Latest news with #Alcatraz
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Irish Times
Escape to Alacatraz: swimmers and workers face turning tide
Treacherous currents abound in the San Francisco Bay area. Container ships and whales, sailing boats, sharks and sea swimmers all tackle the tricky tides. The two sea-swimming clubs sit cheek by jowl in Victorian wooden clubhouses on the harbour of the city's aquatic cove. The Dolphin and the Southend share a small urban beach and allegedly a mutual enmity. They have seen a surge in use since the pandemic in spite of the chilly North Pacific waters. Well, they say chilly, but we would just call it grand. As is tradition with wars, there are occasional ceasefires. Every Friday evening peace comes to the small beach with cocktails on the veranda, the two clubs suspending animosities to mingle with clinking glasses. But both shoals have a mutual target in fog-wrapped sight of the horseshoe cove. Alcatraz. READ MORE I first heard of this aquatic Everest from Gerry, a 20-something software engineer from Dublin, standing outside a precipice-perched wine bar in his flip flops and shorts, his dog sleeping at his feet. 'I was training for Alcatraz,' he declared, 'earlier', athletically waving a goblet of Pinot Noir toward the foggy island off in the distance. 'A mile and a half; should take 45 minutes'. It's been in the national news recently but in this city it is omnipresent . The Rock's distinctive shelled-out buildings and defunct water tower loom out of the gloom at dawn and dusk. The city's first lighthouse, once a penal institution that housed Al Capone, was occupied in the 1970s by a Native American tribe, and their graffiti, visible to passing ferries, still claims its indigenous heritage. Ira is stretching athletically on the deck of the Dolphin Club. She has been a member here for 48 years, since she arrived in San Francisco in 1977 at the age of 21, from Iran, one year before the Islamic Revolution. 'I paddled in the Caspian Sea as a child, I wanted to learn to swim so I came to the city on the bay,' she explains, her feet stretched up above her head against the rickety wooden fence. 'Three months later on New Year's Day 1978, I swam from out there, Alcatraz, back to here. I jumped in and swam, the water was 47 degrees – and no wetsuit, in a leotard!' Outside the busy ferry terminal for Alcatraz stand a number of ad-hoc food stalls, selling hot dogs, fruit cups and souvenir trinkets to the thousands of visitors to the Rock. I am in a co-working space just opposite so they are a familiar site to us all, South Americans frying onions, chopping fruit − the original gig economy. A few weeks ago, there was a noisy kerfuffle outside as the vendors suddenly packed up and took off en masse helter skelter down the waterfront Embarcadero, seemingly spooked. Two figures in dark clothes and high-vis jackets came strolling along menacingly. 'Man that sucks, leave them alone,' said a young San Franciscan, Jim, who works with a local sports NGO, shaking his head as he watched. It was a false alarm but a timely reminder of the precarious nature of life here for some. And it was one of the few comments I have heard here on the evolving national situation. Jim is one of the few younger people to speak openly; 'What can we do?' he shrugs. 'It feels hopeless, I mean, are people out there laughing at us?' If anything it is the older citizens who can be heard commenting, swimming against the tide. Maybe they have seen it all. In Washington Square an elderly man in a T-shirt and military veterans hat, stands at a packed shopping trolley, proselytising the picnickers. 'Tell your neighbours, shout it out, watch the stocks, there's a showdown coming with China, in Chinatown, San Francisco.' In Cafe Trieste, where Francis Ford Copolla is said to have written The Godfather screenplay, among the vintage coffee drinkers, a man in a Grateful Dead T-shirt says he is 'just checking the stocks − up 500, S&P up too. He must have done a deal with Zelenskiy'. He shakes his head and returns to his cappuccino. A barman talks at night in the quiet. 'The shoe is going to drop soon man, the next few weeks, you can ignore the news all you want but when the shelves start emptying, that's when the shoe drops.' I bump into Iranian Ira again down at the swimming club, looking out at Alcatraz. She has swum from it 12 times in her 48 years in the city on the bay, a stretch of water with some of the most treacherous currents, not to mention the odd whale or shark. What about the latest late night-announced grand plan from Washington, or rather Florida: to reopen the prison on The Rock. 'Oh Trump, him?' she replies. 'It'll never happen, too expensive, no water over there. But I'll tell you, it keeps people's minds busy, that it does'. The sun is shining, the swimmers are out, the sailboats skim the waves past The Rock and container ships glide by, only half as full as they were a few weeks ago.
