How Alcatraz Military Fort became America's Worst Prison

Alcatraz is most known for housing incredibly dangerous convicts, as well as its history of prison break attempts. But did you know that there is a largely undisturbed system of tunnels just beneath the surface? Today on It’s History, we will discover their story.

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IT’S HISTORY - Weekly tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.

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» CREDIT
Scriptwriter - Imana Schoch,
Editor - Piotr Kubiak,
Host - Ryan Socash
Sponsor - Tiege Hanley

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» NOTICE
Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only - always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes - retractions will be published in this section.

[JacobDean]

Ryan Murphy, so needs to make a season of American Horror Story about Alcatraz. That island goes back so far. There's so much potential besides what we all just commonly know.

[joshuabennett]

Flew my mom out to California for her 70th birthday in January 2020. Places we visited are Lake Tahoe, Muir woods, Alcatraz Island, Stinson Beach, Dinner on Pier 39 overlooking San Francisco Bay, California state railroad museum and Yosemite National Park. Alcatraz Island was an awesome tour and the view of San Francisco was stunning. Totally worth checking out if you're ever in California.

[christophercarlson]

Loved going out there with my late wife. Great history

[matthewt]

The movie The Rock used those tunnels as plot points 26 years ago. It's crazy to find they exist

[OhioCoastie]

9:20 That isn't "President Hoover" in the photo. It's FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.

[rich]

I like that sponsors seem to leave it up to the content creators to make their own adverts for a product. It keeps things interesting

[chloejohnson]

I just read a book about the early Mafia. A lot of them were sent to Sing Sing in New York State. They actually made prisoners break rocks there, originally to help build the prison itself, and then just as a punishment. Atlanta and Alcatraz at least taught prisoners vocational skills or had them do useful jobs.

[ZalthorAndNoggin]

While I visited San Francisco during the Bicentennial in 1976, it is now my biggest regret I didn't go to the island. Your movies and pictures, particularly of the newly discovered tunnels, are superb. Thank you so much.

[auaggoldbug]

I read 6 against the Rock 40 years ago. Great book

[freddieNyack]

I was impressed with the tub that carried me over. I know the bay.

[argiodsilvertongue]

I lived in the Bay area in the mid-80's; and did the Alcatraz tour a couple times.
It is a cold, desolate place; and I can see why the natives considered the island to be cursed.

[jonnyheathen]

And ‘equipted’- the boy is on fire today! 😂

[robbie]

My buddy Nate is one of the National Park Rangers for Alcatraz

[gro]

Why didn't you mention the January 1960 (possibly successful) escape? It, too, is a fascinating bit of both Bay Area and Alcatraz history.

I hadn't heard about the tunnels under the island until your video. I grew up in San Francisco and moved away in 2016 to Hawaii. It may have been a story in the City but certainly not here.

I enjoyed your documentary very much and look forward to watching more going forward.

[chadlindsey]

I recently visited alcatraz with my wife and I had a spirit of a former inmate connect or attach to me as some may say and must I say it's bothered my sleep and my thoughts through out my day. I have a spirit attached to me wanting me back because they have things to tell me. I'm a firm believer of the after life and I feel that being so the spirit knew that and it attached to me. It keeps wanting me back because he has things to say and what I see in my thoughts and dreams was that he was innocent and was convicted of a crime he didn't commit. I know most and maybe all would say I'm full of crap but no one knows what I feel and or see what I do.

[buzzkincaid]

I understand the history of the prison, but time moves on, a redevelopment of Alcatraz, respecting its past, has amazing potential.

[thatguy]

Not as old as the Atlanta Penitentiary, built in 1911 I believe.

[tahlulabang]

I had two great uncles, brother's, that were in Alcatraz for making counterfeit money!

[Muddyorphan]

They used to be able to unload your cargo there and channels went in every direction under the waters so they could also railway stuff to the Island rain or shine i loaded cargo with pulling systems that was the wetest most miserable field trips you could get caught up in heaping cats and dogs while trying to not drop yourself messing with sails to dropping a huge group of wooden cargo boxes wrappednetting

[Morris]

Cuándo me preguntan de donde venís vs del agua