In the 1850s, Alcatraz began operating to hold military prisoners during the Civil War. Boats came far and few in between, so much so that the families of guards lived on the Alcatraz island complete with wives and their children totaling three hundred civilians on the island, excluding inmates.
Alcatraz held over fifteen hundred prisoners. In the hundred years that the prison was operating, only four men successfully escaped, however one inmate was apprehended after he collapsed from exhaustion when he reached land under the Golden Gate Bridge. The other three inmates were never found again.
Alcatraz closed its doors on March 21st, 1963 as the institution was hemorrhaging money and was too expensive to keep running. However, many speculated it was caused by the unexplained and unsolved disappearance of the escaped inmates. To this day, Alcatraz welcomes tourists and locals visiting San Francisco and many guards and ex-inmates will participate in the day tours and promote their book signings.
Bill Baker Tried To Escape Three Times And Learned How To Counterfeit Checks
In 1957, Bill Baker boarded a small wooden boat, his hands, and feet shackled behind his back where he was transported to the infamous Alcatraz prison after numerous escape attempts at other prisons. At the time, the frigid waters that surrounded Alcatraz was shark-infested and becoming famous in various Hollywood productions.
Baker was sentenced to Alcatraz for stealing and was confined to a windowless cell where he was only allowed recreational activities on weekends that included playing cards that were known for flying away in the strong winds that surrounded this imprisoned island. However, Baker did take up a hobby - learning and perfecting how to counterfeit payroll checks.
Baker was finally released in 2012 at the age of 78. He went on to write a memoir titled “Alcatraz 1259,” about his journey at Alcatraz where he continues to entertain and educate audiences about his successful path to redemption. Today, Bill Baker can be seen signing copies of his books at the Alcatraz book shop and is said to sell roughly 300 books each day.
Related: 16 Pics That Show What Life Is Like In These Prisons (From Around The World)
Ex-Bank Robber, Robert Schibline, Raved About The Food
Notorious bank robber Robert Schibline was incarcerated in 1958 at the age of 24. He was on leave from the Navy when police caught him using an aircraft carrier that he was stationed on as a getaway vehicle. In fact, Schibline mentioned that he was a little fearful when he arrived, but ultimately he was excited about the unknown.
Schibline was incarcerated at the same time as the three men who successfully escaped from Alcatraz and was even a helping hand with their escape plan. When asked what his experiences at Alcatraz were like, Schibline revealed he was often put into solitary confinement that inmates called “the hole” and he would become infuriated by the cigarette smoke that certain guards would purposefully blow into the tiny cell. However, he did mention that the food was quite tasty.
Robert Schibline went onto opening a scuba diving shop that became extremely successful.
Related: This Is What Prisons look Like In The Richest Countries In The World Vs. The Poorest
Robert Luke Was Sent To Alcatraz For Fighting In Other Prisons
Sent to Alcatraz prison in 1954 after multiple fights and escape attempts at Leavenworth, Robert Luke was considered one of the most notorious inmates to have ever been housed on “The Island.” A few years after arriving at Alcatraz, Luke lost it and flooded his cell and attempted to set his mattress on fire. Guards quickly removed Luke from his cell, stripped him naked, and placed him in solitary confinement.
Robert Luke’s neighboring cellmate was the famous Alvin “Creepy” Karpis. Karpis was a Canadian criminal charged with kidnapping, robbery, burglary, murder and was known for being the leader of the Barker-Karpis gang.
Luke had many complaints about solitary confinement that he actively discusses both in his book and during day tours to Alcatraz. His main complaints throughout his time in solitary confinement was that there was no heat, he had no clothes and he was given water with bread, or baked potatoes topped with pears and raw onions every other third day.
Related: Creepiest Abandoned Prisons You Can Actually Visit
The Anglin Brothers Escaped, Survived And Escaped
Escaping Alcatraz was never heard of. It was believed that it was impossible to ever escape, as the prison was built on an island and shark-infested water. However, in 1962, it is said that three inmates escaped, but what was even more fascinating was that they successfully escaped. To this day, brothers Clarence and John Anglin and Frank Morris are the only men who have ever escaped and have never been found.
The three escaped inmates had plotted their escape a few years before executing it. They used random objects, like a broken vacuum hose, to create a makeshift drill and drilled a large enough hole for them to squeeze out. After this legendary escape, Clint Eastwood starred in “Escape from Alcatraz.”
Frank Morris Also Escaped With The Brothers And Survived
A few decades later, photos came to light of two men that looked eerily similar to the Anglin brothers. In 2013, a letter was sent to the FBI reportedly from John Anglin who confirmed he had escaped and all three of the men had survived. Funny enough, John Anglin also pleaded with the FBI to allow him to return to prison for one year in order to get medical care. If they agreed to his terms of a single year in prison in exchange for medical treatment for an ailing illness, he would then disclose his location. Unfortunately, the letter only surfaced five years after it was written.