History

The Rock, Pre-Capone​ 

The long history of Alcatraz​ before it became America’s first supermax prison.

Famous for housing a who’s-who of criminals and murderers, Alcatraz made a name for itself as the country’s first supermax prison. But before Capone, Stroud, Kelly, and Bulger moved in, the island that the prison called home already had a worthy history of its own. The video above traces the evolution of Alcatraz before it began accepting civilian prisoners exactly 80 years ago this week.