Alcatraz Prison, in San Francisco Bay, is surrounded by freezing waters and razor-sharp rocks, making it America's most inescapable prison. In 1775, the Spanish explorer Juan Manuel De Ayla named the small island La Isla De Los Alcatraces. It translates to “Pelicans Island” (Welcome to Alcatraz). This island is a twelve-acre rock in San Francisco Bay, the largest natural harbor in the world (Fuller,8). Because Alcatraz is surrounded by frozen waters and dangerous currents, it was soon considered a perfect place to hold prisoners (Welcome to Alcatraz). “The Rock” first opened as a federal prison in 1934 (Alcatraz prison). The first warden of Alcatraz was James A. Johnston, he started on July 1, 1934 (Fuller, 12) On the island, obviously there were a lot of rules to follow there. First, no visitors were accepted in the first three months of living on the island (Welcome to Alcatraz). Enforcing the no-talking rule was part of their psychological punishment. Prisoners were locked in their cells for more than half the day, fourteen hours a day (Oliver, 53 years old). Hygiene was very strict. Each inmate had to shave 3 times a week (Fuller, 11). No prisoner was allowed to visit their cells during the day. Inmates also worked as servants for the families living on the island (Welcome to Alcatraz). These prisoners were given excellent cuisine (Welcome to Alcatraz). They managed to get everything they wanted, but the food couldn't be thrown away. If you wasted food, you weren't allowed to eat the next meal (Welcome to Alcatraz). If the prisoners had gone against these rules, some of their punishments would have been that they would have to wear ball and chain, they would have to do manual labor and go... middle of paper... everything in Alcatraz had to be imported, food, clothes, prisoners and other goods were very expensive. It cost me twenty-six thousand dollars. Alcatraz prison is inevitable (Oliver, 53 years old). As they exported all the prisoners from Alcatraz and sent them to other prisons, they wondered what to do with the island (Presnall, 93). Years passed and several suggestions passed as to how America should use the island. Some thought it should have been used for a nudist colony, others thought it should have been a Statue of Liberty for the Western United States, or perhaps a park for the American space program (Presnall, 93). But they were all rejected by the government (Presnall, 43). In 1973, Alcatraz Island was opened to the public as a tourist attraction (Alcatraz Prison). Today, over a million people come to the San Francisco Bay Area to visit the so-called haunted island (Alcatraz prison).