During the 1920s American life was much different from today. A new law was banning alcohol. This law was known as the prohibition act. When this law was passed, a huge crime wave started, and super criminals were too tough for regular prisons. A super prison was needed, and a man named Homer C. Cunnings had just the right idea. The super prison Alcatraz was one of the toughest prisons ever built; this is the story of Alcatraz from beginning to end.
Homer C. Cunnings had one large prison to build in one small chunk of time. luckily, the island that he was building on, already had a prison on it. So Homer reinforced it with steel and cement. Then he beefed up the security. For every four prisoners there was one guard. Tear gas could drop from
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Escape attempts were rising. There was a deadly riot where guards were killed. The army was called in to drop grenades to stop the armed prisoners. After four days of exploding grenades and exchanging fire, the battle ended. However, the people of San Francisco (the home of Alcatraz were questioning its ability to hold criminals. They felt that they were no longer safe after the riot.
After a deadly riot in which guards were killed, people were afraid that Alcatraz prison was no longer safe. They were afraid that prisoners would escape into the city of San Francisco. Also, the salty air and cold winds of San Francisco bay had taken their toll on the prison’s walls. “the rock was literally falling apart,”(Henderson 281). The salty wind had eroded the walls to a point of no return. Alcatraz was just too expensive to fix or run anymore. Fortunately, Prohibition had ended and it was legal to sell alcohol. That meant no more super gangsters; so in 1963 Alcatraz, the super prison opened its doors, prisoners were sent to jails everywhere. Now, its a national park.
Alcatraz was an amazing prison, it held the most dangerous people in America. Then it began to fall apart. In 1963 it closed its doors for good. Now, you can feel what it’s like to be in a super prison.That is the story of Alcatraz from beginning to