Trump’s Alcatraz prison restoration plan gets cold reception from tourists

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REUTERS/FRED GREAVES

A tourist inspects the inside of a cell at Alcatraz Prison, a National Parks site located on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay in San Francisco, Calif.

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A view of the main building and water tower at Alcatraz Prison, a National Parks site located on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay in San Francisco, Calif.

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REUTERS/FRED GREAVES

A chain and sign bar entry to an unsafe area at Alcatraz Prison, a National Parks site located on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay in San Francisco, Calif.

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Tourists visit Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay

SAN FRANCISCO >> President Donald Trump’s plan to turn Alcatraz back into a federal prison was summarily rejected on Monday by some visitors to the tourist site in San Francisco Bay.

Trump revealed a plan over the weekend to rebuild and expand the notorious island prison, a historic landmark known as “The Rock” and operated by the U.S. government’s National Park Service. It’s “just an idea I’ve had,” he said.

“We need law and order in this country. So we’re going to look at it,” he added on Monday.

Once nearly impossible to leave, the island can be difficult to get to because of competition for tickets. Alcatraz prison held fewer than 300 inmates at a time before it was closed in 1963 and draws roughly 1.2 million tourists a year.

U.S. Bureau of Prisons Director William Marshall said on Monday he would vigorously pursue the president’s agenda and was looking at next steps.

“It’s a waste of money,” said visitor Ben Stripe from Santa Ana, California. “After walking around and seeing this place and the condition it’s in, it is just way too expensive to refurbish.” he said.

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“It’s not feasible to have somebody still live here,” agreed Cindy Lacomb from Phoenix, Arizona, who imagined replacing all the metal in the cells and rebuilding the crumbling concrete.

The sprawling site is in disrepair, with peeling paint and rusting locks and cell bars. Signs reading “Area closed for your safety” block off access to many parts of the grounds. Chemical toilets sit next to permanent restrooms closed off for repair.

The former home of Al Capone and other notable inmates was known for tough treatment, including pitch-black isolation cells. It was billed as America’s most secure prison given the island location, frigid waters and strong currents.

It was closed because of high operating costs. The island also was claimed by Native American activists in 1969, an act of civil disobedience acknowledged by the National Park Service.

Mike Forbes, visiting from Pittsburgh, said it should remain a part of history. “I’m a former prison guard and rehabilitation is real. Punishment is best left in the past,” Forbes said.

No successful escapes were ever officially recorded from Alcatraz, though five prisoners were listed as “missing and presumed drowned.”

Today a “Supermax” facility located in Florence, Colorado, about 115 miles (185 km) south of Denver, is nicknamed the “Alcatraz of the Rockies.” No one has ever escaped from that 375-inmate facility since it opened in 1994.

Congress in fiscal year 2024 cut the Bureau of Prisons infrastructure budget by 38% and prison officials have previously reported a $3 billion maintenance backlog. The Bureau of Prisons last year said it would close aging prisons, as it struggled with funding cuts.

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