CBS News
25-05-2025
- CBS News
Alcatraz thrives as tourist destination amid talk of reopening as a prison
Not all Alcatraz tourists are on board with turning it back into a prison Not all Alcatraz tourists are on board with turning it back into a prison Not all Alcatraz tourists are on board with turning it back into a prison Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer, and for San Francisco, the season arrives with mixed signals about the state of its tourism industry. While the Bay Area has yet to recover fully from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, some attractions are drawing crowds in large numbers. Chief among them: Alcatraz Island. All Alcatraz tours were sold out for the holiday weekend. According to the National Park Service, Alcatraz draws roughly 1.6 million visitors each year and generates about $60 million in tourism revenue annually. "We're just excited to see the history of the island," said Shannon Haury, visiting from Cincinnati, Ohio, with her family on Saturday. Known for its storied past—marked by isolation, infamy, and dramatic escape attempts—Alcatraz remains a cultural and cinematic icon. But a new storyline has emerged: Former President Donald Trump has publicly floated the idea of turning the island back into a federal prison. In fact, federal prison officials recently conducted a site visit, adding intrigue for visitors and concern among local leaders. "If it could be utilized again, might be a good idea—maybe," said Haury, initially open to the concept. But seeing the island firsthand changed her perspective. "Now that you see this, there's no chance—I mean, it would cost so much money," said Shannon's husband, Charlie Haury, gesturing toward the decaying exterior of the old prison buildings. Cost is a central issue. When the federal government shut down Alcatraz in 1963, it cited high operating expenses—three times more than a typical prison—as a primary reason. "I was like, 'Oh, that's an interesting thought. Sounds like people are separated, keeps us safe,'" said Shannon. "But when you kind of dig in and hear about the cost and see it, I wouldn't see the cost-benefit." Dave Morris, a visitor from Orange County, agreed. "A bridge too far—perhaps a prison too far—in terms of trying to rebuild this. Most of the structures seem to be affected by the salt water," he said. Others questioned the motivation behind the proposal. "I think it's a fear factor. It's something big and sensational [President Trump] can say on TV that people will cheer for because they know what Alcatraz is," said Charles Morris, a new UC Berkeley graduate. Critics argue that reactivating the prison would not only require massive federal investment but could also undercut one of the region's most profitable tourism draws. "I thought it sounded like a pretty neat idea. Since being here, I don't know that it's feasible," said Charlie Haury. "But I kind of would still be for it, just for the content of it, to be honest. I think it'd be a great story. I think it'd be interesting to see how it all plays out." Though the Haury family is doubtful the plan will move forward, they're grateful they visited and formed their own opinions. "It makes more sense to make money than spend money on this, especially because you can do this somewhere else," said Shannon. Federal prison officials say they plan to conduct another site visit. But with no clear cost estimate—and extensive deterioration from decades of saltwater exposure—it remains unclear whether Alcatraz's future lies in history, or in rebirth.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A hard cell? Alcatraz tourists dismiss Trump's ‘insane' plan to revive it as a prison
In the choppy waters of the San Francisco Bay, on a windswept rock, lies a crumbling former federal prison that's now at the center of Donald Trump's latest real estate proposal: 'REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ!' he announced on Truth Social over the weekend, to 'serve as a symbol of Law, Order and JUSTICE'. On Monday, the day after Trump's declaration, throngs of tourists visited the island, after having queued up for the ferry at Fisherman's Wharf. Reacting to Trump's plan, Jonathan Perez, 20, a psychology student from Miami, was curt: 'He's insane.' Related: Trump orders reopening of Alcatraz prison for 'most ruthless offenders' Standing inside the former prison cellhouse, Perez looked around, horrified at the thought that the notorious prison could come suddenly back to life. 'He's already shown his enthusiasm for mass incarceration as seen in El Salvador, and he had mentioned using Guantánamo Bay to imprison people,' said Perez. 'I think it's horrible. They abandoned the prison for a reason.' Alcatraz is steeped in contradiction – a living symbol of punishing state power, Indigenous resistance and a space where tourists are encouraged to reflect on history, memory and justice. The former prison is now a museum run by the National Park Service and is one of San Francisco's most popular tourist destinations, with 1.4 million visitors a year. California officials have called the idea of reopening the prison, which has been shuttered since the 1960s, an absurd and unfeasible political distraction. On the island, many visitors seemed to agree. 