The Rock In the Bay
1934-1963 AD
1934 1934
122.26W37.50N
MISC

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
	We may never know for sure if anybody has ever escaped from the 12-acre island penitentiary of Alcatraz.  While most of those who attempted to do so were shot, or drowned in the San Francisco Bay, Frank Lee Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin successfully made their way to the edge of the water on June 11, 1962, then disappeared.  Maybe they drowned and were swept out to sea -- or maybe not.
	The barren island came to be called "The Rock," though the word "alcatraces" is Spanish for "cormorant."  The birds on the island reminded early Spanish explorers of the cormorants in Spain.
	The island was used as a fort and prison during the US Civil War, then as a military prison for those serving long sentences.
	On July 1, 1934 it became a US penitentiary, and housed only the most violent criminals, such as the notorious Al Capone and "Machine Gun" Kelly.
	Alcatraz Penitentiary was closed in 1963 when it became too expensive to maintain.