16. In spite of its future reputation as “the most secure prison on Earth”, the beginnings of Alcatraz as a prison were plagued with escape attempts including at least one confirmed escape by inmates
The site of the first lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States, in 1908, in no small part due to the constant building works on the island undermining its foundations, Alcatraz Citadel collapsed. The following year a replacement building began construction which today dominates the island’s vista: a huge concrete cell block. Amassing an enormous budget in excess of $250,000, the building, completed in 1912, was at the time of construction believed to be the largest reinforced concrete building in the world. Comprised of four cell blocks, with a total of 600 cells, the new prison site was chiefly employed during World War I to house German prisoners of war.
Beginning to introduce civilian prisoners with minimum offenses to the island, despite still being operated as a military enterprise, this period of Alcatraz’s history observed a sustained problem of escapes. A total of 29 escapes were recorded, involving 80 convicts. Of these 80, only 62 were recovered by the authorities, although it is presumed some drowned. The only confirmed successful prison escape in the history of Alcatraz Island, on November 28, 1918, four prisoners departed the island on rafts. Identified at Sutro Forest, one was recaptured, whilst the remaining three successfully eluded the authorities.