'As tourists, we're a bit shocked with that news, considering how old it is and how long since it's really been inhabited,' said Janelle Lawson, a tourist from Australia. 'There'll have to be a lot of money put into the infrastructure to be able to make it livable again.' 'Typical Donald Trump announcement,' chuckled her husband, Wally Lawson, a retired IT teacher. 'I think it's a bit of a stunt to get the media off the other decisions he's made. There's only so much a newspaper can print a day, so all the other stuff that's going on doesn't get as much coverage.' Stepping off the ferry and on to Alcatraz island, Matti Oshri, 66, had a more favorable assessment. 'Trump – he is the best,' said Oshri, who came up from LA to tour Alcatraz with her family, who were visiting from Israel. She didn't know why Trump wants to transform the popular tourist attraction into a prison, but said she believed he would follow through: 'I think he's gonna do it. He's crazy, but good crazy.' No one from the National Park Service, which operates Alcatraz, was authorized to speak to the press, but exasperation was palpable among staff. Two French couples from Toulouse who had been touring the US's national parks collectively shrugged, rolled their eyes and said they didn't think the proposal was serious. 'He's marching backwards. Tomorrow, he'll announce something else,' said Regina Jacquel, a retired police officer, as her friends burst into laughter. 'As a president, he is not credible.' 'This is just another load of bullshit,' added her husband, Eric Jacquel. The two couples mocked the other property deals – from turning Gaza into a French Riviera to annexing Greenland, Panama and Canada – that Trump has mused about publicly. Alcatraz was closed in 1963 because it was three times more costly to operate than any other federal prison, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, in large part due to its island location and lack of amenities that meant everything from food to fresh water had to be brought in. 'With the state of our economy right now, if it was too expensive to run then, it's definitely going to be too expensive to run now,' said Tolu Ogundele, a 22-year-old psychology student at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. She was excited to visit Alcatraz, but didn't think much of Trump's plan. 'Honestly, he doesn't have very many good ideas,' she added. After its closure, the island took on a second life as a site of Indigenous resistance. In 1969, a group of Native American activists occupied Alcatraz, declaring it sovereign Indigenous land in an act of protest against broken treaties and systemic neglect. The 19-month occupation galvanized the modern Indigenous rights movement, whose legacy endures today. 'I think it should remain what it is, a national monument,' said Jacqueline Kemokai, a retired nurse from Tampa, Florida, who was moved by that history. 'They've taken so much of the past away already and there needs to be something left behind to keep our memories going.' It's a history that's alive and well for Morning Star Gali, a member of the Ajumawi band of Pit River Tribe. For the past 16 years, Gali has been organizing the largest sunrise ceremony in the US on Alcatraz on behalf of the International Indian Treaty Council. The events, hosted in November on Indigenous People's Day and Thanksgiving, attract thousands of people, including members of more than 300 tribes from across the US. Turning Alcatraz back into a prison would end the sunrise ceremonies, said Gali, who has been attending them since she was a child and got her name, Morning Star, there. For her, Alcatraz is a sacred site of Indigenous resistance and resilience. 'Reopening Alcatraz as a prison would not just be an act of historical erasure – it would be a declaration that this country is doubling down on its most violent legacies,' she said by phone. 'That's where the first California Indian leaders were imprisoned, and that's a history that's still not widely shared.' Related: A Thanksgiving bonfire at dawn: celebrating Native American resistance on Alcatraz 'Everything is just shock and awe. It's all part of the performance. It's just clickbait,' agreed Louwegie McGill, a member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes. For McGill, Indigenous incarceration is not merely a thing of the past. He spent time inside the California state prison system and calls attention to the disproportionate rate at which Indigenous people are incarcerated. He now works as a re-entry coordinator for Indigenous Justice helping formerly incarcerated Indigenous people re-enter society. McGill, who goes out to Alcatraz six to eight times a year for the sunrise ceremonies and to give history tours to students, thinks it's unrealistic to rebuild the federal penitentiary there: 'That place is decrepit, it's broke down, it doesn't work well.' Gali has a different vision for its future: 'I'd love to see it returned to the Indigenous peoples.'
