Alcatraz Has Been Closed as a Prison for Decades, but Why Did It Close?

There are few prisons in America with more notorious reputations than Alcatraz. The island prison, which is just off the coast of San Francisco, used to be one of the most infamous prisons in the world, but it's been closed for decades. Following news that President Trump has issued an executive order with the goal of reopening it as a prison, many want to know more about the place.

Because Alcatraz is on a tiny island, it was thought to be almost impossible to escape from. Here's what we know about why they closed the prison down to begin with.

Although it was originally a military fort, Alcatraz operated as a prison from 1934 to 1963, when it was shut down. There were several overlapping reasons that informed the decision to shut the prison down. Because of rising water levels, many of the island's buildings had been badly eroded. Although the island made the prison a difficult place to escape from, it also meant that the cost of housing prisoners there was much higher than it was for other federal prisoners.

A 1962 escape that was nearly successful may have also had a hand in the prison's closure, although nobody survived the attempt.

Although this doesn't appear to have played a role in the prison's closure, Native Americans also occupied the island in some shape or form for basically a decade after it was closed as a prison, in part to demand that the facilities be adapted to emphasize Alcatraz's native history.

Although the facility has been operating as a museum for decades, Trump announced in a post on Truth Social that he is ordering the Federal Bureau of Prisons to reopen the facility as a prison that will "house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders."

"The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE," he wrote in the post. He didn't offer any rationale beyond that.

It seems likely that Trump wants to reopen Alcatraz as part of his broader goal, which is to (in his words) Make America Great Again. He sees Alcatraz as a symbol of America's strength and likely remembers that it housed many of America's most famous criminals, including Al Capone, when it was still in operation. It's nostalgia for a prison, basically.

Alcatraz may no longer be a prison, but the island is still owned by the federal government. The National Parks Service has been responsible for the island since it opened as a museum and park. Because the park is still owned by the federal government, it's theoretically possible for it to be turned back into a prison, although it's unclear whether Trump's Truth Social declaration will be backed up by anything with the force of law.

If Alcatraz were to be converted back into a prison, it would likely come at a pretty substantial cost. After all, it's not like sea levels have dropped in the decades since it closed.