James A. Johnston, the first appointed warden of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary.
Johnston would later write in his 1949 memoir entitled Alcatraz and the Men Who Live There:
I assumed office on January 2, 1934. Hour after hour, day after day, I walked back and forth, up and down and around the island, from the dock to the administration building, from the office to the powerhouse, powerhouse to the shops, shops to the barracks, into the basements, up on the roofs, across the yards, through the tunnels: I sent more suggestions to Washington...
One of the nation’s foremost security experts, Robert Burge, was commissioned to design a prison that was escape-proof as well as be outwardly forbidding. Burge’s basic concept would be to fully restrict the movements of all inmates. No longer would prisoners have the right of entry to any part of the island. They would be restricted primarily to the main cellhouse building and passage to the Industries would be equally controlled. The main entrance was securely designed so that anyone entering would have to pass through several gates, with access controlled by an officer stationed in the Armory. The Armory would be a control center that oversaw all movements of people leaving or entering the cellblock. The duty officer could view the sallyport area through a two-inch-thick bulletproof rectangular glass portal, and the gates were controlled electronically. The sallyport also featured electronically manipulated sliding steel plates on the gate lock mechanisms which shielded the key slots. The Armory officer was the only person who had access to the slide panel. Once the shield was opened, the officer would need a key to open the first gate manually. There were then two more gates to pass through before entering the cellhouse. This would become the hallmark of Alcatraz: security safeguards set into layers upon layers of redundancies.
A view of correctional officers standing inside the prison’s main sallyport entrance. In the background is the main door to the prison, and of special note is the gate lock mechanism (right). The sallyport featured sliding steel plates on the gate locks, which shielded the key slots. The Armory Officer was the only person who had access to the slide panel. Once the shield was opened, the officer would use a key to unlock the gate manually.
A view showing the main door open to allow access to the cellhouse.
One of several documents authorizing the transfer of military property to the Bureau of Federal Prisons.
Under the transfer agreement from the War Department to the Justice Department, Alcatraz would continue to provide laundry services to the U.S. Army, as well as several other support services. The Army transferred title of nearly all of the industry equipment, and established a long-term agreement to provide fresh water delivery, which would continue in force throughout the history of the island. The Army would finally evacuate from the island on June 19, 1934, leaving behind thirty two inmates to assist in the transition.
Officers could control each cell remotely using pull levers located at the end of each cellblock. The officer could open an individual cell or a group of cells.
In April of 1934, work began to give the prison a new face and sound security features. The Stewart Iron Works Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, was contracted by the Bureau of Prisons to install elaborate precautions that would ostensibly render Alcatraz escape-proof. The guards would have the ability to control each cell remotely, in full view of the gallery officer. By utilizing clutch style linkages and pull levers, the guard would be able to open individual cells, or select groups of cells. The soft squared bars were replaced with modernized tool-proof models. Electricity was routed into each cell and all utility tunnels were cemented to eliminate the inmates’ ability to enter or hide in them. Tool-proof iron window coverings would shield all areas that could be accessed by inmates. Special elevated gun galleries would traverse the cellblock perimeters, allowing guards to carry weapons while secured behind out-of-reach iron rod barriers. These galleries would allow the armed guards to oversee all inmate activities, and thus to safeguard the vulnerable officers who walked the cellhouse floors unarmed.
Gun galleries were positioned at each end of the main cellblock, allowing guards to carry weapons while secured behind iron rod barriers that were beyond the prisoners’ reach. These galleries allowed the armed guards to oversee all inmate activities, and to cover the officers who walked the cellhouse floors unarmed.
Metal detectors were positioned at strategic entry and exit points around the prison. Inmates would later affectionately refer to these devices as “stool pigeons” or “snitch boxes,” as they were effective in detecting hidden metal contraband. Other detection devices were also utilized throughout the prison’s history to discover metallic contraband items.
Special tear-gas canisters were installed in the ceiling of the Dining Hall, which could be remotely activated from both the gun gallery and the outside observation points. Guard towers were strategically positioned around the island’s perimeter. A new technology allowed for the use of electromagnetic metal detectors, which were positioned outside the Dining Hall and on prison industry access paths. The prisoners would later affectionately refer to these devices as “mechanical stool pigeons.”
The New Cellhouse
Broadway, the main prison corridor (between B and C Blocks). This contemporary photo was taken from the Mess Hall gate, looking toward the East Gun Gallery and the Visitors’ Station. The cells along the flats of Broadway were the least favored by the inmate population. These cells were subject to the greatest amount of traffic and the least privacy. They received no direct sunlight, and were considerably colder than cells in other sections, since the heat radiators were located along the cellhouse interior perimeter.
This is a period view of Broadway around 1940, looking toward the West End Gun Gallery and the Mess Hall. Note the officer visible in the Gallery. New inmates were assigned to the second tier of B Block, and were quarantined in their cells for a ninety-day period. During this time they were not provided with work assignments, and were not allowed to see movies in the upstairs auditorium. They were only released from their cells for meals, recreation, religious services, and showers. Alcatraz was racially segregated, and African-American inmates were assigned to this area of the prison.
A view of cells from the second tier of B Block, taken in December of 1954.
After the 1934 renovations were complete, the new steel reinforced concrete cellhouse would contain four cellblocks, each housing 168 cells, with no one cell adjoined to any perimeter wall. If an inmate were able to tunnel his way through the cell wall, he would still need to find a way to escape from the cellhouse itself. There were 336 cells in B and C Blocks and each block spanned 150 feet in length. Each tier contained twenty-eight cells that were nine feet long and five feet wide, with a ceiling height of just over seven feet. There had originally been 348 cells, but twelve were removed when stairways were installed at the end of each cellblock. Two cells at the end of C Block were used as restrooms for the guard staff. The primary inmate population would only be assigned to B, C and D Blocks, since the total number of inmates would generally not exceed three hundred. Inmates would typically spend anywhere from twelve to twenty-three hours a day confined in their cells. Each cell contained a cot with a sleeping mattress approximately five inches thick, blankets, a small worktable, a toilet, a sink that supplied cold fresh drinking water, and a shelf that could be used for the inmate’s personal effects.