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The site of a fort since the 1850s, the main prison building was built in 1910–12 as a U.S. Army military prison. The United States Department of Justice acquired the United States Disciplinary Barracks, Pacific Branch, on Alcatraz on October 12, 1933.
The Condor Club nightclub is a striptease bar or topless bar in the North Beach section of San Francisco, California [1] The club became famous in 1964 as the first fully topless nightclub in America, featuring the dancer Carol Doda wearing a monokini. [2] The club in 1973.
- Early Years as A Military Prison
- Doing Time as A Federal Prison: 1934-63
- Famous Inmates
- Escape Attempts from Alcatraz
- The Prison Closes Its Doors: 1963
- Native American Occupation of Alcatraz
In 1775, Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala (1745-97) mapped and named rugged Alcatraz Island, christening it La Isla de los Alcatraces, or Island of the Pelicans, due to its large population of sea birds. Seventy-five years later, in 1850, President Millard Fillmore (1800-74) signed an order reserving the island for military use. During the 185...
In 1933, the Army relinquished Alcatraz to the U.S. Justice Department, which wanted a federal prison that could house a criminal population too difficult or dangerous to be handled by other U.S. penitentiaries. Following construction to make the existing complex at Alcatraz more secure, the maximum-security facility officially opened on July 1, 19...
Among those who did time at The Rock was the notorious Prohibition-era gangster Al “Scarface” Capone, who spent four-and-a-half years there during the 1930s. His arrival on the island generated headlines across America. Capone was sent to Alcatraz because his incarceration in Atlanta, Georgia, had allowed him to remain in contact with the outside w...
Over the years, there were 14 known attempts to escape from Alcatraz, involving 36 inmates. The Federal Bureau of Prisons reports that of these would-be escapees, 23 were captured, six were shot and killed during their attempted getaways, two drowned and five went missing and were presumed drowned. The most famous escape attempt resulted in a battl...
The federal penitentiary at Alcatraz was shut down in 1963 because its operating expenses were much higher than those of other federal facilities at the time. (The prison’s island location meant all food and supplies had to be shipped in, at great expense.) Furthermore, the isolated island buildings were beginning to crumble due to exposure to the ...
In 1969, a group of Native Americans led by Mohawk activist Richard Oakes (1942-72) arrived on Alcatraz Island and claimed the land on behalf of “Indians of All Tribes.” The activists hoped to establish a university and a museum on the island. Oakes left Alcatraz following the death there of his stepdaughter in 1970, and the remaining occupiers, wh...
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Disco took hold in the San Francisco gay community in the early 1970s and by 1978 the androgynous San Francisco singer Sylvester had achieved national prominence with several disco hits. [ 26 ]
Alcatraz, former maximum-security prison located on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, off the coast of California. Alcatraz, originally envisioned as a naval defense fortification, was designated a residence for military offenders in 1861, and it housed a diverse collection of prisoners in its.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Jun 26, 2020 · In 1943, the Black Cat, one of the more prominent bars singled out by authorities, was raided by authorities. But as Chronicle columnist Gary Kamiya wrote, the “vendetta” against Stoumen’s bar...
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San Francisco History Lesson: The Black Cat versus Bar Raids. In the post-WWII era, the Black Cat, on Montgomery Street in North Beach, was one of the city's most popular gay bars. In 1951...