: and all of them said they came for about the 111 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:02,359 Speaker 2: same reason to get an up close look at the 112 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:06,479 Speaker 2: iconic prison relive its history. And give themselves a chill 113 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:10,200 Speaker 2: by standing in the same lonely place where hardened criminals 114 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 2: once stood. During the fifteen minute boat ride to the island, 115 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 2: the tourists buzzed excitedly, snapping pictures and modeling their freshly 116 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:22,480 Speaker 2: bought souvenirs, including a one dollar black and white striped 117 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:28,280 Speaker 2: hat that said vacationing at Alcatraz. However, the mood changed 118 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:31,880 Speaker 2: sharply once they stepped foot on the deserted island. The 119 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:35,160 Speaker 2: forlorn nature of the prison took hold instantly, and the 120 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:38,560 Speaker 2: visitors fell silent as they toured the crumbling cell house 121 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:42,640 Speaker 2: where al Capone and Robert Stroud, the bird Man of Alcatraz, 122 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:47,160 Speaker 2: spent so many miserable years. They walked the narrow corridors 123 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:51,000 Speaker 2: flanked by tiny cells, and surveyed the pitch black isolation 124 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:55,600 Speaker 2: holes where unruly inmates had been sequestered. Surrounded by these 125 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:59,000 Speaker 2: relics of suffering, their trip to the island no longer 126 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 2: felt like a vacation. It's a forbidding place, said one 127 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:07,680 Speaker 2: longtime resident of San Francisco. I've seen Alcatraz every day 128 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 2: of my life, and every single day I wished I 129 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:13,880 Speaker 2: could see it from inside just once, but now I'm 130 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:18,280 Speaker 2: here and it's the most oppressive, claustrophobic place I've ever been. 131 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:23,200 Speaker 2: Tens of thousands of visitors would echo that discomfort by 132 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 2: the end of the first year of tours, but their 133 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 2: reports didn't dampen the public's enthusiasm one bit. In fact, 134 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:33,040 Speaker 2: the response was so strong that the park Service decided 135 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:37,160 Speaker 2: to continue hosting tours indefinitely, well beyond the five years 136 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:41,679 Speaker 2: initially planned. Even now, half a century later, tours of 137 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:44,720 Speaker 2: Alcatraz remain a hot ticket, with more than one and 138 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:49,080 Speaker 2: a half million people visiting each year. The island is 139 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:52,800 Speaker 2: now part of a thriving industry of prison tourism, a 140 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:56,840 Speaker 2: business that's prompted serious questions about the line between historical 141 00:08:56,880 --> 00:09:01,440 Speaker 2: interest and exploitation. And while Alcatraz now hosts an exhibit 142 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:05,360 Speaker 2: that highlights the troubling issue of mass incarceration in America, 143 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:08,240 Speaker 2: many still wonder if it's appropriate to turn a sight 144 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:12,320 Speaker 2: of human suffering into a spectacle for tourists at a 145 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:16,400 Speaker 2: time in which nearly twelve million people are incarcerated worldwide. 146 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:20,600 Speaker 2: The scariest thing about Alcatraz might just be its enduring 147 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:27,560 Speaker 2: public appeal. I'm Gabe Lucier and hopefully you now know 148 00:09:27,679 --> 00:09:31,040 Speaker 2: a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 149 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:34,720 Speaker 2: You can learn even more about history by following us 150 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:40,200 Speaker 2: on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and 151 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:42,720 Speaker 2: if you have any feedback you'd like to share, please 152 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:46,559 Speaker 2: pass it along by writing to this Day at iHeartMedia 153 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:50,360 Speaker 2: dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, 154 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 2: and thanks to you for listening. I'll see you back 155 00:09:52,960 --> 00:09:57,240 Speaker 2: here again tomorrow for another harrowing day in history. Class 156 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:00,959 Speaker 2: Atom to a more