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US officials visit Alcatraz amid Trump's plan to reopen island prison
Federal prison officials visited Alcatraz last week after Donald Trump's announcement earlier this month of plans to rebuild and reopen the infamous island prison, which has been closed for over 60 years. David Smith, the superintendent of the Golden Gate national recreation area (GGNRA), told the San Francisco Chronicle that officials with the Federal Bureau of Prisons are planning to return for further structural assessments. 'They have been out here. They'll be coming out again to do assessments of the structure,' Smith told the news outlet. The island facility has been closed since 1963, when then attorney general Robert F Kennedy ordered its shutdown amid high operating costs, limited space and multiple escape attempts. BOP director William Marshall told Fox News that engineering teams are already surveying the site. 'We've got engineering teams out there now that are doing some assessments, and so I'm just really excited about the opportunity and possibilities,' he said. In recent months, the US government has moved to reopen at least five previously closed detention centers and prisons. Although California lawmakers have dismissed the Alcatraz proposal as a 'distraction' and not a serious plan, the Trump administration is actively working – with the help of private prison companies – to reopen other facilities, some of which are already back in operation. Related: A hard cell? Alcatraz tourists dismiss Trump's 'insane' plan to revive it as a prison Smith said he was skeptical about reopening Alcatraz, pointing to the large financial investment and legal challenges it would require. He said it's 'just not well-situated' for the Bureau of Prisons. But Marshall called the proposal 'exciting' and feasible. He suggested that modern, lightweight materials could solve some of the island's logistical challenges. 'When you think of Alcatraz, you think of Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, Lambeau Field, those types of facilities … you just get that kind of feeling about Alcatraz when you think of those historical venues,' Marshall told Fox News's My View with Lara Trump, Trump's daughter-in-law. 'And so, yeah, we absolutely think we can get it done.' Meanwhile, the GGNRA is undertaking seismic retrofitting projects on the island, including reinforcing the pier and stabilizing the aging cellhouse to prevent further deterioration.
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
US officials visit Alcatraz amid Trump's plan to reopen island prison
Federal prison officials visited Alcatraz last week after Donald Trump's announcement earlier this month of plans to rebuild and reopen the infamous island prison, which has been closed for over 60 years. David Smith, superintendent of the Golden Gate national recreation area (GGNRA), told the San Francisco Chronicle that officials with the Federal Bureau of Prisons are planning to return for further structural assessments. 'They have been out here. They'll be coming out again to do assessments of the structure,' Smith told the news outlet. The island facility has been closed since 1963, when then attorney general Robert F Kennedy ordered its shutdown amid high operating costs, limited space and multiple escape attempts. BOP director William Marshall told Fox News that engineering teams are already surveying the site. 'We've got engineering teams out there now that are doing some assessments, and so I'm just really excited about the opportunity and possibilities,' he said. In recent months, the US government has moved to reopen at least five previously closed detention centers and prisons. Although California lawmakers have dismissed the Alcatraz proposal as a 'distraction' and not a serious plan, the Trump administration is actively working – with the help of private prison companies – to reopen other facilities, some of which are already back in operation. Smith said he was skeptical about reopening Alcatraz, pointing to the large financial investment and legal challenges it would require. He said it's 'just not well-situated' for the Bureau of Prisons. But Marshall called the proposal 'exciting' and feasible. He suggested that modern, lightweight materials could solve some of the island's logistical challenges. 'When you think of Alcatraz, you think of Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, Lambeau Field, those types of facilities … you just get that kind of feeling about Alcatraz when you think of those historical venues,' Marshall told Fox News's My View with Lara Trump, Trump's daughter-in-law. 'And so, yeah, we absolutely think we can get it done.' Meanwhile, the GGNRA is undertaking seismic retrofitting projects on the island, including reinforcing the pier and stabilizing the aging cellhouse to prevent further deterioration.
