Blogpost no.5: The Closing of an Icon

There were a lot of reason why Alcatraz Island had to close . The main reason is actually ironic. Alcatraz' strong point of being acclaimed as the most inescapable prison is also the prison's weak point. Sure it's hard to escape a prison surrounded by water with strong current. But it is also hard to maintain any structure with sea water all around.

In addition, the institution was too expensive to continue operating, it was estimated that $3-5 million was needed to operate the prison. Alcatraz Island was nearly three times more expensive than a normal federal prison. The Federal Government found that it was more cost-effective to build a new institution somewhere than to keep Alcatraz Island open. Maybe it was more expensive because prisoners are like in a cheap hotel with early lights out and small rooms. From library, to movie room , uniforms ,decent food and the cost of bringing in supplies and prison workers to and from the island by barge , its a no brainer that the prison is very expensive to operate than other prisons. 

My mother works in a paint factory and it has always been a challenge to protect the structure with paints. It requires good formulation and a very labor intensive procedure to maintain the structure on a regular basis. Sea water is corrosive to all materials especially at constant exposure. It damages the steel, cement and even wood. This is what happened to Alcatraz. It was very expensive to repair an already degrading facility which was estimated at $5 million dollars at that time. Imagine how much that will be 40 years later. Because of the deteriorating structure, prisoners can escape from their prison cell and take their chances in the tricky sea water. It then depletes the purpose of being the most inescapable prison.

In an article I found entitled "Alcatraz Closes" in alcatraz101, it explains the reason why Alcatraz had to stop operating. It also gives the details of its closing. The article also discusses how they have decided not to re-open Alcatraz Island anymore.
The U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy made the final decision of shutting down the prison based on the above reasons. 
"An oft-cited factor in the closure of Alcatraz was politics. The Attorney General of
the United States, Robert Kennedy, saw Alcatraz as an example of how not to treat
people. He wanted it closed. It closed".


After I had read this article, I was surprised to know that running a federal prison cost so much to operate. I didn't know that they had all decent food complete with a menu and other drinking supplies delivered to the island like we popularly see in the movies, especially in most Asian countries. Also it's quite interesting how the closing down of a federal prison could be such a big event in San Francisco that press had to be called. I guess Alcatraz Island closing down was reasonable, they could use all those money to operate a new and a much better federal prison. The excess can be used to fund more needed government facilities like roads, water supply and others.




In conjunction with the closing of the federal prison , another interesting article I found is "Alcatraz Historical Indian Occupation" in alcatrazhistory. The article talks about how the American Indian took over the island after it was abandoned and claimed it their territory. Because of their activities at the island, they had the attention of the media and the U.S Government. As the article goes on, it shows more of the activities the Indian did at the island, their challenges of maintaining a territory in an island with no natural resources and their conflicts among themselves and how they soon left permanently.

According to the author, "On June 11, 1971, twenty Federal Marshals assisted by the Coast Guard descended on the island and removed the remaining residents. All were taken to Treasure Island under protective custody, and this marked the official end of the occupation of Alcatraz."

Reading this article, it is a proof that living in Alcatraz Island can never last long. The American Indians had the same problems as the federal prison. They had difficulty with the food supplies and maintaining the facility.


Upon analysis of the outcome of the federal prison, I have concluded that people back then were not yet very experienced in planning. They only saw the other side of the coin. Yes, it is inescapable, and they made the decision of making Alcatraz prison. But they didn't have the foresight of what the effect of that decision will be on infrastructure , supplies and the total budget . The Indian did the same mistake. They just saw the island as something they can claim. They didn't think on a long range. We can actually learn from this so we make better plans in the future. It is best to consider the pros and cons of a project or make a feasibility study before jumping to conclusion. Our plan should be until the end. In the scripture it as quoted " Nobody builds a house without having plans of how to finish it "  I think it goes the same for all future plans that we should make.